Trouble in Paradise

"Maybe I need to know to decide if I want the job."

"Job's worth more than a million."

"Total?"

"Each."

A water taxi pulled up to the dock below them and some tourists got out and headed up the stairs toward Harbor Place.

"Each is good," Fran said.

"Who's in it?"

"So far, Crow, JD, Faye, and me," Macklin said.

"She waited for you."

"Yes."

Fran nodded.

"Where's this going to go down?" he said.

Macklin smiled and shook his head.

"Keep thinking about the million," Macklin said.

"It's what you need to know."

"You wouldn't have Crow if you didn't think it would take some doing," Fran said.

"Better to have him and not need him," Macklin said, "than need him and not have him."

"Maybe," Fran said.

"How many guys you need all together?"

"One more after you," Macklin said.

"I'm married now," Fran said.

"Congratulations."

"Four kids."

"How about that," Macklin said.

"I been legit since I got out. Working for the city, mostly slum clearance."

"Making the big buck?"

"Not this big," Fran said.

"How long will it take?"

"You'll probably be gone a week, ten days."

"Ten days?"

"It's a big job. You'll need some time."

"Ten days," Fran said, "I could blow up Baltimore."

"You have to look at the site," Macklin said.

"Decide what you need. Then you have to get it. And install it. It'll take some time.

You can't get away ten days for a million bucks?"

"Old lady'll croak," Fran said.

"I tell her I'm leaving her alone with four kids for ten days."

"You'll have to deal with your wife," Macklin said.

The two of them were silent then, their forearms resting on the railing, the littered sea water washing tamely against the pier. The harbor was busy with small boats and behind them Harbor Place was raucous with teenagers.

"Okay," Fran said finally.

"I'll deal with her."

Macklin smiled and put out his hand. Fran shook it slowly.

"I'll be in touch," Macklin said.

TWENTY.

Surveillance was easy enough. Stay out of sight and watch. He'd done a lot of it in L.A. and the greatest enemy was boredom.

Tonight in the Back Bay, outside Je

Too hard for me, he said to himself and settled back against the car seat. He didn't let the motor run because that was a dead giveaway to surveillance, a car parked with its motor on. He didn't play the radio. He simply sat and waited. People moved along the sidewalk past his parked car. There was money in the Back Bay and the four-story brick town houses along Beacon Street were full of young, well-dressed, good-looking men and women. It was evening and many of them were coming home from di

Dog shit does not respect social status, Jesse thought.

He looked at his watch. Nine-thirty. If she'd left the station by seven and gone to di

He felt the comfortable weight of his gun near his right hip. If she were with another guy, he could kill him. He could feel the release it would bring him. He could imagine the near ejaculatory surge of relief he would get, and he rolled the thought around in his mind passionately. And then what. Now that I've croaked your boyfriend, honey, let's you and me get together? That wouldn't work.

It would also get him jailed. Even police chiefs weren't permitted to kill people for dating their ex-wives. He could probably do it secretively and get away with it. But how many would he have to kill off? And mightn't Je

Je

Shorter than Je

They were walking close together and their shoulders brushed often. Je