Wolf took the upstairs while Ben moved quickly through the downstairs living room, dining room and bathroom. As he’d expected, he found nothing. The only trace of anything odd he came across was the home internet hub in the living room, which had been purposely disconnected. It appeared that Abbott had done that himself. Ben wondered why.

Wolf came back downstairs a moment later and reported, ‘Upper floor is clear.’

‘Same down here. Place is empty.’

‘No sign of anything being touched,’ Wolf said. ‘Either there’s been a change of plan, or—’

Ben knew what he was going to say. ‘Or the clean-up team are already on their way here to turn the place over.’

‘There’s going to be several of them,’ Wolf said. ‘Just so you know. These boys like to work fast and they don’t screw around. And I wouldn’t count on them not being armed, in case anyone walks in on them.’

The timing was critical. The last thing Ben could afford to let happen was a confrontation with the enemy. He and Wolf needed to get out of here right now, before they turned up. But then he remembered something Wolf had said last night.

‘Once the job’s done they bring in a clean-up team to take care of the rest. Whether it’s to leave false trails for the cops, or search for whatever it was that got the target into trouble to begin with. Money, hot information, data files, incriminating evidence, you name it.’

Ben asked, ‘You think they’re coming here to find something?’

‘Maybe, maybe not. Like I said, that wasn’t my remit.’

‘But if Abbott was one of them, there could be something to link him with their cult. Which would then still be right here somewhere in this house, waiting to be discovered.’

‘Possible. But we don’t have a lot of time to start hunting for it.’

‘What’s in the study?’ Ben asked. Wolf had just been there while checking the upstairs.

‘Usual things. Desk. Chair. Bookcase. Filing cabinet. Computer. He’s got a dinky little coffee maker. Not a lot else.’

‘Let’s go.’

They raced up the stairs. There was a window on the left side of the stairway, with a view of the garden and part of the driveway including the front gates. If anyone was coming, they weren’t here yet. At the head of the stairs was a galleried landing that bent around to the right. Abbott’s study was the first door, nearest the stairs. Wolf led the way inside the room.