“No, my friend. As the good book says, ‘For the love of money is the root of all evil.’ And the fount of Saint Martin’s wealth is an unspeakable evil. That’s why Martin disposed of his father’s bank within a year of the old man’s death. And why he moved from Zurich to the shores of Lake Geneva. He wanted to flee the scene of the crime and shed his Alemannic roots. Do you know he refuses to even speak German in public anymore? Only English and French.”

“Why didn’t you ever pursue the story?”

“I considered it.”

“But?”

“There were things Rafi knew that he didn’t put into his files—things I was never able to duplicate on my own. In short, I didn’t have the goods. Saint Martin has very deep pockets, and he’s a litigious son of a bitch. To properly investigate him would require the resources of a powerful law enforcement agency.” Ramirez gave Gabriel a knowing smile. “Or perhaps an intelligence service.”

“Any chance you can let me have those cables?”

“No problem,” Ramirez said. “I might even allow you to borrow Rafi’s files. But those are going to cost you.”

“Name your price.”

“I want to know the rest of the story.”

“Get a pen.”

“Mind if I record it, for accuracy’s sake?”

“Surely you jest, Alfonso.”

“Sorry,” Ramirez said. “I almost forgot who I was talking to.”

IT WAS APPROACHING three p.m. when they finished, leaving Gabriel and Chiara just enough time to make the evening KLM flight back to Amsterdam. Ramirez offered to drive them to the airport, but Gabriel insisted on taking a taxi. They bade farewell to Ramirez at the door of his apartment and headed quickly down the spiral staircase, the cables and Rafi Bloch’s files tucked safely inside Gabriel’s shoulder bag.

The events of the next few seconds would play incessantly in Gabriel’s mind for months to come. Unfortunately, they were images he had seen too many times before—images of a world he thought he had finally left behind. Another man might have missed the warning signs—the large suitcase in the corner of the lobby that had not been there earlier, the muscular figure with blond hair and sunglasses stepping rather too quickly into the street, the car waiting curbside with its back door ajar—but Gabriel noticed them all. And without a word he wrapped his arm around Chiara’s waist and swept her through the doorway.