by Marnie Perry
The next time he was not sure even counted because this woman was as tall as him and built like a sumo wrestler, she had put up quite a fight and he had had no alternative but to clock her one, he’d almost broken his fingers on her jaw. Still, it had left him feeling dirty and miserable. As for his targets he always made it quick and painless with no surprises. That was always the best way to go, quick and clean, he would want to go like that, he did not want to see it coming.
But to kill a woman, an innocent woman at that, who had done nothing except help another human being and upset Glissando. That had been her only crime; she had taken on a madman who was willing to pay five million dollars to get back his respect. He wondered what kind of woman would put herself out like this for a girl she hardly knew, especially if she had been informed of what kind of man Glissando was. But something inside him was stirred. He felt an excitement, an exhilaration he had not felt in a long time. Yes, he at least ought to find out what made this woman tick before he decided what to do.
But mostly his feelings were of astonishment that this man was willing to pay him five million bucks. What were the chances of this happening? A million to one, five million to one. He almost laughed out loud.
He asked, ‘what’s her name?’
‘Adela Faraday.’
Adela Faraday, Adela. Nice. He said, ‘give me the address of the cabin where she was staying, I’ll need to confirm what your two goons have told you. I also want to make my own enquiries. Find out where exactly she’s staying in Mississippi; get the feel of the place, what the local law is like and so on. And more importantly, find out what I can about the woman.’
Glissando almost liked Hennessey at that moment. ‘So you’ll do it?’
‘I’ll find her, yes. But what if she isn’t desperate for someone to talk too, what if she doesn’t boast about her exploits? What if she doesn’t fall for my…charms?’
Glissando moved his mouth into what was tantamount to a grin for him, ‘you should perhaps have more faith in your abilities, Mr. Hennessey, she’ll open up to you, I’m sure of it.’
‘And if she doesn’t? Do you want me to kill her anyway? Just for disrespecting you perhaps.’
Glissando’s jaw tightened. ‘If she won’t tell you willingly then I leave what happens next to your own judgement. For five million you should be able to think of something to, er, persuade her.’
‘Are you talking about torture by any chance?’ Glissando’s eyes glittered when Hennessey said this and Hennessey went on his tone hard now, ‘why don’t I just bring her back here to you, you probably have far more persuasive methods than I do.’
‘I thought of that, but why should I take any risks, I’m not getting five million out of it. And anyway, I’ll have Desdemona back and that will be sufficient revenge. You can tell the woman what I will do to Desdemona and that all she has accomplished was a waste of time and effort. Although I believe I will change her name to Viola, she was a woman who disguised herself to deceive and manipulate and ran from her responsibilities.’
Hennessey continued to stare at Glissando his eyes narrowed. Torture a woman, fuck.
He had never had any use for such things; he killed and that was that, quickly and efficiently, no suffering, no pain, as far as he knew anyway. Although sometimes he had had to use persuasion as Glissando had called it, to get information on the whereabouts of his target, but that was usually a shot in the kneecap or foot, they usually, well, always, talked after the first or second shot.
But to torture someone, and a woman too, that was not his thing at all. It was bad enough that he was accepting money, albeit five million dollars, to kill the woman but torture her too? Glissando certainly wanted his pound of flesh, which was appropriate considering his love of Shakespeare, from now on he would see Glissando as Shylock.
Glissando was watching Hennessey’s face closely, and for once he was able to read his expression, he was repulsed at the thought of torturing the woman for information. Maybe he had found his soft spot, his Achilles heel. He had often wondered why Hennessey has such an aversion to killing women. After all, what did it matter, man or woman, if they needed killing they needed killing and that was that. He said, ‘I’m not talking about anything too sadistic, Mr. Hennessey, just enough to get the information we require.’
‘We?’
‘Yes, me as in getting Desi back and you as in getting five million towards your retirement plan. But look, I’m sure that just a threat from you will suffice.’
Hennessey had the overwhelming urge to take out his Glock and shoot the sadistic bastard in the face. But he gave a small smile and said, ‘well, let’s try my infamous charm first shall we?’
Glissando gave a ghost of a smile and said, ‘thank you, Mr. Hennessey.’
‘But I want half the money up front and half on completion of the assignment.’
Glissando didn’t bat an eye at Hennessey’s demand but said, ‘I’ll give you half a million now the rest after the deed is done.’
‘One million up front the rest, “after the deed is done.”
Glissando stared at him for a moment before saying, ‘that must include discovering Desi’s whereabouts too and bringing her back here.’
Hennessey nodded then rose as did Glissando who said, ‘when will you begin your search?’
‘I have some things to take care of tonight, but first thing tomorrow I’ll go to this Alban place and get as much information as I can. I’ll need a description of the woman and the address of the cabin where she was staying.’
‘Balthazar will give you that information as you leave.’ Again he did not attempt to shake hands but stepped to the mantle piece and rang a bell. Balthazar entered almost immediately as if he had been standing outside the door waiting to be summoned. Glissando said, ‘see Mr. Hennessey out, and give him the information Guildenstern left.’
‘Yes, sir.’
