‘You want me to take care of Marković?’ he said.

‘Isn’t that why you’re here?’

The hearing aid was in Harris’s right ear, away from Louis, but he appeared to be having no trouble with his left. Louis guessed that Harris could probably hear perfectly well with his right, too. Transmitters and receivers came in all shapes and sizes.

‘You must have me mistaken for someone else. I’m a tourist.’

‘I’m not recording this conversation,’ said Harris.

‘You say.’

‘If I was recording, I’d be more circumspect. If it makes you any happier, yes, we would like you to take care of Marković. We want him wiped from the map. Consider it payment for our help.’

That was all Louis wanted to hear. Harris might not have been recording their conversation, but Louis was.

‘And his cargo?’

‘We’ll look after that. As for the Vuksans themselves, the lawyer is the wedge you need.’

‘And his weakness is his daughter,’ said Louis.

‘That’s right. You ever consider going into the kidnapping business?’

‘No,’ said Louis, ‘but there’s a first time for everything.’

Chapter XXXI

Louis and Harris spoke for a while longer, but Louis understood that Harris had provided all the intelligence that was likely to be forthcoming, at least for the present.

‘Should I ask about weapons?’ said Harris, as he reached for his hat and coat.

‘I wouldn’t,’ said Louis.

‘I figured you’d have your own sources, but I thought it was only polite to offer.’

Harris recited a telephone number, which Louis didn’t write down, but memorized. It was a US number, with a 571 area code.

‘It’s message-only,’ said Harris, ‘but if you call, I’ll get back to you immediately.’

Louis thought that 571 might be Virginia, in which case he would have bet a crisp dollar bill that the number would ring somewhere in Langley, home of the CIA. He decided that he’d have to be in a whole lot of trouble before he called it.

Angel arrived to check on Louis.

‘Did I miss something,’ said Angel, ‘other than a round of drinks?’

‘This is Harris,’ said Louis, ‘or maybe Hermes, if you want to view him as a luxury lifestyle choice. Personally, I prefer Harris. Harris, this is Angel.’

The two men shook hands.

‘Ross warned me about you,’ said Harris to Angel. ‘Is it true that you’re tormenting Connie Holt about restroom keys?’