The last time Joe England walked the halls of Michigan Central Station, it was 1945. His train had just steamed into the station, returning him safely from World War II. More than 75 years later, England on Saturday found himself standing in the train hall for a different kind of homecoming.

Much of the Dutch investigation, revealed by U.S. prosecutors in federal court filings, reads like spy fiction: Ex-military specialists summoned from across the world. Plans made to track and neutralize the target. Escape by night train to Zurich. Payoff in euro. Efficient Dutch crack the case using the European cellphone network to track killers crossing and recrossing European borders.