Killer Move - Michael Marshall [103]
I glanced at Jane again.
“She’s not my friend,” I said.
“There were larger casts each time. Longer lead-ins. More and more ornate. It got . . . it got a little out of control. And . . . look, Bill, maybe you’d have been the same if you were part of the group. You’re an operator, right? I’ve seen that in you. You know what you want, you’re going for it. You’re all about trying to bend the world to fit. You’d have enjoyed the games, too.”
“No,” I said. “I wanted to be someone, yes, but I’m not like you. And so now one of the people whose life you fucked up decided to come back and make you all pay, right?”
“That may be so.”
“Good. I wish I’d known all this when I met him. I’d’ve shaken his hand. So—is that all? We done?”
Tony shook his head. “It’s not that simple.”
“You don’t think you deserve what’s coming to you?”
“That’s not what I meant,” he said. “There’s a death on my conscience, always will be. Katy was a waster, but she didn’t deserve to die. But I mean that’s not what’s going on right now. That bottle of wine you gave me, and the one your wife drank. How long ago did you buy those?”
“I can’t remember,” I said. “A month. Probably closer to six weeks when my post went up asking around about it. Why?”
“It wasn’t part of the game.”
“What do you mean?”
“We don’t know who set that up. We weren’t even started on this year’s game six weeks ago, and the scenario was always initially sketched out by Marie. You’d been picked as the target, but nothing else had been put in place. And a month ago Hunter was still in jail.”
I didn’t know what to say to that.
“There’s something else going on,” Marie said. “As soon as David went missing, we pulled the plug. Called Jane, told her to cease and desist. But it didn’t stop. Someone else is playing a different game.”
“Who?”
“We don’t know. My guess is Warner.”
“Why would he? I thought you guys were close.”
“We were,” Tony muttered. “But the last couple years, it seemed like he was getting tighter and tighter wound. I started to distance myself. There’s a chance he found out about a big condo deal Peter and I cut him out of. Marie’s theory is that he decided to pull us into the game ourselves, in revenge for going behind his back. Personally, I think he just did it for . . . fun.”
“So who killed Cassandra? You or these alleged other people, the ones playing to Warner’s new script?”
He frowned. “Who the hell is Cassandra?”
Marie looked equally confused.
“You didn’t tell me this because you think I’m owed, or because you feel bad,” I said. “You told me because you’re scared to death and you’re wondering if I made an arrangement with Hunter, or Warner, to hand you guys up. This isn’t about me. It’s still about you.”
“Did you make a deal?”
“No. But why me? What did I ever do to you? I worked for Peter Grant. I was selling your condos. I wanted to be somebody, but I was making money for you guys in the meantime. What did I ever do to make it ‘entertaining’ to screw up my life?”
“I’m sorry it happened. We can work things out.”
“No. This game’s over, Tony, and now someone’s coming for you. I don’t know who they are, and I don’t care, but good fucking luck to them.”
I turned and stormed away.
I heard Jane’s footsteps following. My legs were stiff. My head felt empty. I knew that if I didn’t get myself out of there then bad things were going to happen. A lot of me wanted to stay and let them happen, but I knew my life was fucked up enough.
As we got halfway down the stairs, I heard a voice call out above.
“Bill.”
It was Marie. She was standing at the top.
“This isn’t over yet,” she said. Her face was pinched. “There is no limit to what Warner will do. None at all. Go back to your house, get what you need, and then go. Go as far as you