Until then, her focus had been on finding Andreas, but once she’d managed that, she would have another problem to contend with: how to communicate with him. The usual negotiation techniques would be useless. His mind was different, its architecture in many ways alien.

She glanced at Parisi. One of the cavers was strapping a harness onto him. The equipment would help him negotiate the sheer path that led into the cave and would catch his fall in case he slipped. All the preparations had been conducted in the light of a single flashlight, so as not to draw attention to their presence. Parisi would have to climb down slowly, looking out for signs of Andreas’s presence at every step of the way. Physically, he was the strongest in the team and the best trained.

Once again, Teresa found herself wondering where Marini had gone, now feeling less annoyed at his disappearance and more and more concerned. He hadn’t been seen since the half hour break they’d all taken for dinner, and his phone seemed to be off. She hadn’t gotten to know him properly yet, but she could tell that this unexplained absence was out of character.

“We’re ready,” said the speleologist. A mini-cam designed for this kind of expedition had been affixed to Parisi’s helmet.

“Find him,” said Teresa, “then come right back up.”

He smiled.

“Sure, I’ll be in and out before you know it.”

She squeezed his arm, wishing she didn’t have to send him down.

“Don’t do anything stupid, Parisi. Heroes usually come to a sticky end.”

“Thanks, Superintendent, that makes me feel so much better!”

Now, Teresa was smiling, too.

“Go,” she said, releasing her grip on him. All she wanted was a sight of what lay at the bottom of the passageway. She needed to know where Andreas was hiding, where the baby was, and how to get to it without precipitating the wrath of the “Father.”

But wasn’t it too quiet inside that black tunnel? Teresa tried not to notice the unexpected absence of the sound of a baby crying, tried not to think of it as a bad omen.

Meanwhile, Parisi had begun his descent. He hadn’t gone more than a few feet before the mini-cam began transmitting images of animal bones hanging from the exposed tree roots that wound into the tunnel. There was no doubt these were man-made artifacts, just like the small totems they’d found around the mountain shelter and the dream catchers on the edge of the forest. This was someone’s lair.

A blur of black and white camera footage followed. Nobody breathed.

Then, Teresa’s phone vibrated with an incoming call. It was Parri. He hadn’t stopped working either. Teresa moved a few feet away to pick up, her eyes fixed on the entrance to the tunnel.

“Yes, Antonio?”