empty gardens as the rain continued down in a steady patter. He didn’t venture toward the house, because he was fairly certain Adami wouldn’t risk moving a body inside, not with the cops, never mind the guests, still present. But neither would the man leave any evidence somewhere where any of the cops or guests could accidentally come across it.
He looked up at the house, saw the lights in the salone, nearly empty, a few people standing around, men and women in their finery, along with a handful of men in the loggia, no doubt gossiping at the horrors of the shooting and the accident, probably wondering if it was safe to drive home. And he could well imagine Adami consoling them, telling them that they were welcome to stay until they were sure the roads were safe. Adami’s finesse was unrivaled. He had the police department fooled, the politicians in his pockets, and the people at his feet. No one knew what he was really capable of.
Which was why Griffin was working alone tonight. Tex knew what his duty was, knew the risks, just as Griffin knew. The operation came first. His superiors would consider Tex’s and Sydney’s loss collateral damage, a by-product of the greater good. And the main reason he’d been reticent to have Sydney join them. It was one thing if you knew the risks from the beginning, knew what you were signing into. And even though they’d informed her, told her, he doubted she’d fully appreciated what it was they were asking of her when they sent her into Adami’s villa.
By the time he made it halfway across the massive grounds, the rain slowed to a drizzle, and the wind diminished considerably. Unfortunate. The inclement weather had masked any noises he might make. But it also worked both ways, and he soon heard the sound of heavy boots crunching in the gravel as a uniformed security guard made his rounds. Griffin pressed against a conical hedge, then circled around a statue of a satyr playing a pan flute, as another guard walked up, joined the first. They stood not three feet from where Griffin hid, and he kept watch, waiting for them to exchange a few words and hopefully move on. Apparently they were enjoying the break in weather. The first guard, the swarthier of the two, took a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, tapped one out, offering it to the other man, who shook his head, saying, “Don’t let Adami catch you smoking out here, or you’re likely to end up in the bottom of the lake.”
“Always he wants the perfect show for his guests. But he can’t see here from the house.” He lit his cigarette, cupping the flame from the drizzle, took a long drag, then blew out a stream of smoke. He nodded toward the satyr. “I keep the cigarette butts in the bush by that statue and pay the gardener a few euro to clean them each night for me.”
The only bush near the satyr was the one Griffin stood next to, and he glanced down, saw several cigarette butts. Definitely not good. There was no place to back out, nowhere to turn without alerting the guards to his presence. And the moment the one guard tossed his cigarette into said bush, he was bound to notice that the satyr had grown an extra set of legs…
Had he been dressed in a tux, he might have masqueraded as a drunk guest. Dressed as he was in all black, he doubted he’d pass muster as anything but an intruder. And since it didn’t look as though he was going to be able to avoid discovery, he decided that he’d have it occur on his timetable. Drawing his knife from its sheath, he leaned down, grabbed a handful of pebbles, getting ready to toss them so that they’d hit the guards from above. An intended distraction, make them wonder what was going on. He hoped.
He brought his hand back, ready to toss the pebbles, when the second guard said, “I’m going to finish the perimeter. Enjoy your cigarette.”
“I’ll meet you at the fountain.”
The second guard walked off, his footsteps fading in the gravel. Griffin held on to his stones, decided the farther away the other guard was, the better for him, and so he waited, while the first guard smoked alone. A minute went by, and the guard looked at his watch, not seeming in a real hurry to join his