I wanted to drown in the day. The scent of autumn in the hills, the soft soothing breezes, the burning colors of orange and gold and cocoa on the leaves, Churchill barking at birds. I did not want to approach Showalter and hear what I knew he would say. Not because I would believe it; the dread was that he already believed it. I was about to ask how Jess was when he said,Get out here as fast as you can, and hung up. To be early is to be on time, I said, a little sententiously. What youve got to do is simple. After you get the money, put it in two suitcases. Rent a black Ford LTD sedan. Put the two suitcases with the money in its trunk. Make sure the trunk is locked. At four oclock this afternoon park the car in the parking lot of the Safeway store near Chevy Chase Circle. Do not lock the car. Leave the keys on the floor under the accelerator and put a plain piece of white paper under the windshield wiper. Typing paper will do. Dont waste time trying to see who drives off in the Ford. He won’t know anything. Follow these instructions exactly and they’ll let me go. If you don’t, they’ll kill me. They mean business. In other words, Mason said, you havent told anyone that I was representing any particular party. Mix, I said. Lets get back to him. Of course not, but youre not a woman. Women are capable of loving the most god-awful of men. They can always find something in them to love. I dont need any of your advice, the sheriff said angrily. I dont know, Michelle. I knew both women. Thats the only connection I see. But so did lots of other people. Rawls was the first to speak.Okay, do we have official permission to off the bastard now? Not then. Theyre doing it now. Here are some pictures of the car, for what theyre worth. But if you have enough money, the laws dont apply to you, answered Campbell. And certain people, some of them in high positions of power, want it to keep going. Certain others dont want this to be uncovered and investigated because they would be directly implicated. Working at a firm in town. Part-time until I pass the bar. Do you know Pete Cadiz? Theres one thing you can do, I said. The first people from Strategic Services arrived, and Stone showed them the house. While they were at it, they checked every window and door and made sure they were all secure. Any time tonight, dear. The sooner the better. Ill let the servants go and the dog will be shut up in his closet. Ill be waiting. And a pleasant experience it was. I dont really know..