The rain had slowed to a steady drizzle and the eastern horizon was brightening with dawn when Bonnie’s Jeep pulled up to Des’s house. She checked the time on Sammy’s broken screen. It was exactly six AM.
Just about twelve hours ago she’d been eating scallops at the Main Street Diner. She thought about that as Alan came running out of the house. He paused on the porch just long enough to spot Mariana in the passenger seat, then bounded down the wheelchair ramp.
“Get in character, honey,” Bonnie said with a nudge in Mariana’s ribs. “And remember—you’re happy to be here.”
She wasn’t too worried about the woman’s performance. With Pascal dead, Alan was the only man she had left. She’d married him because she needed him. Well, she needed him again.
Then Alan was at the door of the Jeep, tugging it open, pulling his wife into his arms, clutching her tight. The two of them stood in the rain, locked in a tight embrace.
“I thought I’d lost you,” he was saying. “I thought I’d never see you again.”
On the porch, Desmond rolled into view, observing the scene without visible reaction. She had a good idea how he was feeling. He’d recognized the handwriting too.
“Did he hurt you?” Alan asked.
“No.”
“And he’s …?”
Mariana hesitated. “Dead,” she whispered. She was crying again, but that was all right. To Alan they would be tears of relief.
Bonnie found the whole spectacle more than a little sickening. She was afraid those scallops might make a return appearance if she watched any more of it. She climbed out of the Jeep and joined Desmond on the porch.
“There they are,” he said, “the happy couple.”
“Yeah. Ain’t love grand?”
“I’m still surprised you went after her, knowing what you knew.”
“Sometimes I surprise myself.”
“I take it hubby still doesn’t suspect.”
“Nope. And he never will.” She shrugged. “I almost admire stupidity like that.”
“How does Mrs. Kirby feel about things?”
“Let’s put it this way. Those aren’t tears of joy on her face.”
“You could have let Pascal get away, I suppose.”
“No, I couldn’t. Some men just need killing. He was one of them.”
“Simple as that?”
“Yeah, Des. For me, it’s as simple as that.”
Alan and Mariana approached, arm in arm. Alan wore a bemused, almost beatific smile. Mariana’s face was slack, her eyes vacant.
“How long do we have, you think?” Alan asked as he climbed the ramp.
Bonnie didn’t get it. “Come again?”
“Until they send another one after us. The Colombians.”
“Oh, I don’t think you’ll have to worry about that. Turns out Pascal was working freelance. The Colombians didn’t hire him. Nobody did. So there shouldn’t be any other bad guys in your future.”
“You mean—we don’t have to keep running? We can stay here?”
“You can stay. Pascal wouldn’t have given his info to anybody else. And since Herb and Amy were the only ones who knew about you, the trail is cold.”
Alan bowed his head, a humble, almost boyish reaction. “You’ve given us everything.”
“Yes,” Mariana echoed coldly. “Everything.”
Bonnie smiled at her. “Just seeing you two together is my reward. Well, that plus my balloon payment. You’ll be getting a bill. A damn big one.” She caught Mariana’s glare and added cheerfully, “What can I say? I’m just a working girl.”
Alan led his wife inside. Bonnie looked at Desmond.
“You get any sleep tonight?” she asked.
“No more than you. I suggest we both take a good long snooze.”
She turned away, staring into the rainy dawn. “Nice thought. But I got something else I gotta do.”
“Can’t it wait?”
“No. I don’t think it can.”
It was true, what she’d told him. Some men just needed killing.
And there was still one left.