Chapter Twenty-one

‘NOT ALL DEATH warrants are signed by judges or governors, ’ I explained. ‘This one was a pre-nup agreement. ’

Ben and I had moved from the dining room into the lounge – a cosy place with an open fire, a lazy cat and a good view across the lobby to the front door – just in case Cumali or the Albanians had a different plan and came calling.

‘The man and woman in question had known each other for six weeks when they decided to marry, ’ I continued. ‘Her name was Cameron, his was Dodge and there was one point two billion at stake. ’

‘No wonder there was a pre-nup, ’ Ben said, lifting a beer.

If ever there was a night for a drink, I thought, this was the one, but I managed to push the idea aside. ‘Cameron had been working as a glorified sales assistant, so she didn’t have much bargaining power – or access to good advice.

‘Needless to say, it was a tough agreement. If she divorced Dodge, especially in the first five years, she got next to nothing. On the other hand, as a widow, she got everything.

So, if she fell out of love—’

‘And wanted real money—’ Ben added.

‘Dodge hadn’t signed a pre-nup—’

‘He’d signed a death warrant, ’ the homicide detective said, raising his eyebrows, impressed.

‘A couple of months later, Cameron decided she didn’t want to be with Dodge any more, ’ I said.

‘Another party involved? ’

‘There usually is. In this case, it was a woman. ’

‘Wow, this is the gift that keeps on giving, ’ Ben said.

‘Now, you have to understand, there are a few things I don’t know. I’ve had to guess at them, make some assumptions, rely on experience, but I know I’m right. ’

He nodded. ‘Sure. You’re the one investigator I wouldn’t argue with. ’

‘My intuition is that the two women had grown up together; I think they were lovers before Dodge entered the frame, ’ I went on. ‘Anyway, let’s call Cameron’s friend Marilyn – I don’t know her real name.

I stole a glance at my watch – only twenty minutes gone. I didn’t know it, but apparently time passed slowly when you were waiting for the end of the world.

‘They had left Turkey Scratch, or wherever they grew up, and moved to Manhattan, full of dreams, I suppose.

‘Cameron got a job at Prada and Marilyn wanted to be an actress. In other words, she took a job in an office. ’

‘Then Cameron met the billionaire, ’ said Ben.

‘Yeah, it was a whirlwind, but Cameron must have known it was her one chance at a fortune – lightning never strikes twice.

‘Maybe she sat down and discussed it with Marilyn, perhaps it was all very civilized, but in my experience life’s a lot messier than that – my guess is she dumped her lifelong friend. Whatever happened, she married him.

‘One thing I’m certain of: Dodge never met Marilyn or even saw her – that was important for what happened later. ’

‘Okay, ’ Ben said. ‘So Dodge and Cameron get married, but it doesn’t work out. ’

‘It didn’t take long. Even though I believe that Marilyn felt betrayed, Cameron re-established contact. She wanted to be rid of Dodge, but she had a problem—’

‘The pre-nup. ’

‘Right. But the women saw a way round it – they could have each other and the money. Kill him. ’

‘What was their plan? ’ Ben asked.

‘They didn’t know. Then, one morning, a group of terrorists helped them out: 9/11.

‘The office where Marilyn worked was located in one of the towers, but she was running late. She saw the planes hit and realized that, as far as the world was aware, she was dead. For a would-be murderer, there was no better alibi. ’

I looked up, and saw three fellow guests come through the front door and head for the elevator. As usual, the tradecraft was running in the back of my mind, and I knew that all the residents were now in for the night. In the next ten minutes the young duty manager would lock the front door, check that the loading bay and service elevator were secure and dim the house lights. I looked at a clock on the mantel – its hands were barely moving. Where was Cumali? Where in hell was Echelon?

‘But Marilyn had to stay dead, ’ said Ben, dragging me back to New York and 9/11.

‘That’s right, so she walked through the smoke and body parts and found the perfect place to live off the grid. The Eastside Inn.

‘She was an actress, and she used her craft to make sure nobody could recognize or describe her. Every day she played a different role. ’

Ben nodded. ‘Yeah – I never did get a photofit. She must have started planning right away. That took her to the New York library and your book. ’

‘Right. An appendix at the back deals with the clear-up rate of homicides in different countries. A few minutes’ reading would have told her that there were a lot better places to kill someone than America.

‘Turkey was perfect – there was little use of forensics, and investigators were overworked. Cameron would have had no trouble convincing Dodge to cruise the Aegean, but that created a big problem for Marilyn. ’

‘Dead people can’t get passports, ’ Bradley said.

I nodded. The lights throughout the hotel started to dim, the cat stretched, Bradley and I looked at the clock on the mantel. A hundred and twenty-five minutes to go.

I took a break, walked over and poured myself a coffee. My hands were shaking.