Hakim was the first to catch a glimpse of the slim male figure moving through the apartment and entering the kitchen. It was just after 7.30 a.m. and their target was clearly up and about, so he gave the order to his younger brother to shoot. The rocket launchers fired simultaneously, and the two projectiles slammed into the side of the apartment block. The high-explosive warheads blew an enormous hole in the side of Vargas’s building. Everything inside the apartment was instantly incinerated, and the floors immediately above and below were completely wiped out. The Sprinter door closed and, a few seconds later, the Mercedes fired up. As the brothers drove away, they had no idea they had killed the wrong target or that Alonso Núñez, the man who had hired them, was dead and his boss in police custody. Also, they didn’t know that, even though Paz had processed the deposit payment into their Swiss numbered account, they would never receive the balance.

Hembury and Vargas were still landside in the departure terminal when the tannoy announced the final call for the American Airlines flight to Los Angeles. The two men were sitting by passport control and Vargas made the decision to head through.

“I’ve tried Alex’s mobile three times and he’s not picking up. He must be out there somewhere, stuck in traffic. I’ve just sent him a text saying we’ve had to board. When we land, I’ll ask someone in the office to book a courier, so you should get it tomorrow.”

“No worries. I’ve just had a text from Amanda in Washington. She lands at seven tonight and will head straight to my place. I’ll make us some food. She used to love my pasta Bolognese.”

Vargas took his passport from inside his jacket and the two men joined the queue. “How much have you told her?”

“I said we’re working on a case that could involve the biggest political scandal in modern times since Woodward and Bernstein broke Watergate.”

The Boeing 777 left on time and Vargas spent most of the flight working on his laptop, creating a detailed timeline of events that he thought might be helpful to Amanda. It was hard to believe just how much had happened over the three weeks since the robbery had taken place. The case had unravelled at breakneck speed and wasn’t showing any sign of slowing down. By the time they touched down at LAX, Vargas had created a five-page Word document that chronicled the whole incredible story.

The detectives quickly cleared immigration and made for the taxi rank, where they jumped into a yellow taxi and headed for Hembury’s apartment in West Hollywood. Vargas switched his mobile back on and all hell broke loose.

“Troy, my phone’s gone into total meltdown. I’ve had over fifty missed calls, most of them from Torres. My mailbox is rammed.”