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“I don’t know. I’ll decide after Nuñez catches Victoria, if he can. I hate to sit here and not know what’s happening.”
“We’d have a good view of the beach from your balcony,” Libby reminded him. “Maggie and I can help you upstairs, and you won’t need to rely on Manuel.”
Santos called Tomas in. “Will you please fill a couple of Thermoses with coffee? We want to take them upstairs.”
“We’ll be staying in the house as ordered,” Maggie offered. She glanced at her watch. “How long do you suppose this will take?”
“With Nuñez running it?” Santos scoffed. “All day. There’s a pair of binoculars in the bottom desk drawer. Will you bring them, Libby?”
“Our own stakeout.” Libby wiped her fingers on her napkin and went to get them.
Maggie waited to make sure she wouldn’t be overheard but still whispered, “How are you and Libby getting along?”
Santos leaned back in his chair. “She’s all that’s kept me sane, and I don’t want to think about her going home.”
“She does need to finish school and get her degree.”
“I know, and we can’t insist Patricia and Fox stay in school while I pull Libby out. I shouldn’t do it anyway. She’d regret it later and blame me.”
Libby returned with the binoculars. “We should put someone out front. Where’s Cazares?”
“He’s already conducting a surveillance from his car,” Santos replied. “We’ve got it covered.”
They had to use the main staircase, but with Maggie’s and Libby’s help, Santos made it up the stairs. “Remind me to call the insurance agent in the morning. They’re taking too damn long to pay for a replacement elevator.”
“I’ll put it on my list,” Libby promised, and she hurried ahead to his room. It was a warm sunny day with a crystal-clear sky, and when she leaned over the balcony, she had an angled view of the beach side of the aqua-windowed house.
“Don’t fall over the damn balcony,” Santos ordered. “That would be all we need.”
“I won’t. Why don’t you stretch out on the bed, and I’ll call you when there’s something to see,?
? Libby replied.
He ignored her advice and remained on the balcony. He opened a Thermos, found it contained coffee with cream and sugar and replaced the lid. He poured himself a cup from the other one but took only a sip. “Is there something the matter with the coffee?”
Maggie took a taste. “No, this is very good. We’re all too anxious to eat or drink.”
“Speak for yourself,” Libby suggested. She concentrated on the beach. “I wish I’d charted who’s out there every day. Everything always looks so normal, but maybe it isn’t.”
“I think there’s a deck of cards in my room,” Maggie said. “I’ll go and get them.”
“Top drawer of my dresser,” Santos offered. “Play solitaire. I couldn’t focus on a game.”
Maggie fetched the cards and began laying them on the small table between their chairs. “I used to know a solitaire game where you kept four cards in your hand. Do you remember it, Libby?”
“Check the Internet.” She aimed the binoculars down the beach. “There’s someone with a dog I don’t recall seeing.”
“You needn’t supply a running commentary,” Santos stressed.
“Fine.” Libby knew he had to be deeply disappointed in Manuel. She didn’t blame him for being short with her and kept quiet.
Santos sat up to take Cazares’s call. “The police are here, complete with what you’d call a SWAT van.”
“Do you suppose they’ll speak to the owner of the home, ask him to summon the chauffeur and force him to call Victoria?” Libby asked.
“His thinking is beyond me,” Santos grumbled.
Maggie swept up the cards and returned the deck to the dresser. “A SWAT team can’t run through the house if Victoria’s son is there. Nuñez would know better than that, wouldn’t he?”
