His eyes lazily scanned the area behind the house. Neatly manicured grounds boasted a tasteful selection of flowers and shrubs. There was a children’s play set in the far corner, probably a relic left behind by the previous owner. At least it added credibility should someone come snooping around. Mature trees ringed the property, offering extra privacy and protection from curious eyes. They kept Dottie and her people out of sight. They also kept intruders hidden until the last minute.

  “It’s safe here,” she said.

  Jack shrugged.

  “I see you looking,” she said. “No need to worry. I’ve got security everywhere.”

  “Bet I could spot them.”

  “No, you wouldn’t,” Leon said.

  “I spotted you, didn’t I?”

  Dottie lifted an eyebrow, a curious look on her face. Jack figured that Leon hadn’t told her how the two men had met. She’d sent her best, and Jack had bested him.

  Leon smiled, shook his head. “You said you could spot them. Not that you had. Watching your eyes, you passed over at least three of my men.”

  “There,” Jack said with a nodding gesture. “And there,” another dip of the head. “And there,” a final toss of his jaw to the left.

  “Interesting,” Leon said.

  “Anyway,” Jack said. “Do you want to shoot the breeze for a while, or do you want to tell me what I’m doing in England?”

  “That’s why I always liked working with you, Jack,” Dottie said. “No pussy footing around. Always right to the point.”

  “And you dance around it,” he said.

  “You know me well,” she said.

  “Too well,” he said, wondering how long the tango would go on before she got down to business.

  “Should I leave?” Leon said, grinning.

  “No,” Dottie and Jack said at the same time.

  The three shared a smile, sipped from their ceramic mugs, moved to the other side of the kitchen. They each took a seat at the round oak table, each one a point in a triangle. Jack’s stomach roared with hunger, but he declined to ask for food. Dottie appeared to be ready to talk, and he didn’t want to give her a reason to procrastinate any longer.

  “You had the misfortune of meeting my estranged husband in Monte Carlo,” she said.

  Jack nodded, said nothing.

  “He wasn’t always like that, Jack. Honest, he wasn’t.” She took a moment. “I thought that when I left the agency I was through with men like that. You know, all ego, all about them, no matter the expense.”

  Jack nodded again. Still said nothing.

  “I met him around the time you last did a job for me. I was attending some Lord’s party. I forget who. It was a fancy event, lots of powerful people there. Quid pro quo. My former Deputy Director at the agency invited me. He now holds my old position as Director. I always enjoyed those kinds of things when I was in charge, so naturally I accepted. And it was there that I met Thornton Walloway.”

  “You must have been instantly charmed,” Jack said, his words laced with sarcasm.

  Dottie waved him off. “He wasn’t like that when I met him. And don’t forget, I was younger and more than capable of taking care of myself. So, yes, maybe he came off a bit rough. It didn’t bother me. After years of working with some of the deadliest men in Britain,” she paused, smiled, looked between Leon and Jack, “in the world, for that matter. Well, I couldn’t be with a guy who retired at night in front of the TV, falling asleep in an oversized recliner, his hands resting atop his beer belly while I fetched him another pint.”

  Jack smiled. “I wouldn’t have expected you to.”

  “What can I say? I’ll always be a gal ready for action.”

  Jack’s smile lingered, then faded. “So what happened?”

  “What happened?” she repeated the question, perhaps trying to find an answer. “Thornton made his money in glass. You believe that? A billion dollars from glass?”

  Jack didn’t believe it. Didn’t say as much though.

  “But that was only half the story. He invested his money with certain people. Some of them the same people I fought to put away, you see. Some of them the type of people I hired you to take care of, Jack. I didn’t know this at the time, though. I thought all of his wealth was from glass.”

  Jack nodded. Had nothing to add yet, so he said nothing.

  “Things were good for the first four years. Then, a couple years ago, they changed. He changed. Thornton became abusive, verbally and physically. He became secretive. I thought maybe he was having an affair. His anger a reflection of the guilt he felt. If I asked a question, I got hit. Simple as that.”

