“And?”

“The only person who red-flagged was Leon Cordova, but he was killed the night of the assassination attempt,” Franco said.

“No one else on the suspect list?”

“No one they’re talking about.” Franco picked up the open file beside his computer. “I did get the report back on the extended family members of the late queen of Sereno.”

“Anything of interest?”

“Only that the queen’s nephew is working for an oil company in Houston,” Franco said. “I thought that was a bit odd since King Alejandro leans anti-­American.”

“I looked into him as well,” Levi said, “but I couldn’t find any motivation for him to want Princess Cassandra dead.”

“That’s consistent with what our analysts found. The company he works for is based out of the UK, and phone records show he has an ongoing relationship with his parents, uncle, and siblings.”

“Any spike or decrease in communications between them in the past eighteen months?”

“Only in the month the queen died. Other than that, everything appears to have held steady.”

Comforted that his analysis agreed with the CIA’s, Levi asked, “Anything else?”

“Not yet. I’ll let you know when I get that list from Interpol.”

“Thanks.” Levi stood. “I’m going to see if I can dig up anything else on the Escobar family. I’ll be in my office if you need me.” He left the room. As soon as he was in the privacy of his office, he logged in to his secure email and checked for any new analyst reports from the CIA. Two topped his inbox.

He opened the first, an analysis of Cassie’s uncle and cousins. The contents added more detail than what Franco had given him, but the bottom line remained the same: the relationships between the royal family and the in-laws appeared to be warm and beneficial to all.

The second report, this one on the Escobar family, gave less information than the first. It also raised Levi’s suspicions. Cassie said her family had lost track of the family that could ultimately take over Sereno. Did she know that shortly after Rinaldo Escobar died three years ago, his only son had disappeared from sight? His home had been sold, his bank accounts closed, and his cell phone turned off.

Levi’s first thought was that the man had been killed, his assets seized by someone. As he read further, he came to the same conclusion as the author of the report. The signature on the sales agreement for the house appeared genuine, and Raymond Escobar had reportedly appeared in person to close out his bank accounts. Either the man had decided to disappear from sight, or someone had pressured him into doing so. The question was, where was Raymond now? And why had he gone into hiding?

A new email popped up, this one from Janessa. It contained the list of oil companies Pantheon served.

Levi printed the list and walked back to Cassie’s room. He knocked on the door, surprised it took a full minute for her to answer. When she did, her hair was tied back in a messy ponytail, her face free of makeup. Instead of the dress she had worn to dinner, she was now dressed in a pair of black silk pajamas, a matching robe tied hastily at her waist.