Chapter 9 A Black Book

Leonardo Sebastian Franco's POV

An hour before dawn, I pull on a tracksuit and search my hotel room for items suitable for a kidnapping. I settle on the laundry bag and one of my socks. The thick black bag won’t let light through, and the sock won’t leave marks. Then I scribble a note on the hotel stationary to inform my father that I’m going for a jog on the beach. After slipping the note under his door, I snatch a pair of golf gloves from the kiosk in reception on my way out.

In the car, I pull the address I’d taken from the HR records at Barry Maximo’s office up on the GPS. Selecting the shortest route, I head out to an affluent neighborhood on the outskirts of Kabankalan and park in front of a modern house that overlooks the valley.

The morning is misty, the sun battling to break through the clouds on the horizon. Cows graze on the green hills behind the sea. I switch on the car heater to defog the windscreen. While I wait, I fire off an email from my phone, instructing our best m