Glissando looked at Hennessey, ‘I’ll look forward to hearing from you. Good luck, Mr. Hennessey.’
Hennessey nodded and walked to the door as he got there he turned and said, ‘oh, do you know how long she’s staying in Mississippi?’
‘According to the realtor she’s staying a week in each state, she’s been here in Alabama for six days now, but we think Rosencrantz and Guildenstern might have frightened her into changing her plans and she, or they, will leave a day early.’
Hennessy nodded and left the room. Balthazar gave him a piece of paper with the information they had about the woman then opened the door for him saying, good night, Mr, Hennessey.’ He made it sound as if he was saying drop dead, Mr Hennessey.
Hennessey smiled, 'goodnight, Balthazar.’
Balthazar almost closed the door on his foot.
Hennessey grinned to himself as he walked down the steps to the drive but his grin lasted only until he got to his car. As he drove back to his apartment his mind was taken up with what he’d done. He’d accepted money to kill a woman, maybe even torture her for information. For what? For that bastard Glissando?
He entered his apartment and went straight to the stereo he picked up the Carpenters C.D but put it down again, he needed to relax and meditate and no one was better for helping with that than Enya.
He poured himself a glass of wine and sat in the armchair. He closed his eyes and let the music wash over him, but this time even Enya could not take his mind from the thing that he’d done. He told himself that he was stressing over nothing. It might just work out that she would fall for his charms, he might even get her into bed and there she might share her secrets. He might not have to hurt her. And if she didn’t confide in him, he might as Glissando had said only have to threaten to hurt her, more often than not that was enough.
But would he be able to do what Glissando wanted and kill her afterwards. Shit, he was thinking too deeply, he’d killed men, a lot of men, what difference did it make what sex his target was, man, woman, dead was dead wasn’t it. And five million dollars would enable him to forge
t a lot of things.
But he knew that it wasn’t the money that had persuaded him, well, not just the money, after all five mil was five mil. But more than that it was the excitement, an excitement he had not known for a long time at the mere thought of doing this. Using his wiles, his charm, his expertise, to finesse, to woo, to manipulate. Yes, that excited and stimulated him more than anything else.
But he needed to find Desdemona, and quick. And he would do what he had to do to accomplish that. After all he had made a promise hadn’t he? Yes, he would find Desdemona no matter what it took.
He picked up the paper Balthazar had given to him and studied it, Adela Anne Faraday, Adela Anne, pretty. According to the goon’s description, if it was accurate that is, about five four or five, late twenties, auburn hair, eye colour green, and plain according to Glissando’s goons. Adela Faraday, English woman abroad, travelling alone. Why?
His smile was wide when he saw how they had mistaken her for Australian. God help Glissando if these was the kind of idiots he had working for him. But who was this other person she had called out too. How far were they involved? If at all.
He read on and in one of very few times in his life he laughed out loud when he read how she had tricked them with the German Freu routine. From what he had heard and read this English woman seemed like a very smart, determined and brave woman not to mention kind hearted. But if indeed she had impersonated a German woman she had made her first real mistake, apart from interfering in Glissando's business of course.
Still smiling he sat back, closed his eyes and let Enya take him to a good place, a peaceful place, a safe place. He never really slept, just dozed, just drifting in that half world between waking and sleeping. He often wondered what it was like to sleep a deep, untroubled sleep. He wondered if Adela Faraday was sleeping well tonight. He opened his eyes and the beautiful, haunting voice of Enya faded away as the song finished. He had decided what he was going to do. Screw this wooing the woman idea that Glissando had come up with, he did not want to waste time with that crap, he wanted the information about Desi and was not prepared to wait. He would just get right on with it. He looked at the piece of paper still clutched in his hand, looked at the name again and whispered to himself, ‘Adela Anne Faraday, late twenties, single, plain, very brave, very smart, very kind, and very soon, very dead.
CHAPTER 10.
At the exact same time that Glissando was making his phone call to Hennessey the taxi carrying Adela and Olivia arrived in Mobile and dropped them in the middle of a busy shopping area. Adela and the taxi driver, the same man who had picked them up the night she had rescued Desi and was called Luke, had talked nearly all the way there.
Olivia had said very little. She spent almost the entire journey either looking over her shoulder or through the passenger window. When she wasn’t doing that she sat tense and nervous, twisting her hands in her lap. She had been on edge since they had left the cabin to walk the few hundred yards to the road to meet the cab. Adela has to admit she had been more than on edge too, terrified in fact, but she had smiled and chatted to Olivia and acted as though this was a great adventure rather than a frightening ordeal.
They had left less than an hour after Adela had confronted the two men on the porch and had encountered no one in the woods and no one had approached them or even looked in their direction while they had got into the cab which to Adela’s relief had been there waiting for them.
Luke kept glancing at Olivia through the rear-view mirror. He knew that something was going on; he had had enough people in trouble in his cab to know that something was very wrong with this young kid. She was trouble with a capital T. She had seen things and been to places someone so young should never see and never go to, he could see it in her troubled, frightened eyes. But he kept his own counsel about that and chatted with the nice English lady whom he hoped was not getting herself into something she could not get out of.
