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him the short of it, filled him in on Kati’s e-mail and my visit to the Stalemate earlier in the evening.
    “All right,” he said. “Then while I’m visiting with Becky I’ll see if I can’t gain access to Eli’s files. Maybe I can find out for you who hired him. Maybe more, depending on Becky’s state.”
    “I’d appreciate that,” I told him. “One last thing…”
    “Oh, yes, the other name.” Ostermann ruffled some pages. “Your host is indeed with Britain’s National Crime Agency. However…”
    “However?”
    “However, he’s currently stationed at Interpol Manchester.”
    Once I disconnected I found Ashdown working his iPhone with practiced thumbs. He too had removed his latex gloves.
    I cleared my throat.
    He held up an index finger, said, “I’ll be just another minute. Sending a text.”
    As I waited, I considered my options. Interpol, of course, wasn’t a police force in its own right. Rather, it was an organization that fostered international police cooperation. Each member nation maintained a National Central Bureau, which worked with local authorities to investigate and prosecute criminals according to national laws. So Ashdown couldn’t arrest me here in Dublin, not on his own. He’d require assistance. Perhaps from the “mutual friend” he was so eager for me to meet.
    “So what’s the story?” Ashdown said as he pocketed his phone.
    “Before I say anything,” I said, slowly moving toward him, “I need to know that information flows only one way, unless I say otherwise. I’m not here to solve a crime. At least not this crime. I’m here to find my daughter.”
    Ashdown didn’t hesitate. “You have my word, Simon.”
    I nodded once and extended my right hand, ostensibly to seal the pact. When he took my hand in his, I immediately twisted his wrist hard to the right, then kicked his left leg out at the knee.
    As soon as he dropped, I reached inside his coat and snatched his Glock 17.
    “ Why? ” I demanded with the gun pointed at his head.
    “Why what ?” he cried in obvious pain.
    “ Why do I have your word? Why are you involved in this? What do you want with me and Hailey?”
    Ashdown’s face grew red and defiant. “You’re making a mistake, you nutter. I’m trying to help you.”
    “The hell you are,” I said. “I saw your identification when you produced your business card for Miss Doyle downstairs. And I just received confirmation from my friend in Berlin. You’re not just with the NCA. You’re Interpol .”
    “ So what? ” he shouted from his knee.
    “So you lied about it.”
    “I didn’t lie, ” he insisted. “It just isn’t bloody relevant.”
    “It’s relevant to me.”
    “Look, I didn’t want to scare you away, make you think there’s a Red Notice issued for you.”
    “Then why travel all the way up from Manchester to meet me?”
    Ashdown drew a deep breath, cradling his wrist in the palm of his other hand.
    “Simon,” he said, looking me squarely in the eyes from his spot on the floor, “it seems it’s well past time you met our mutual friend.”
    “If you think I’m getting back into your vehicle, Detective, you’re badly mistaken.”
    “You don’t have to. She’s already here. That was her I texted. She’s going to meet us at the bar just downstairs.”
    I took a step back but kept the gun aimed at his center mass.
    “Let me guess,” I said. “A detective from the Garda Crime and Security Branch to help you effect an arrest, since you’re out of your jurisdiction.”
    Ashdown shook his head with vigor. “She’s not a cop, Simon. Not even remotely.”
    I took another step back and allowed Ashdown to pick himself off the floor. He took a step forward, gingerly, clearly favoring his left leg.
    He said, “You can hold on to my gun if you still don’t trust me.”
    “Believe me, Detective, I intend to.” With my head, I motioned for him to move past me toward the door. “And make no mistake. If you so much as breathe