The woman, barefoot, padded alongside him and then came to a halt.

“What’s going on?” Sebastian asked.

Ellie didn’t answer, watching the woman trying to unbutton the bald guy’s shirt. The man didn’t look happy about it; he gently but firmly moved her hands away and said something to her.

The man’s suit jacket moved, and Ellie saw a flash of a shoulder holster.

The armed man released the woman. She moved closer and, while trying to kiss him, reached for his belt. The other guy, standing to the side, his thick black hair slicked back and looking stylish, chuckled into his fist.

Ellie thought about the morning she and Danny found Sophia Vargas in the backyard. She lowered the binoculars, turned to Sebastian, and said, “We’re definitely in the right place.”

CHAPTER 49

SEBASTIAN KILLED THE headlights and pulled the Range Rover off the main road and parked along the east-side wall, well out of view of anyone who might happen to drive by. He got out, gathered the supplies he needed from the trunk, climbed on the Rover’s roof, and hopped onto the top of the wall. Crouching, he studied the front of the sprawling home through the gaps between the tree branches. He brought the pair of night-vision binoculars gripped in his hands up to his face to take a closer look.

The three vehicles Ellie had seen parked around the fountain were now down to two. The Mercedes SUV carrying the two bodyguards and the bathrobe-wearing woman had driven away. Two cars were here, and two cars Ellie had mentioned were parked near the front of the house. Sebastian couldn’t see them— too much tree cover.

So who else was in the house? How many people?

Paul. He was in there; Sebastian knew it.

Was Grace somewhere in there with Paul?

The size of the home wouldn’t have been a problem if Ron had given him the use of some of his men; they could have stormed the place, gotten everyone down on the floor, and conducted a proper search. But he had only one other person at his disposal.

Sebastian jumped down into the yard, behind a grouping of Chinese flame trees. He had put on a black Windbreaker and black industrial-grade nitrile gloves, the kind used by home security and mechanics. They provided superior grip even when damp. He also wore a clear plastic mask that distorted his features, in case any nearby security cameras were pointed in his direction.

So far, he had found only one, a camera pointed at the gate. Before parking the Rover against the wall, he had slid behind the camera and covered the lens with thick foam shot from a thin tube connected to a spray can containing chemicals for sealing walls against drafts. Then he waited, watching to see who would come out to investigate why the camera had gone dark, but no one had.

Sebastian jogged over to the gate, found the control box, and pushed the button to open it. When the gate opened, he turned and darted up the grassy incline near the wall for cover, heading for the dim light he’d seen coming from a grouping of windows on the first floor of the east side of the house, near the back.