By the time the French police realized that they needed to look for Thomas, rather than Dave and Claire, Thomas was safely over the border in Italy. He parked the car outside of the small house that he'd bought on the outskirts of the town of Vasia in the province of Liguria.<br/><br/><div class="floatright">(http://www.property.livinginitaly.co.uk/images/listing_photos/1296_dscf0020.jpg)</div>It was a beautiful old place, situated on a hillside overlooking the blue waters of the Mediterranean, and very secluded. Shops and the beach were both around 15 minutes away by car. Inside it had a cosy rustic decor, which was very much in keeping with the place and its location. Thomas was relieved to arrive. He'd been listening to the news bulletins on his car radio, and knew that he was now wanted for murder, kidnapping, torture, arson, and perhaps a few other lesser offences as well. If he got caught, he'd spend the rest of his life in a French prison.<br/><br/>His car was registered under a false name, and Thomas was pretty sure that the cops didn't have a good description of it, or the license plate number. Still...he ought to get rid of it, just to make sure. He had a rather dubious acquaintance in Genoa who might be able to help with that one. But that could wait. He'd just driven through the night all the way from Paris with a broken arm, and he was completely exhausted. He opened the trunk, pulled out the living but still unconscious Dave, and dragged him along the ground and into the house. Then he had a better idea. The house had a wine cellar, which was empty. Thomas grabbed hold of Dave again and dragged him to the cellar door and pushed him in. Dave was still handcuffed, so hopefully he'd be unable to do very much in there. Thomas locked the door of the wine cellar and went back into the house. He collapsed on to an unmade bed, and instantly fell asleep.