  “Why’d you stick around?”

  Dottie looked away. Jack followed her stare. Her gaze traveled beyond the window, past the garden, settled on some imaginary point that Jack couldn’t see.

  “I don’t know,” she finally said.

  “You don’t?” Jack said.

  Dottie turned her head ninety degrees, locked eyes with Jack. “Maybe I do, but I don’t want to say.”

  Jack lifted his hands in an I surrender gesture. If she didn’t want to tell him anymore, that was her prerogative. He wouldn’t push. Some things were better left for therapy.

  “So as you can see, after the month I spent in a hospital in Monte Carlo, I retreated to this place. He doesn’t know where it is. I never told him. I bought it years ago. I knew if things went wrong, either with Thornton or one of his associates, I’d need a place to hide. This place works well. I have a security force in place that he doesn’t own. He’s got money, but I brought my own dowry to the party. All this is mine, Jack. He paid for none of it.”

  “What else?” Jack said, ready for her to get to the point.

  Dottie nodded, shifted her eyes to her right for a second, a signal for Leon to leave the room.

  Plausible deniability.

  “I’ll be back in a few.” Leon rose, nodded at Jack, then slipped past the table and out of the kitchen.

  Jack placed one arm on the table, leaned forward. “So what is it you want me to do, Dottie?”

  A smile formed and quickly rescinded. Her expression eroded, leaving behind a face twisted with pain and fear and anger. “End him.”

  “Why me? Why not Leon, or one of your other guys here, or one of your old agents?”

  “Because you are the best. And he’s scared of you, Jack. The moment he sees you, he’s going to panic, and that will buy you a few extra seconds. Those few seconds are all you’ll need to finish the job.”

  Jack leaned back, inched to his left, placed his left arm across the back of the chair, held the half-full mug in his right hand. He swirled the coffee in a counter clockwise motion, causing the lighter brown residue on top to form a spinning island in the center. He thought that he’d like to be on an island this morning. Someplace tropical and nowhere near mainland Europe. He owed Dottie in more ways than one. She’d helped him get started. Got him back on his feet when his world had crumbled around him. She introduced him to people who had helped him to become a wealthy man. But above all, she’d always been a friend, and now she was in need. And he couldn’t turn her down.

  He took a drink from his mug and then set it on the table. “I’ll do it.”

  Dottie rose and walked around the table, past Jack.

  “I need to know some things first,” he said.

  “Of course.” Dottie went on to give Jack Thornton’s home and office address and the security codes required for access. She told him the restaurants and bars and strip clubs that he frequented. She gave him the names of Thornton’s most trusted men. She mentioned the names of his women, of which there were many. When she was finished, she said, “Anything else you might need?”

  “I’ll need access to weapons. An M40 for the hit, if I can do it ranged. Two pistols, preferably 9mm. I’ll need an HK MP7, S model, with a suppressor and at least three spare magazines, in case I go to war with his men.” Jack picked up the mug and took one final pull on the lukewarm liquid. After he swallowed, his mouth was littered with coffee grounds like silt trapped in a net. “Also, I want a lethal pen.”

  “A lethal pen?”

  “Looks like a pen, equipped with a needle and a reservoir filled with poison. When you place the end of the pen to someone and then click the tip, the needle protrudes and penetrates and a moment later the fluid is forced out of the reservoir and into the victim.”

  “Interesting.”

  “If it comes down to me doing this in a crowded bar or strip club or on the street, I don’t want to be spotted with a gun drawn. Everyone has a camera phone these days. Last thing I need is my face on the TV again. I’ve got nobody to help me out anymore if things go south.”

  “I’m behind you, Jack.”

  “But you can’t afford to be associated with a known assassin, Dottie. It won’t take them long to put the pieces of the puzzle together. I know that a lot of the work I did for you was not sanctioned. You don’t need that stuff coming to light now.”

  She nodded, forced a smile, said nothing.

  “So can you get the weapons?”

  “Leon has access to some. I’ll make some calls for the rest. By tonight I should have everything you need.”

