I don’t answer. I need a minute to think. Brazuca steps in to fill in the gap. “A couple years ago, Nora’s daughter, Bonnie, was kidnapped by a wealthy family. The Zhangs. In rescuing her, Nora made an enemy of Dao, head of their private security, who has links to organized crime. Dao disappeared, but it turns out he’s still got a grudge. All the Zhangs died, and only he and Nora survived.”

Leo puts the kettle on and foists mugs of instant coffee on us. There’s no milk or sugar, so Brazuca and I drink it black while Leo pours a generous shot of whiskey into his. It doesn’t aid in his understanding of the matter much, but it does improve his mood. “So Nora crosses this Dao guy. He wants revenge and uses his criminal contacts to keep watch on her in Vancouver and attack her in Detroit.”

Brazuca takes a bracing sip. He grimaces and puts down the mug. “Sounds about right.”

“People with mononyms are terrifying,” says Leo. “Is Dao a nickname? A surname?”

“I don’t know. He’s a ghost.” Brazuca tries the coffee again. From the look on his face, the second attempt is even worse than the first.

“He’s not a ghost,” I say. “I’ve seen him in real life, heard his voice. He’s real, and there’s got to be something we can use to track him down. Everybody’s got some paper on them.” Even those who do their best to avoid it, like myself. “I just have to find it.”

“We have to find it,” says Leo. “You’re not doing this alone, Nora. This man wants to hurt you. We find information on him, prove that he put a hit on you. Build a case against him to take to the cops.”

“Or you could let Leo and me figure this out,” Brazuca says to me. “Move somewhere else and lay low for a while. Hope Dao forgets about you and this whole thing blows over.”

I shrug it off. “Costs money to lay low.”

“I have money.”

He doesn’t give the impression of a man who has come into sudden wealth. There’s no Ferrari outside. “Where did you get money?”

“I did a freelance job recently. It paid well. And I have some savings of my own.” There is a directness in his gaze that I remember from our shared past.

I have a certain skill that has deserted me in the past year but is coming back quickly. I think my fear for Bonnie has put this ability to discern truth from lies back at the center of my life. Brazuca had been the one person I could never quite figure out, but that block seems to have crumbled. I see him clearly now, and I’m curious.

He’s not lying to me, but he’s hiding something.