“Suuure.” Something was still in here. It had to be. But was James only pretending he was clueless about it or did he truly not know?

“Let’s go check your father’s office,” I said.

James was quiet for a moment. “Alright.” He headed for the door and I followed him. I glanced at the body of the man I’d killed but decided I wouldn’t call my men just yet. They’d come too quickly and it would be harder for James and me to do this with them around.

Chapter 12

DESMOND’S OFFICE WAS upstairs and quite spacious, especially now, since almost all the things had been carried away and only a sturdy mahogany desk, black leather chairs, and empty shelves remained. A safe in the wall behind the chair was open.

“It has to be something super-secret, but why would that guy think he could find it? Do the Desaltis know something about it if they are the ones who sent him?” I asked as I looked around. If the mechanism to open it was as complicated as the one downstairs, then I doubted we’d ever figure it out.

“It’s impossible to know. Maybe the Desaltis have a similar system at their home. Or maybe they thought it was something simple.”

I went over to the desk and placed my hand on it, running my fingers over its smooth surface. If we were lucky, something would pop up. “I doubt your father was discussing his security system with his partners.”

“Yeah, me too. Maybe they only wanted to check if what they’re looking for is still here.”

“This is crazy,” I said after I touched every single part of the desk, mildly disgusted that this was where Desmond had been conducting his business, and he’d done who knows what in here. I wiped my palms on my pants, but I didn’t think it would be that easy to get rid of the grimy feeling on my fingers. “If they thought we didn’t take it, then what could it possibly be? Aside from a secret compartment, I mean. A piece of furniture, maybe?”

James moved away from the shelves he’d been inspecting and banged his finger against the desk. “I don’t think anything’s inside.”

“All the photographs and stuff that had been on the walls were taken too. Maybe they thought we’d leave some of the paintings or something. But I’m sure someone checked those for anything weird.” Unless there was a hidden coded message in one of the paintings. But that would just be totally crazy, and they’d raid our storage instead of this place then.

“It has to be something else. Something like downstairs.” James placed his hand against the wall.