If he was going to have any chance of finding one person in an urban sea of a million he had to narrow his field, yet with no actionable intelligence to work from Sanderson saw only one course—it was time to start thinking like his quarry. If Deadmarsh was indeed here for an assassination, his first job would be to find out everything possible about his target. Sanderson, therefore, would do the same. His began his inquiry as he walked with a call to Elin Almgren.

She picked up immediately. “Good to hear from you, Arne. Any luck?”

“Perhaps.”

After an extended pause, she asked, “So how’s the weather in Geneva?”

Sanderson didn’t remember mentioning where he’d gone. “You can be maddening, you know that.”

“You asked for any information I could give you on Dr. Ibrahim Hamedi, and the first thing I saw was that he’s going to be in Geneva this weekend. Would you like the rest?”

“I sense I’m running up a catastrophic bar bill.”

“That you are. I’ve found a lot on Hamedi, although not much that’s going to help you. He’s a top-flight physicist, well respected in academic circles. He was offered a teaching post in Hamburg, and also a research position with CERN on the big particle accelerator project outside Geneva. He rejected it all to go back to Iran and build ballistic missiles with nuclear warheads. Or course, this is all publicly available information.”

“Tell me something that isn’t.”

“All right. Anytime a nuclear scientist is suddenly recalled to a place like Iran, questions get asked. Germany’s BND, and their Swiss counterparts, the FIS, both made quiet inquiries after he left. It was the usual raft of questions. What kind of expertise did Hamedi have. Had he shown any unusual political leanings or frequented particular mosques in the Hamburg area. Did he have family members back home who might be at risk. No one who knew Hamedi thought he had any affinity for the Iranian regime, and in the end the investigators drew nothing but blanks. There was not the slightest indication that Hamedi was anything other than what he appeared to be—a brilliant scientist returning home to take part in a government program. Despite the objectionable nature of the work, there was nothing anyone in Europe could do about it.”

“Can you tell me where he’s staying in Geneva?”

“You want me to ask about the projected movements of a man who’s been a serial assassination target? That’s one way to get highlighted. If you want me to keep this little inquiry of yours quiet you’ll have to come up with something less direct.”

“Yes,” Sanderson relented, “I suppose you’re right.”

“I wish I had more for you. I’ll keep an eye out all the same.”

“Thanks, Elin.”

“And Arne … please take care of yourself.”