He slid the credit card into the gap between the door frame and the edge of the door, right by the lock. A few bends this way and that and the card slipped under the latch. He turned the knob and opened the door. “There you go.”

“Did they teach you that in business school?”

“You develop skills when you have siblings.” He and Hansen used to practice to see who could do it faster.

“Fascinating.”

They stepped into the two-story entry. The entire inside opened up and he could see straight through to the stone fireplace at the far end of the living area, to the water that was visible through the floor-to-ceiling windows on either side.

A curving staircase off to his left traveled to the second story. To his right was the kitchen, complete with every high-end appliance and an indoor pizza oven. The person who didn’t live here liked nice things.

But that was the problem. It didn’t take any snooping around to see the plastic bags on the oversized woodblock island or the travel bag resting on the floor by the sectional sofa.

Damn if Maddie wasn’t right. A person hid here . . . which meant they could still be there.

She smiled at him. “See?”

He didn’t share her amusement or satisfaction. “We should call Ben.”

“We’re already here.” Her smile dimmed.

“And so is someone else. Do you know what the word reckless means?”

“I do.” Then they heard footsteps.

He glanced up in time to see a woman descending the stairs. Walking slow . . . carrying a gun. She looked to be in her early thirties. Dressed in dark pants, a sweater, and rain boots. Nothing fancy, but there was nothing panicked or disheveled about her to suggest she was on the run.

He circled back to Dom’s words. He’d said something about the woman with Owen being younger and prettier, like maybe they didn’t match as a couple. This woman seemed to fit that description.

Owen had been about fifty. Every photo showed dark circles under his eyes and a strain around his mouth. Fit but not muscular. Tall but not too tall or too short. Utterly unremarkable.

She had a round face and big brown eyes. Very pretty except for the weaponry.

He said the first thing that came into his head. “You don’t make a sound, do you?”

“What are you doing here?” She got to the bottom step and stopped. That put about ten feet between them.

“Welcoming you to the island,” Maddie said.

The woman didn’t blink. “Try again.”

“I’m—”

“Maddie Rhine,” the woman said, filling in the very scary blank before Maddie could.

Maddie’s eyes widened. “Uh . . .”

“That’s upsetting,” Connor said, but the word didn’t come close to what he felt right then.