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Chapter One
HIGH ATOP A snow-covered hill, the Wyatt al crown, its Gothic stone spires pointing skyward, its stained-glass s glowing like jewels
A mile away, limousines and luxury cars paraded in a slow streaated entrance to the estate As each vehicle reached hiuest list; then he issued a politely worded edict to the driver: ’m sorry, because of the snowfall, Mr Wyatt does not want any vehicles parked inside the gates this evening”
If a chauffeur was at the wheel, the guard stepped aside, allowing the chauffeur to turn into the drive, proceed through the gates, and deliver his passengers to the house before returning to the main road to park and wait
If the vehicle’s oas at the wheel, the guard e Rovers parked up the hill at a cross street, wisps of exhaust curling from their tailpipes pull forward and leave your car with an attendant,” the guard instructed ’ll be shuttled up to the house”
However, as each new arrival soon discovered, that process was neither as sih there were plenty of helpful attendants and available Range Rovers waiting within sight, large snowbanks and parked cars had encroached on the winding residential lane so that it was almost impassably narrow in places, and the steady procession of slow- vehicles had churned four inches of unplowed snow from earlier that day into thick slush
The whole ordeal was unnerving and annoying to everyoneEveryone except Detectives Childress and MacNeil, ere in an unmarked Chevrolet that was backed into a driveway one hundred and fifty yards uphill from the entrance to the Wyatt estate The two detectives were part of a handpicked teaned to keep Mitchell Wyatt under twenty-four-hour surveillance
At eightPM , they had tailed him here, to Cecil Wyatt’s estate, where he swerved around the security guard as trying to wave him down, then turned into the private drive and disappeared fro for Childress and MacNeil to do but park andwith To facilitate that, Childress was observing the scene through a pair of night-vision binoculars, reporting license-plate numbers and miscellaneous information to MacNeil, rote it down in a notebook
have a new contender approaching the starting line,” Childress uard at the gate He read the vehicle’s license plate aloud for MacNeil; then he described the vehicle and driver Mercedes AMG, this year’s model, or possibly last year’s Driver is a Caucasian er is a Caucasian feainst her sar daddy”
When MacNeil didn’t reply, Childress glanced at him and realized MacNeil’s attention was focused on a pair of headlights slowly descending the hill froht be someone who lives up here,” Childress remarked he’s not only rich, he’s curious,” he added as the black Lincoln Town Car cahts directly in front of the drivehere they were parked
The back door opened, and a ot out Childress rolled down his , intending to make an excuse for their presence, but as the nized hi out here?”