Chapter Thirteen
Abel
Once we arrive, the three of us have to deal with security. The GPS address is just an abandoned-looking driveway. There is an old, rusty security gate across the path, but Adam is able to break the chain locking it with the tire iron. It’s at least a two-mile drive down a long, dark, twisty, and narrow road to get to the villa. If you didn’t know there was a mansion at the end of this path, there is no way you’d drive down it on a whim. I guess Tom and his family designed it this way on purpose. It’s like a psychological fortress instead of a physical one.
When we pull up in front of the Villa, the whole place is dark, and there are no other cars in sight. Becks pulls out her laptop and goes to work trying to get into the security system.
“Find anything?” Adam asks after about twenty minutes.
“Yes, but this can’t be it. I think this is a dummy system. It’s the kind of thing suburban housewives buy from door-to-door salesmen. I need to dig deeper,” she says and goes back to clicking away on her keyboard.
“I can’t sit here anymore. I’m going to go take a look around,” Adam says and reaches for the car door handle.
“I’m going to come with you,” I say. “Becks, are you okay in the car alone?”
“Yeah. Places like this don’t give me the creeps. Just don’t touch anything until I’ve worked my magic,” Becks says.
Adam and I get out and head around towards the back of the building. I start to realize how old this place must be when we get all the way around back. Off in the distance, I can see a barn and what looks like a few other farm buildings. I doubt anyone uses them for their original purpose anymore because I don’t see any crops or animals around, but they’ve been kept in good repair. I imagine they hold a lot of secrets, both ancient and modern. We’ll find out if the safe isn’t in the main house.
I get a chill up my spine because in the other direction is a small cemetery. This place has probably been in Tom’s family for generations. It occurs to me that there might not be as much security as we expected because nobody but us would be dumb enough to try and break in. Tom has never struck me as particularly intelligent or dangerous, but that doesn’t mean his family isn’t. The fund he’s trying to steal from could have been a way to keep them out of their real business. I’m letting my imagination get away from me, though.
We walk close enough to the cemetery to see the names on the headstones. Most of them are worn almost completely off, but the ones I can read all say Hunt. Some of the dates go back to the 1700s. Tom’s family is old money, and this estate dates back to colonial times.
“Let’s go back around and see if Becks has anything for us,” Adam says and takes my hand.
I’m uneasy—okay, I’m terrified—but feeling his palm against mine makes me feel better. We walk all the way around the house instead of going back the way we came. I almost can’t believe how big this place is, and I wonder how we’ll ever find the safe.
When we round the corner and cross the vast expanse of the front lawn, Becks is leaning against the car, looking bored. As we get closer, she brushes her hands together and pretends to dust off her shoulders.
“They had someone very smart set up their security, but they didn’t have me,” she says and smiles.
“We’re in?” I ask.
“Yes, Dumpling. We’re in.” Becks uses Adam’s nickname for me and it makes me laugh.
“Thank you, Becks,” Adam says, and we all head for the front door.
It pops open with a hiss. There must be negative pressure caused by the heating and ventilation system. We walk in, and the house is as quiet as a crypt, and even darker.
“I wish we brought flashlights,” I say nervously.
“I think we can turn the lights on, Dumpling. Nobody is going to see the lights out here,” Adam says and flicks on the entryway switch.
“You’re right.” I walk around and turn as many lights on as I can find without getting too far away from my companions.
“We need to split up. We’ll never get through this whole building if we don’t. Becks you take the upstairs, Able you take this floor, and I’ll do the basement. Wouldn’t want either of you guys to get scared,” he says, and I’m impressed that he’s in such high spirits. It must be because we’re so close to success.
I bite back the urge to beg him not to split up. It’s just a big, spooky old house. I’m sure there is nothing to be afraid of. That doesn’t stop me from picking up a silver candlestick as soon as they are out of sight. Although I don’t know what my weapon of choice is going to do against spooks and specters.
I search the kitchen first. I have no idea why, but this villa is cool, and it’s hard to suppress the urge to explore. The kitchen cabinets and refrigerator are confirmation that no one has been here for a long time and isn’t expected soon. Everything is empty. There is no safe in the parlor, the dining room, the formal dining room, the sitting room, the study, or any of the first-floor bathrooms. I look behind all of the pictures and under the rugs. After that, I check all the closets for secret panels and I come up with nothing.
A few minutes later, Becks comes downstairs, and Adam comes up from the basement covered in dust and looking grumpy again. I wish I had good news for him, and I’m afraid of watching him get upset when he finds out I’ve got nothing. Maybe Becks found something, but she doesn’t look happy either.
Adam’s face turns bright red and he storms out the front door. “Give him a minute to calm down,” Becks says.
If I was wrong, if the safe isn’t here, I’ll never forgive myself. Then I remember something I saw in the formal dining room. At the head of the table was a massive painting of Tom. The size of his ego tells me I might be on to something.
“Becks, help me with a painting in the dining room,” I say and motion for her to follow me.
“You think the safe might be behind it?”
“Yes. I mean, generally, people wouldn’t hide a safe behind a picture in a dining room. Right? At least, that’s what I’d think. I did try to look behind it, but let’s take it down. I’m hoping I’m wrong.”
The painting is incredibly heavy, but the two of us manage to remove it from the wall without killing ourselves. There doesn’t appear to be anything behind it but the wallpaper is raised up in one spot. I grab the tab of paper, and it pulls back to reveal a safe.
“A false panel. Good call, Dumpling,” Becks says and pokes me in the arm.
She pulls the key out of her pocket and uses the code on the keypad. Three little green bulbs on the panel light up and the safe opens. Inside is several stacks of money, a few jewelry boxes, some file folders, and a small black device. The folders contain the information on the buyers. If we didn’t have to give the hard drive to Vladimir, we could put Tom away for a long time for trying to defraud his investors.
“Let’s show Adam,” I say and close the safe.
“Hey, don’t you think we could take a little something for ourselves?” Becks says when the door slams shut.
“I’m going to leave the room. I just came for the drive. You do what you want after I go.”
“Fine. You’re right. What about the painting?”
“Leave it. Tom won’t have to take it down when he tries to frantically search for this,” I say and hold up the device. “We’re doing him one last favor.”
Adam is on the way back into the house, and I raise the hard drive into the air. I do my best victory pose and he runs across the room and lifts me up. I get dizzy from him spinning me around.
“I need to call Vladimir and tell him I’ve got what he wants. I’ll arrange the meet-up and exchange it for Sophie’s freedom. Then we can drive back. I don’t want to spend another second in this place,” Adam says as he puts me down.
There’s no cell reception, so we leave. Once we’re back out on the road, Adam makes the call while Becks finds us a gas station. After we buy drinks and snacks and use the bathroom, we head back out on the road. The original plan was to spend the night somewhere, but there is nothing around. We’ll take turns driving and make it back home by dawn. Adam looks like a huge weight has been lifted off of him, and my heart is bursting for him.