  “Got a car?” Jack asked.

  “Out front. It’s ready for you.”

  “Thornton doesn’t know about it?”

  “Just bought it yesterday, cash, my money. Registered under a false name. He knows nothing and will find out nothing about it.”

  Jack pushed back in his chair, got up and refilled his mug. He placed the cup on the counter and hunted for a travel mug. He found one in the cupboard and transferred the coffee and topped it off.

  “Keys are in the ignition. There’s some cash, an ATM card, and an untraceable cell phone in the glove box.”

  “Thanks. I’ll be back this evening.”

  “No, don’t come back. Get a hotel. It’s best that you not return in case you are spotted and followed.”

  Jack agreed she had a point. “Give me a number to reach you and one for Leon then.”

  “Already programmed into the phone. I’m speed dial number two, he’s number three. Four and five are for emergencies.”

  “What about one?”

  “I never program one, Jack. Too hard for me to reach with my thumb.”

  Jack reached out to Dottie, pulled her close in an embrace. Her perfume overpowered the strong smell of coffee, bringing back several of the memories that he had repressed for so long.

  “You be careful, Jack. If you don’t think it’s going to happen, call me. I can get Leon or someone else out there to help.”

  Jack shook his head. “Alone, Dottie. This one needs to be done alone.”

  He wasn’t sure if he meant it, or if it was some kind of false bravado. Maybe he could use the help. Maybe it would only hinder the mission. He didn’t know, yet he’d already sealed his fate. It’d be tough to go back on his statement.

  He pulled away and left the kitchen. Dottie remained behind. Leon met him by the front door, handed him a second Browning.

  Jack tucked the pistol in his waistband. His pants tugged downward under the weight of the two handguns. “Got anything lighter?”

  “It’ll have to do for now. I’ll have better weapons by tonight. Call me at five and we’ll arrange a place to meet.”

  Jack exited the house without replying. He saw a lone car, a red Fiat, parked in the center of circular driveway. He tilted his head to the side, wondering how he was supposed to fit inside. Did she have something against Land Rovers? Even something mid-sized would have worked for him.

  Reluctantly, Jack slipped in behind the steering wheel. He found it to be roomier than it looked. He turned the key in the ignition and shifted the transmission into first gear. He eased off the clutch as he depressed the accelerator and the car rolled down the driveway.

  9

  Hannah heard the high pitched whine of a small engine combined with the sound of tires kicking up loose gravel. She hurried to make sure that she hadn’t missed Ms. Carlisle. The last thing she wanted to do was hang around outside the house waiting for her boss to return home. She emerged from behind the hedges in time to see the rear of a red Fiat pulling away from the front of the house. The car was unfamiliar. Hannah took a deep breath, felt confident that she hadn’t wasted her time coming to the house unannounced.

  She stepped across the trenched gravel, kicking loose stones back into place as she passed. She stood before the tall wooden entrance door. She took a deep breath in preparation of the groveling she expected to have to do. An aged brass knocker stained from years of rain and snow and ice hung from the mouth of an equally aged brass lion fixed to the middle of the door. She lifted the heavy brass ring and let it fall. It creaked as it dropped and then hit the door with a solid thud.

  The door cracked open, an eye peered through. It opened a bit further. The man greeted Hannah with a smile.

  “We weren’t expecting you,” he said.

  “I know, Leon. I really need to talk to Ms. Carlisle, though.”

  “Is everything OK?”

  Hannah shrugged and held out her arms, palms up, thumbs out.

  “Well, come on inside, then. Ms. Carlisle is upstairs getting ready for the day. She’ll be down in a few minutes.”

  “Hey, who was in the car that just pulled away?” she asked.

