McAllister clicks the mouse and Griffin's face reappears on the screen. 'The Galicians emigrated to the US, to Latin America, and a lot went to Cuba. We suspect Griffin made his connections there. So when the Colombians wanted to ship the drugs to Europe, they had an ideal dropping off point, a perfect set-up, as that part of Spain was more or less ignored by Madrid for years.'
        'Strange,' Eamon says. 'Didn't Franco come from there?'
        McAllister looks at him and seems surprised that Eamon knows this. 'Didn't make any difference. Like us, they were just dumped and left to get on with it.'
        Eamon does not comment on this dubious interpretation of Irish history. He thinks, is this me getting old, or do these young guys really believe all this?
        'Costa da Morte was made for smuggling. A tradition of seagoing, thousands of boats, little fishing boats, big fast speedboats, huge fishing trawlers, and a local population so impoverished, some of them were easily bought.'
        'Griffin has fluent Spanish, as we know,' Davin says, 'and he also speaks galego, the local language, an even bigger advantage. As well, as can be seen, he looks Spanish, although he comes from Galway originally.'
        'Any information about where he lives, what he does between collecting and paying out?'
        'We think he has a place in Madrid as well as a holiday home on the coast. He flies into Santiago de Compostela, seems to arrive when there are flights from Madrid; usually he is with his wife, or some woman who says she is. They play the wealthy businessman and his indulged wife. They have a suite at the hotel; they eat in the best restaurants. He tips lavishly, drives a top-of-the range BMW while there. He makes no effort to be self-effacing; it's almost as if he is seeking to draw attention to himself.' McAllister clicks back to the map of Galicia. 'That location is ideal. From there he can strike out along the coast, be across the border into France by land. He may have a property there. He can be in Portugal in an hour or so, so it is possible he has a base in Lisbon as well.'
        'Flash bloody Gordon, all right,' Davin growls again. And Eamon notes this antipathy in Davin, and is surprised because in the old days Davin was never personal. No matter who he was dealing with, it was always the job, work, the task in hand – nothing got in the way of Davin's cold ruthless logical deductions and analysis of the problem. Eamon wonders, as he has wondered all along since the visit, what Davin is really doing?
        McAllister flicks another image on the screen. 'Here is the Illa de Arousa. It is not very developed, certainly less so than some other parts of the coast to the south. However, it is popular with Galicians; a lot use it for holidays. The accepted capital of the drug running is the port town of Vilagarcía, just before you cross to the Illa de Arousa. The trawlers from here pick the drugs up from ships off the African coast, the Cape Verde islands. When they get close to the coast, the local boatmen go out to collect from the various dropping places. We think, but cannot confirm, that Griffin has a house and his big speedboat somewhere along the coast, that his collection points are along here.' He indicates on the map. 'A bridge from the mainland reaches the island. The coast is sandy, lots of dunes and woods. There are holiday homes, many on the beaches. Big fast cars as well as speedboats. Griffin with his BMW and speedboat won't arouse any suspicion whatsoever there.' McAllister looks at Davin, who nods.

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