Chapter 15
By the lake, Jennifer Parker’s shape shimmered, momentarily to vanish—Martin blinked, and she was present again—but time had passed, though nothing changed. He knew only that she had left him briefly, and he wondered what could have drawn her so suddenly away.
“An angel?” said Louis.
“The broker figured Sturgis was demented,” said Kade. “But funds were deposited in escrow, so his lunacy was the solvent kind, and no one who puts a price on another man’s head is ever completely rational.”
“Did Sturgis elaborate?”
“No, and the broker decided, or wanted to believe, that Sturgis might have been speaking euphemistically, which freed him from any impulse to investigate further. Brokers prefer not to ask too many questions. They live longer that way.”
“Who was the broker?” Louis asked.
“I can’t tell you that,” said Kade. “Anyway, you haven’t told me how you found out I’d picked up the paper.”
“I got it from someone who declined the contract.”
“And he didn’t name the broker either?”
“You know how it is,” said Louis.
These were professional courtesies. Nobody named names unless they had to, but Louis had hoped Kade might be more forthcoming.
“Yeah, I know how it is,” said Kade, “which is why I’m not saying.”
Louis reckoned it to be one of three brokers.
Once he’d dealt with Sturgis, he’d send a warning.
For now, the paper remained active, even if Kade claimed to have no intention of fulfilling the contract.
Tackling Sturgis might nullify it, but that depended on the truth or otherwise of his claim.
Louis didn’t know how one went about discouraging an angel from seeking one’s death, but he was sure it wouldn’t be straightforward.
“What about Angel?” Louis asked. “My Angel,” he added.
“The paper related only to you.”
pain, said a child’s voice from nearby. Louis spotted her in the shadows: a girl, a ruined girl.
the reason is pain
Jennifer Parker.
they want Angel to suffer, continued Jennifer, because it’s his turn
Louis almost responded, so clear was her voice, only to catch himself just in time.
his turn to watch the man he loves die
Then she was gone.
“Are you okay?” Kade asked.
Louis continued to stare at the darkness for a second or two.
“Why wouldn’t I be?”
“You went elsewhere just then.”
“It’s a lot to take in,” said Louis. “A man I’ve never met wants me dead on the word of an angel.”
“I won’t say I’ve come across stranger reasons for a contract,” said Kade, “but I’ve come across worse. You sure you’ve never heard of Sturgis before?”
“The name doesn’t register, but I’ll need to see that file on your boy’s iPad to be certain.”
“Just tell me where to send it.”
“He can print it. The one here is AirPrint-compatible.”
Even with end-to-end encryption, Louis wasn’t about to ask that a file on a man he might have to kill be sent to an email address.
He and Kade sat in something approaching companionable silence while Amir did what was required, and a few minutes later the blond bartender handed Louis a sheaf of five or six pages.
Louis was halfway through the second page when he paused.
“Damn,” he said.
“You start swearing like that,” said Kade, “and I’m going to hyperventilate. Want to share?”
“Sturgis is a member of a club.”
“He’s a white guy with money,” said Kade. “That’s a big club all to itself.”
“A physical club,” said Louis. “In Boston.”
“And why is that bad? Because I’m guessing it’s not good.”
But Louis didn’t elaborate. He skimmed the remaining pages before folding them in half and placing them in the inside pocket of his jacket.
“What’s the time frame?” he asked.
“The client’s instructions were ‘as soon as is practicable,’” Kade replied. “I’d say I can hold Sturgis and the broker off for a week or more. Is that enough?”
“All I need,” said Louis. He extended a hand to Kade. “You really didn’t owe me, but if you ever thought you did, we’re square now.”
“Call if I can be of help. I’ve learned that you already have friends, but a man can never have too many of those.”
Louis prepared to slip by Kade, pausing to rest a hand meaningfully on the younger man’s shoulder.
“Why don’t you and your associates stay awhile?” said Louis. “Have another drink. It’s on the house.”
“And your friends will keep us company, right? You still don’t trust me.”
“I wouldn’t want you to feel abandoned and unloved in a big city.”
“I can see now why you’ve lived so long.”
“Longer than you might think,” said Louis.
By the lake, all was quiet. The lake was always quiet.
Even the water made no sound as it lapped the shore, and the dead had no voice.
The woods, too, were forever silent. It had taken Martin a while to spot that no birds flew through them and no insects buzzed.
But above the clouds that forever lowered, there was movement.
What was it that had once been written on the unknown regions of maps? Here be dragons. Dragons, and worse.
Jennifer sat on the grass that wasn’t grass. She broke off a stem that wasn’t there and observed it not being.
“Is there a problem?” Martin asked.
“I think so,” said Jennifer. “An action has been taken. Either the machine is trying to reset itself—”
“Or?” Martin pressed.
“Or someone is recalibrating it.”