Vargas nodded, and the president turned his attention to Hembury. “Lieutenant, the fact that you ignored huge pressure from above to drop the entire investigation is of great credit and demonstrates huge integrity on your part. No words from me can really sum up my gratitude to you both for the actions you took on behalf of the American people but I can at least try and express it. Later today, in a private ceremony, I will be presenting you both with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest honour this office allows me to bestow.”

Before the detectives could react, the FBI director spoke for the first time. He held a black file in his hand. “Gentlemen, that’s not quite it, I’m afraid. Firstly, I have to report that, although we strongly believe John Franklin took his own life at sea, his body has not been found and therefore we have to seriously contemplate the possibility that he left a false trail of clues at the Carmel house and, in reality, may have fled and is now in hiding. He certainly has the financial resources and contacts to disappear, so he remains part of an ongoing investigation. But now we need to talk about Richard Franklin.”

There was a distinct change of tone in the director’s demeanour, signalling a sense of foreboding. “We know Franklin was a complex man whose life was cloaked in a web of secrecy and lies. Initially, we believed the information you uncovered told the whole lurid story. But, I’m afraid to say, it didn’t.”

Mueller paused for a moment and glanced over at the president, double-checking he had clearance to continue. Vargas and Hembury shot a look at each other, both wondering what on earth the new revelations could possibly be.

For a few seconds there was an uncomfortable silence, eventually broken by the president. “Director, please continue. These men have more than earned the right to hear your findings.”

Mueller nodded and retrieved a small sheaf of stapled papers from the file. “Gentlemen, our initial search of Franklin’s Pacific Heights mansion uncovered a wall safe in his study that contained various business papers and over two million dollars in cash but nothing untoward or unexpected. However, one of our men was searching the garage when he discovered a second safe, ingeniously hidden under the terracotta tiled floor. It had been embedded into the concrete and covered with a one-metre square panel of tiles which, at first glance, meant it was perfectly concealed, unless you knew exactly what you were looking for. It was sheer chance we found it.”