Just keep thinking of that day. Twenty-one million dollars.
“Just be really good to him the next few days and play dumb,” I tell her. It feels good dispensing advice, like I’m more in control of events than I feel.
“He’ll probably hear about Lauren tomorrow,” she says. “It will probably be news tomorrow.”
“So that’s November the first. We just have to get you through two days.”
We can do that. Vicky can pull that off. She has it in her.
“I’ll just sit here for a few minutes,” she says. “It calms me down, seeing you.”
It calms me down, too. I’m definitely feeling better. It worked! I did the job and got away with it.
Or did I screw something up? The feeling of dread washes over me again. I consider the worst-case scenarios. But I don’t see them tying me to either Vicky or Simon.
We sit in silence. Vicky sips her drink. I pour myself another one.
The tension starts to ease. It worked. It did. It worked, and everything’s gonna be all right, like that Bob Marley song.
Why do I always worry so much?
Really, I worry too much. It’s fine. It’s all good.
“You okay?” Vicky asks me.
Better. I’m feeling better. Much, much better.
“It’s all going to work out,” Vicky says. “Our alibis are clean.”
Alibi. That’s a funny word. If you say any word enough times, it sounds funny. Alibi. Ali-bi. Kinda sounds like Ali Baba. Like Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves. I remember reading that when I was a kid.
And then I became a thief!
That’s funny.
I don’t know why I was so worried.
Maybe I should use Ali Baba for my next alias. Wait, there’s not going to be a next alias because I’m going to have all the money I need!
“What’s so funny?” Vicky asks me, her head cocked.
“I don’t know, I guess not sleep—not sleeping last night . . . I’m just . . .”
Vicky moves over and straddles me, pressing down on my lap, her face close to mine. “You’re exhausted. You look exhausted. You need sleep, Christian. It’s done now. You did it. Now you should sleep. Tomorrow, we’re one step closer to being together.”
I put my head back against the cushion. “I am, I’m . . . Wow, I’m wiped out.”
“And now you can relax,” she says, putting her hands on my chest. “Nobody’s going to catch us. I’m going to get that twenty-one million, and I’m going to give it to you, and you’re going to turn it into a hundred million.”
I close my eyes, feeling exhaustion sweep over me, the weightlessness of near sleep. “Yes. That’s . . . going to happen.”
She pushes herself off me, gets off the couch.
“Where are you . . .”
“I’m going to wash out my glass, make sure there’s no lipstick or DNA, right?”
“Yeah, ex—exact—exact . . .” My eyes won’t open. I can’t fight it.
What?
“Hi, I’m back.” Vicky straddling me again, her breath on my face. “You seem tired, Christian. Are you ready to sleep, baby?”
My eyes open in slits. “Yeah . . .”
“Okay, you do that. I washed the glass. And you removed all trace of me from this apartment, right?”
I nod. I think I nod. My head moves, I’m pretty sure.
Her finger, her gloved finger, caressing my face, running down my nose.
“I can trust you, right, Christian?”
“You can . . .”
“You’re not planning on stealing the money from me after I give it to you, are you?” Her finger bops me on the nose.
“What . . . n-no . . .”
Something cold under my chin, thrust upward, forcing my head back.
“You’re not just pretending to care about me, are you? Isn’t that what you do? You find a mark, someone who seems unhappy in her marriage, and then pretend to be in love with her so she’ll leave her husband? And then you steal her money?”
Yep, that pretty much sums me up. But how does . . . how does she . . .
I swat with my left hand at whatever’s under my chin. Unable to open my eyes but hearing a sharp, muted thwip of a sound.
“Now just hold on a second,” Vicky whispers. The cold steel thing stuck under my chin again. “This thing isn’t going to hurt you. Here, touch it.”
I touch it. It’s smooth, a long cylindrical shape, like that silencer thingy I used . . .
. . . Wait, why would . . .
“Goodbye, Nick Caracci,” she says.
82
Vicky
His eyes pop open as I pull the trigger. His head jerks backward as the back of his head sprays against the wall. His left hand falls limply onto my leg.
I breathe out. I don’t move for a moment.
I climb off him carefully, holding the gun up in my right hand. I get to my feet and step away, look down at myself. No spatter that I can see. Maybe something microscopic, but nothing visible. I don’t look like someone who just committed murder.
I hold the barrel of the Glock with one gloved hand and unscrew the suppressor with the other. I wish I didn’t have to use a suppressor, but I couldn’t have gunshots heard by the neighbors.
I put the suppressor in my coat pocket. Taking that with me. One more thing.
The gun could’ve fallen out of his hand, but from what I’ve learned from my former cop buddy, Rambo, that doesn’t usually happen. The hand usually stays wrapped around the handle, the finger still on the trigger, as the hand falls to the side after suicide.
I carefully slide the gun into his lame left hand. I won’t risk wrapping his index finger around the trigger. I’ve already fired one more bullet than intended. I don’t need another one.
Hopefully, the two times his hand was near the gun—the first time, when he swatted it away and the gun accidentally discharged, or the second time, when he touched the suppressor—might cause some gunpowder residue to settle on him. Possible but unlikely. There’s not nearly as much GPR when you use a suppressor, anyway.
I remove the bottle of Valium from my pocket. I wrap his right hand around the bottle, impressing his fingers hard on it. Then I unwrap his hand. I take the bottle and spill it over on its side, the pills falling haphazardly to the floor.
Okay. Done. Not perfect, though. God, was I stupid. I should’ve just fired right away. But no, I had to let him know that I knew his name, that I knew his plan. I couldn’t leave well enough alone.
And now I have a bullet up in the corner of the wall to show for it.
I take another long breath. It’s over now. I can’t recover that bullet. I shouldn’t touch anything. I’ve already cleaned, dried, and replaced the glass of bourbon I poured for myself.
And I’ve already cleaned, dried, and replaced the glass of bourbon he drank, removing any trace of the drugs I put in it.
The bottle of bourbon, Basil Hayden, is still sitting on the coffee table in front of him.
I take one more look at him. His eyes are open, looking upward. Looking for forgiveness, Nick?
I head down the stairs and into his garage. I pop open the garage door, walk into the alley, and type in the code on the outside pad. The garage door grinds down behind me. Cool, fresh air on my face.
Things are looking up. Whatever else—
“Hi, Vicky.”
A strong grip on my arm, yanking me, pulling me farther into the alley before I can react.
“Keep those hands where I can see them,” he says. “And don’t even think about screaming.”
The barrel of a gun against my cheek.
“Let’s go for a walk,” Gavin says. “And decide what the fuck is gonna happen next.”