  Leon turned and walked away without replying. Hannah followed him inside. Instead of turning left and following him toward the living room, Hannah continued straight into the kitchen. The smell of fresh cut melon and strawberries and coffee enveloped her. She glanced toward the counter, saw three mugs next to the sink. Upon closer inspection, they had all been used recently. Each had a thin layer of black sludge at the bottom. One was stained around the top with red lipstick, the same shade that Ms. Carlisle wore. Her gaze drifted across the granite countertop. The coffeemaker was on and the twelve-cup pot less than half full, indicating that at least one person had refilled their mug. If Ms. Carlisle was only now getting ready for the day, then who had been drinking coffee? Did this mean that Erin and Mia were home from vacation already? Or had Ms. Carlisle and Leon been sitting with whoever left in the red car? Surely Ms. Carlisle would have already prepared herself if a guest had been by.

  “Hannah, what a treat.”

  She jumped at the sound of the voice. She hadn’t heard anyone enter the kitchen.

  “Would you mind pouring me a cup too?” Ms. Carlisle asked.

  “Sure, ma’am. Which mug were you using?” Hannah waited for her response without turning around.

  “Those are from last night, dear. Grab fresh mugs from the cabinet.”

  The mugs could be explained away, but not the half-filled pot of coffee. Hannah dismissed it, filled two mugs, brought them both to the table where cream and sugar were already waiting. She touched the pewter cream dish. It was cold, as was the cream inside of it. She looked up and smiled at Ms. Carlisle. Why had the woman lied to her? What was she hiding?

  “What are you doing by today?” Ms. Carlisle asked. “I didn’t expect you for at least a week.”

  Hannah chewed on the inside of her cheek for a moment while she pushed aside the coffee mug mystery and focused on her real problems.

  “Hannah? Is everything all right?”

  “They took away my scholarship, ma’am. I won’t be able to afford school.”

  “Well, I’m sure I can help you out with that.”

  “I don’t want a handout, ma’am. If I have to take this term off, that’s fine, I’ll do it. What I’d like to know is if I can put in some extra hours. I’m willing to do things outside of being a nanny for Mia. I can work here, or at one of the other houses. I’m willing to do anything you need.”

  Ms. Carlisle rose and walked toward the window. “I don’t know if that is possible, Hannah. At least not right now. I’ve—“ She paused, turned to face Hannah. “We’ve got to leave for a while. Probably, that is. I don’t know for sure yet. But I might be gone for a month, maybe two. Mia won’t be around, and the houses won’t need tending by anyone other than the staff already at hand.”

  “Please, ma’am,” Hannah said. “I’ll have to go home, and you know I can’t spend that much time around my father. He can’t handle it and he’ll—”

  “OK, Hannah,” Ms. Carlisle placed a comforting hand on Hannah’s shoulder. “You won’t be attending school this term?”

  “That’s correct. Without the scholarship I can’t afford it. I’d hoped that I could work extra for you and save the money and have my scholarship reinstated next semester.”

  “What if you accompany us? You could be Mia’s travel nanny. Since you’d effectively be working at least double the hours, I’d increase your pay by two and a half times your current rate. How’s that sound?”

  Hannah rose and threw her arms around the older woman. She inhaled the subdued aroma of her sweet perfume, noting that it wasn’t as strong as it should be if she had recently put it on.

  “I’ll take that as a yes,” Ms. Carlisle said.

  Hannah pulled back. The lump in her throat prevented her from talking. She nodded at the tear-blurred image of her boss and then leaned in and hugged her some more.

  “All right, that’s enough.” Ms. Carlisle wrestled herself from Hannah’s grasp. “Why don’t you spend the next few days helping out the maids? You can start in here with the kitchen.”

  “Yes ma’am.” Hannah turned and walked to the sink. She grabbed the three mugs, placed them under the faucet. She soaped a rag then wiped the coffee sludge and lipstick and fingerprints from them.

  10

  Jack sat in the Fiat across the street from the building that bore the address Dottie had given him. Thornton’s office. It was a three-story gray brick building that occupied half the block. Three rows of evenly spaced mirrored floor-to-ceiling windows wrapped the exterior. Behind one of those windows was Thornton’s office. Jack wondered if the man was in there. Who else was in there? Did Thornton keep a security force with him all the time, even at his corporate office? Did the man’s employees know what else Thornton was into? Hell, were some of them into it as well?