Another few minutes, and the woods gave way to closely trimmed spring grass. Thirty yards or so ahead of them, looming up as though being borne by the mist, was the brooding, imposing south façade of Red Cliff. Having studied the castle’s layout, Lou knew it was surrounded on three sides—south, west, and north—by a moat that featured two drawbridges, and on the east by the ocean. But no map could do the imposing structure justice. Set behind a stone outer wall were tall turrets with crenelated roofs. It wasn’t hard to imagine defenders of the huge keep pouring boiling oil down on the heads of an attacking army.

Well, he warned silently, better get ready. Here comes a marauding hoard of two.

“Jesus,” Vaill whispered, “will you look at that place? Wonder what their real estate taxes are.”

The drawbridge on this side was up, and the moat—twelve or so feet across—shone like black opal. Beyond the drawbridge, an imposing portcullis made of heavy timber and iron fortified the southern entrance. Glimmering in the stone somberness of the place were dozens of tall windows, every one of which seemed to be lit.

According to the plans they had reviewed, there were far more windows on the south side than on the north. Lou could actually see movement inside the first-floor room closest to where they were standing. The space, a study or library, was at the base of a mammoth turret, and was semicircular, with a row of elongated, mullioned windows curving around it like sentinels. Spectacular.

Keeping low, Lou pointed to the room, and then to his eyes. Vaill nodded. Counting down from three on his fingers, Lou broke from the trees and raced toward the castle with his partner right behind. When they reached the moat’s edge, they dropped to their knees. There was absolutely no cover, only carefully manicured lawn. But from what they could see, the area was deserted.

They peered into the elegant room, albeit at an upward angle. What they observed ran quite contrary to the ancient stone construction. Just to the right of the entrance a highly sophisticated videoconference was set up. The huge screen was divided into multiple sections—at least seven of them, several of which appeared to have active images. A man was walking toward them, but judging by his portly build, it wasn’t Burke. In addition, he looked to be walking with a limp, and probably was using a cane.