Vargas and Hembury exited the pentagon room and continued the search for Valentina Suarez’s bedroom. It didn’t take long. Vargas could see a glimmer of light coming from underneath the bottom of the first door on the right-hand side of the landing and reached for the handle. It was unlocked, so he gently pushed it ajar and peered inside. The bedroom was larger than he expected, and the furnishings inside were sparse. A king-sized bed with an impressive carved wooden headboard, edged in gold, dominated the room. A large double wardrobe stood to the left of it and, to the right, just in front of the bay window, a dressing table completed the matching set.

Valentina Suarez was ensconced in a motorised wheelchair near the window. Her head was bowed and she was deeply absorbed in a book. She hadn’t heard the two men enter her bedroom and, when Vargas spoke, her body stiffened with shock and the book slipped from her feeble grasp.

“Good evening, Señora Suarez.”

Vargas and Hembury looked closely at the old woman who was now staring back at them with an expression of sheer contempt. Her grey features were gaunt, her face heavily wrinkled and covered in liver spots. Her cheekbones were pronounced, her thin skin drawn tightly around them. Wisps of grey hair protruded from the white cotton nightcap pulled over her head. Her thin lips were tightly pursed and her blue eyes, framed by a pair of rimless glasses, flicked around the room as though she were desperately looking for a way out. Vargas placed the gun he was holding back into his shoulder holster and walked closer to her.

“Señora Suarez, my name is Chief Inspector Nicolas Vargas from the Buenos Aires Police Department. Please don’t be alarmed. We are here to ask you a few questions.”

Finally, the old woman spoke and, when she did, her voice was imperious and full of disdain. “Why have you broken into my house and what have you done with Javier?”

“Your guard is safe, and we wish you no harm. But we do need to ask you some questions.”

She closed her eyes and thought for a few seconds before answering. “What questions?”

“Señora, what do you know about the family who lived on this site before you bought it. I understand you were close family friends.”

Her waspish reply was instant and told Vargas that, however badly age had ravaged her body, her mind was still sharp. “They were wonderful people. True friends to me and my late husband. I owe them a great deal.”

Vargas glanced at Hembury before continuing his questioning. Hembury’s concerned expression confirmed his own instinct that this frail old woman was somehow dangerous. “What were their names and what did they do?”