“Maybe you’re worried that we could sue you, so you’re trying to head that off? Is that what you were doing with my wife yesterday? Establishing your good-guy credentials with the woman? Because you need to know that Elsa is attuned to lying. She can spot it where other people can’t.”

A stricken look on his face. “It is not my intention to add to your burden.”

“Then tell me this. Do you have proof that my daughter is dead?”

“No.”

A moment of terrifying hope. “Do you have evidence that she’s alive?”

“I have evidence of a timeline.”

“Which you won’t show us.” The hope began to leach away.

“My colleague Mikal: I cannot risk that this might happen with other people.”

“So you came to Elsa offering exactly what?” I knew I was being harsh, but I could not escape the feeling that he was trying to play me.

“I need you to know: We tried to land the helicopter. Two times. Each time these men shot at us. When we tried to land to pick up your daughter there were bullets striking the fuselage. We had to take off quickly.” There was a pleading note in his voice.

“So to summarize, Pavel: You tried to do the right thing on the day of the attacks. It didn’t work out. Your presence made things worse. Lots of children died.” I could see the hurt in his eyes, but I couldn’t stop myself. “We need to know the truth. Show us what happened. You know you have a moral responsibility to us now.”

“It is not in my gift.”

“Not in your gift?” I laughed. “I can see you’re kind of trying to do the right thing, Pavel. You gave the footage to the police, right? But you have to follow through. You have to show it to us.” I was on my feet now, heading for the door.

He was in front of me—I wasn’t sure how—blocking my path.

“The police,” he said. “They specifically asked me not to share this material with you.”

“Specifically with me?”

“You. Your wife.”

“They mentioned us by name?”

“They’re clever, and it’s all implication, but it was clear they were talking about you.”

“Because—let me guess—your footage doesn’t show the police in the greatest of lights?”

“I will try to help you in other ways. This is a complicated situation.”

“No, Pavel, this is simple. If the police had done their jobs, my daughter would still be here. If you cared about the truth, you would be showing me what you have.”

“It was never—”

“—your intention. I know. Find someone else to absolve you of your sins.”

That night I called my brother.

“People aren’t telling me the truth, Dan.”

I was a little drunk. He could hear it down the line.