Page 88 of Be Very Quiet

“The payments stopped when Ted Senior died of a massive coronary,” Tyler continued. “Mrs. Rader didn’t keep up with them. So, she either didn’t know about the payments . . .”

“Or she’s the one who insisted he had nothing to do with a bastard son,” Christian theorized.

“Exactly. My search moved to Marta Harvey, the recipient of said payments. She never married but had a son, Theo, short for Theodore.”

“And Ted Rader’s full name is Theodore Rader,” Luca realized.

“Yep. More digging produced a birth certificate. Marta listed Theodore Rader Senior as the father and named her only son after him. But wait, there’s more.”

Tyler proceeded to drop another nuclear bomb.

Sonofabitch.He thanked Tyler and disconnected. “If only I’d had him research Harvey sooner,” Luca muttered.

“That’s not on you,” Audria insisted. “There were absolutely no red flags with him. He was background, and there was no way we could investigate everyone. Besides, Tyler might not have dug so deep and found the connection if he were doing a cursory search.”

“We’d have discovered he was from the same hometown as Ted Rader,” Luca pointed out. Audria didn’t have an answer to that one.

With Theo being related to Ted by blood, he’d continued his brother’s wicked ways or was involved from the beginning. “How old is Harvey?”

Audria looked down at her phone. “He’s twenty-four.”

“It’s unlikely he was involved with Rader’s crimes ten years ago,” Luca theorized. “He’d have been too young.”

Christian glanced over at him. “He inherited Rader’s stash of souvenirs.”

“Strange thing to leave a half-sibling, who you would think Harvey resented,” Audria said. “Their father acknowledged Ted but not Theo.”

“Somehow, they connected, and it seems like Theo idolized his brother, continuing his legacy.”

“Why did he target Liliana?” Christian wondered.

“Maybe he blames her for his brother’s death,” Luca conjectured. “If she hadn’t returned home when she did, Rader would’ve gotten away.” He glanced at the GPS. “We’re almost at the address. We need to come up with a plan.”

“First, we should send Tyler’s drone to ascertain their location,” Audria suggested. “I’ll be the sniper while you two go inside.”

“Good plan with the drone, but I want both of you to take up positions outside. I’ll go in alone. Turn here to park.”

Christian swerved onto a dirt road on the property adjacent to the one they were banking on Harvey using and cut the engine. They piled out and headed to the back to gear up. Audria took out a drone the size of a bug, and they moved to the line of trees.

“White SUV parked by the detached garage,” Luca noted.

Audria set the drone in flight and piloted it with her phone. She found an opening beneath the front door of the one-story structure. The living room was empty, as was the kitchen. She moved to a room in the back. “Bingo.”

Luca crouched closer to the screen. “Liliana.” His blood ran cold. She was lying on a stainless-steel embalming table, surrounded by vases of lilies and burning candles. Theo was walking around her, gesturing with a knife. Her wrists were tied together and bloody, as if she’d tried to break loose.

“The room is directly across from the garage,” Christian said. “We’ll climb to the roof and get in place.”

“Roger that. I’ll wait for you to signal me to go in, then you wait for my sign to shoot.”

Audria returned the drone and placed it in its box before strapping on a rifle and following Christian through the trees. Luca circled to the front, staying out of sight of the bedroom window.

It took everything in him to resist busting inside and firing at Harvey, but he didn’t want to risk hitting Liliana. He inhaled deeply to slow his racing heartbeat. He’d need to remain calm to outwit Harvey.

“In position,” Christian said through the comms.

“I’m going in.”

Luca tested the doorknob, and it opened. He whispered inside. With his gun ready, he moved to the door and cracked it open. He waited for Theo to circle behind the table. He couldn’t risk a shot going through him and hitting Liliana.

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