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charged.”
    He got up to refill his coffee cup. “Ah, yes, senora. But I think she will be. And you must be ready for it.”
    Jennifer started to object, but he cut her off and spoke with quiet authority. “Let me be precise. I speak of you and your emotions because if I take this case, I will need them to be very controlled. From everything you’ve told me and from what I’ve read in the papers, this isn’t going to go away quickly. You will need to be strong and you will need to do everything I tell you if we are to have success in helping your daughter.”
    She frowned. “I’m confused,” she said. “I thought you were a private detective. Now you are sounding more like a lawyer.”
    He smiled. “Sí, comprendo. You have seen
The Maltese Falcon
, correct? An old film but a great one. And perhaps too you have seen
Columbo
on American television. I like very much this Columbo. I have known detectives like him.”
    Jennifer waited for him to continue. Her frown deepened.
    “But I am different, senora. Think of me more as a case manager. I work with the lawyer—José, in this case, and if I may say so, he is a very good choice—and we investigate, we do many investigations, but we also build a narrative that is plausible and different from the story the police will assemble. I will not promise to find this Algerian for you—to be frank, I doubt he exists—and I will not promise to find the real murderer. But if you do everything I tell you to, I will do my best to free your daughter—although for all I know she may in fact be guilty.”
    At this, Jennifer stiffened. “Of course she’s not guilty. I believe her completely. She says the Algerian was there, so he was there, I assure you. You don’t know her, but when you meet her you will see for yourself. You must see. How can you help to free her if you don’t believe in her?”
    “I don’t believe things that are not proven, senora. If belief is what you seek, you must find a priest. There are many of them in Spain.”
    Jennifer was silent. For the first time, she felt a slight easing of the fear that had gripped her from the moment Emma had called. This man seemed to know what to do, and he seemed fearless.
    “You said, ‘If I take the case.’ Is there a problem?”
    “No. I don’t think so.”
    “What do we do now?” she asked.
    He smiled and walked to his filing cabinet, from which he withdrew a bound printed document containing several pages. He handed it to Jennifer.
    “This is an employment contract,” he said. “It is in Spanish, but I have included an English translation for you. You and your husband should read it. My terms are clearly stated. To begin, as a goodwill gesture, I ask for my first payment of five thousand euros in advance. This goes toward both salary and my expenses, which I will enumerate and give you weekly. After these formalities are concluded, I will begin.”
    Jennifer started to read.
    “Excuse me, senora,” Roberto said.
    She looked up.
    “I apologize, but I have another appointment. Would you please read this later and discuss it with your husband?”
    She folded the papers and put them in her bag. “Yes, of course. But I would like you to start right away and my husband is not here. I will read the papers, and if we go forward, I will sign myself.”
    “As you like . . . May I ask why your husband is not here?”
    She was about to answer when he added, “I have a little girl. If she was in trouble, I would be there with her.” He spoke sadly, with quiet sincerity.
    Jennifer bristled with the outrage one feels when someone says something one has thought but tried to stifle. “I’m sure you would try to be with her, as he has,” she said in a cold tone. “Perhaps you think we are rich Americans. We are not. We are not poor, but we are not independently wealthy. My husband has to work to pay all these bills, including yours. And we have two other children who need at least one of us at home. I don’t