“Alright, kids. Let’s stay focused.” Brazuca gives me a quelling look, as though I’m the problem. Or maybe he thinks it’s sexual tension, and the idea of me and Lam makes him as uncomfortable as it does me.

I turn away. When I chew Lam up, he won’t even feel it. Problem is—and this is the real issue—I’m not sure if I have more to gain by keeping him whole.

“Do whatever you want,” I say, reaching for my phone. “Ex–British military via Hong Kong? Ethnic Chinese from Vietnam? This is all information that we haven’t had before. I’m going to talk to Simone.”

“Let us know what she finds,” says Brazuca.

I walk down to the ocean to make the call. Simone answers on the first ring and listens to the updates. “What took you so long to bring me in?” she asks.

36

Lam insists on paying for Simone’s services because “it keeps people honest.”

“I’m not above taking a rich guy’s money,” she says, when I broach the assignment with her. “Is he cute?”

“He’s Bernard Lam.” Before we left for Lombok I had told her I was working with someone to find Dao, but I didn’t tell her who it was until now.

She recognizes the name immediately. “Well, in that case, I wouldn’t mind taking a lot of his money. He’s got a billion or so to spare.”

“His daddy does, anyway.”

“Oh, it’s all the same to these people. As much as I love to do free work for you, Nora, I enjoy being paid even more.” Ouch. She says this without bite, though, so I know it’s not personal. “If it’s going to help you find Dao and figure out why the hell he’s got such a hard-on for you, then I’m all for it. What you’ve given here is enough for me to get a start, anyway. I’ve got some contacts in the security world I can tap now that we know he’s working for Michael Acosta. I’ll get back to you soon.”