Luke took their bags from the trunk and was saying, ‘are you going to be all right, ma’am?’
Adela said, ‘oh yes, we have someone meeting us,’ she looked at her watch, ‘they’ll be here very shortly.’
He did not look convinced, ‘shall I wait with y’all until your ride gets here?’
‘Oh no, no,’ Adela replied very quickly, ‘there’s no need, honestly, Luke, we’ll be fine.’ She gave him her best reassuring smile then she paid him giving him a fifty dollar tip which he tried to give back saying, ‘this is too much, ma’am, really it is, five will do.’
But Adela was insistent and because she liked the man she chose to trust him to a certain extent. ‘There’s just one thing, if you could perhaps not mention to anyone that you brought an English woman and a young girl to this place, we would very much appreciate it.’
He smiled, ‘I ain’t never met an English woman in my life and my missus would kill me if I mentioned giving rides to young girls.’
Adela laughed, ‘thank you, Luke, and I hope “the missus” produces that little boy you so desperately want.’
He joined in her laughter, ‘thank you, ma’am.’ He turned to get back in his cab but turned back to her and said, ‘I hope everything works out for you and the young lady.’ He nodded towards Olivia who stood at the side of the road clutching her bag to her chest and looking first one way then the other very quickly.
Adela said softly, ‘thank you, Luke. Goodbye.’
‘Bye,’ he nodded a goodbye to Olivia then got into his cab and after giving them one last worried look he drove away leaving them standing there looking after him.
Adela said, ‘the car will be here any minute but until it gets here let’s go into this shop where we can’t be seen by anyone from the road.’
To take Olivia’s mind from her fears Adela talked non stop about how friendly Luke was and how nice and quiet the town was today. It was in fact evening and most of the shops were closed and fortunately most people were already at home. She did not tell her how awful she felt about not saying goodbye to Rose Hosewater and the other people she had met in Alban. She would have liked to have seen Jill and Sammy Know It All one last time.
And yes, Jonas Lando too, she had failed in her mission to make him smile before she left, she did not count the smile when she had told him about rescuing Olivia, that had been more of a smirk anyway. But she would have liked to have said goodbye to him, and if she was honest she would have liked to have seen his little animal hospital again.
Olivia followed her around the gift shop. Adela laughed and said, ‘we’re a little early, but that’s the story of my life I hate being late which results in my being too early for everything. ‘I suppose we should buy something just to say thanks for letting us hide out here.’
Olivia smiled but it was very forced and nervous. Adela took Olivia’s hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze, ‘you’ll feel a lot easier when we’re on our way. Don’t worry, Olivia, no one followed us.’ She had been just as watchful as Olivia had been only more discreetly. There was very little traffic at this time of evening and she had not noticed a particular vehicle following them all the way here.
She bought a little red camping knife with Mobile, Al in gold lettering on it, the knife also had a cork screw and bottle opener as well. Olivia looked at her in surprise Adela laughed, ‘for my nephew, he often goes camping; I think it’ll be all right, the knife is as sharp as a spoon.’
Just then a car pulled up across the street, it was the white Lexus she had booked. Adela gave an inward sigh of relief and smiled at Olivia, ‘see, right on time.’
They both hurried across the road and met the middle aged man just stepping out of the driver’s side door. Another car pulled up behind the Lexus and Olivia swung round nervously. Adela took her arm and whispered, ‘it’s all right, Olivia, he’s with the rental company, he’s here to take the driver of our car back to the office.’
Olivia relaxed but only slightly, she was obviously still on high alert.
The middle aged man looked from
one to the other and said, ‘Miss. Faraday?’
‘Yes, that’s me,’ said Adela.’
He shook her hand, ‘I just have some forms for you to sign. It won’t take a second; we can do it here on the hood of the car.’
‘Of course.’ He put the papers on the hood of the car and gave her a pen. Adela paid him in cash which was unusual but quite legal of course. She signed her name and gave him back his pen and a big smile and he smiled back and said, ‘someone will pick it up from Memphis, if you’ll call with the address where you will be leaving it.’
‘Of course. I have your number on my mobile phone.’
‘Well I hope you have a nice time in Tennessee.’
‘Oh I’m sure we will lots to see and do there so I hear.’
‘Yeah, I here that too.’
Adela turned to Olivia and the man to the younger man who Adela noticed was looking at Olivia with an admiration he did not even attempt to hide, but Olivia was looking at the ground. Adela knew she was nervous about being recognised or even looked at by anyone who would remember her. Adela couldn’t blame her for being a touch paranoid.
She smiled at the young man as he got in the passenger side of the car he’d arrived in; obviously age had preference when it came to the driving. The older man said, ‘well, goodbye then, Miss. Faraday.’
‘Goodbye, and thank you.’
He got in the other car and waved as they drove away, the young man looking over his shoulder at Olivia as they did so.
Adele smiled, ‘you have an admirer there, Olivia.’
Olivia looked at her with a touch of exasperation then smiled too. Adela laughed,’ come on, let’s get going.’
