Is it there, Fiona? It’s been a long time. But your life had to have been a bit crazy and filled with panic back then. The ribbon you won? Surely you would have taken that ribbon if you could. Perhaps you left another trail for me…

*  *  *

Maggiano Lake
Italy
2:40 P.M.

“You’re certain it should be this one?” Palik asked when he picked up the phone.

“Do it,” Caleb said.

“Then get out of there. I’ll give the word.”

“I’m staying here in the hills. I want to see the response.”

“And I want you to get out of there alive.”

“Do it,” Caleb repeated.

Palik muttered a curse and then hung up.

Caleb lifted his binoculars again. He waited.

Not for long.

The prisms of the crown glass of the binoculars flamed brilliant red that turned into a puff of smoke as a roar echoed over the lake!

The earth beneath Caleb’s boots shook and almost knocked him from his feet.

Done…

He settled down to wait.

*  *  *

Jamie MacDuff’s Home

“You’ve got dirt on your face.” Rodland handed Jane a bottle of water and a roll of paper towels that they’d found in the kitchen cabinet when they’d first arrived at Jamie’s house over five hours ago. “I told you I’d search the attic. It was bound to be the area most left neglected by the cleaning crews MacDuff sent out.”

“I was desperate.” She opened the bottle of water and took a long drink. “I couldn’t believe that we weren’t finding anything in the other rooms. I was hoping since MacDuff found Fiona’s two books there that I’d get lucky and discover some secret cache where she’d hidden something else.”

“And what did you find?”

She made a face. “Dirt. Cobwebs. Various spiders of dubious, possibly frightening potential.” She took another drink of water. “What did you find up in Jamie’s master bedroom?”

“Period furniture. Nice carpets. Everything spick-and-span and looking as if it was cleaned every thirty days just as MacDuff decreed.” He shook his head. “You couldn’t expect anything else, Jane.”

“But I could hope.” She put the cap back on the water bottle. “And I can still hope. I won’t give up.”

“Of course you won’t. What’s next?”

“First, I find a bathroom and wash up a little. I wouldn’t want to upset MacDuff’s cleaners by soiling any furniture.” She got to her feet. “And then I’ll go downstairs to Jamie’s library and take a look around.”

“You said that he used it only for show and his gambling soirees. Fiona wouldn’t have been permitted in that section of the house.”

“But you told me not to look for anything in a place where I thought Fiona might hide it. I’ve exhausted everything else. I’ve decided to follow your advice.”

“As a last resort?”