“It’s clean,” Sanchez said. “No surveillance. We had a bunch of junior agents in here sorting paperwork for a big case.” He slipped a hand into his pocket, pulled out a tin of mints, and snapped it open. “We can talk,” he said. He held the open tin across the table like a peace pipe. Neither Susan nor Archie took a mint. Sanchez closed the box and dropped it back in his pocket without taking one, either. The mints left a lingering fine dust of white peppermint-smelling powder floating in the air.

Archie had known Sanchez for almost as long as Archie had known Henry. Sanchez had been the FBI liaison on the Beauty Killer case. He had put in as many hours as anyone on the task force. Now Archie found himself searching his memory for any signs that Sanchez might be corrupt. But he couldn’t come up with anything. No exotic vacations. No extravagant purchases. The man drove a twenty-year-old Honda Accord with a dented fender. Archie was the one trussed up in ridiculous, expensive clothes. Sanchez was wearing pale blue jeans and a tan jacket over a golf shirt. The jacket was khaki, with patch pockets and epaulets that made him look a little like a safari guide or zookeeper. Archie had seen Sanchez wear it dozens of times. The guy wasn’t exactly a clotheshorse. His parents still lived in Mexico. There was nothing flashy about him. Which just meant that if he was corrupt, he was careful. In the meantime, Carl Richmond was dead, and Raul Sanchez was now essentially running Leo’s undercover operation. If he wasn’t dirty, Leo needed him. If he was dirty, Leo was in serious danger. Either way, Archie had the feeling that he needed to parse what he told Sanchez right now very carefully. Leo’s life might depend on it.

“I saw Leo,” Archie said. “Last night and again this morning.” He looked Sanchez in the eye, trying to communicate the seriousness of the situation without frightening Susan. “You need to get him out of there.”

Sanchez sat up a little and uncrossed his arms. “He wants out?”

“No,” Archie said, with a glance in Susan’s direction.

Sanchez looked at Susan. “Give us a minute,” he said.

Susan hesitated. Archie put a hand out, motioning for her to stay where she was. “She’s a part of this whether she wants to be or not,” Archie said. “And she already knows too much.” That was all true. But he also needed her here. He needed a witness. If Sanchez was dirty, then the conversation they were about to have might become important.

Sanchez nodded and Susan relaxed back into her chair.

“The party was a cover,” Archie said. “To get people on the island. They know they’re under surveillance, so they invited five hundred guests and hoped the more important ones would get lost in the shuffle.” Nice plan. Apparently it had worked.