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"Please, Victor?" She lays her head on ether and reach out to shake Vince’s hand

"It was a pleasure to meet you," I say

"You as well Perhaps you can enjoy the party longer next ti next to me as we head toward the exit Just before we ’s voice carry through the mansion from the balcony of the fourth floor and we stop cold in our tracks

"Victor Faust," he calls out over the crowd

I feel Sarai’s heart beating in her hand as she grasps ht so that I can see him fully He has cleaned up nicely in such a short tiray hair that had been drenched by sweat, slicked back over his head likely by his fingers rather than a coh only a few seconds at best, is tense I think Sarai has stopped breathing

Ha over the balcony railing

"I look forward to seeing you again," he says

I nod "Until then," I say

The doors one side of the door open for us as we exit the th of the two-acre driveway and are allowed past the front gate without being stopped or shot at

I drive around the city for thirtyback to the hotel tofollowed Sarai is silent the entire ti out the windshield She doesn’t have the look of so her decision to have taken part in what happened

"Sarai--"

"What was that?" she shouts, her head snapping around to look at me "Why was that woman the hit? She was harmless, Victor She needed our help! She was innocent! It couldn’t bemy calm demeanor

Sarai starts to yell at me more, but she stops and drops her chin

"Maybe not," she says, second-guessing herself now "But he kept her in that rooed Helpless A prisoner I don’t understand…" She looks out the windshield again

"It appeared that way, yes," I say "But Mary Ha as Arthur"

"Then who ordered the hit?" she asks, her gaze fixated onordered the hit on herself," I say and Sarai’s eyes cloud over with disbelief "The two of them have been involved in numerous cases of rape and murder, accidental deaths caused by erotic asphyxiation, butbank accounts They’ve been involved in this lifestyle forto her--decided she didn’t want to be a part of that life anyht up to her When she tried to talk to Arthur about the out their lives, he turned on her Long story short, he got her addicted to hern and kept her locked inside that roo they had But he loved her In his own demented way, he loved her That was apparent to me by his reaction to her death"

Sarai shakes her head slowly, trying to take in the truth

"How do you know all of this?"

"I read the file," I say "I usually don’t, but in this case I thought it was necessary"

"Because I ith you," she says and I nod "You knew I’d have questions"

"Yes"

She looks away

"How could he keep her out of the public view for so long? So Their kids The letter said they had kids"

"Yes, they did," I say "Two children who both live in Europe so to do with either of the didn’t keep Mary out of the public eye entirely He claimed she was on her deathbed Terminal cancer Every now and then, when a public appearance was necessary to keep any suspicion away, he would dress her up, drug her up and wheel her out to sit beside hih of an appearance for people to see that Mary Ha of cancer because of her weight and the effects the hern had on her No one asked questions"

I bypass the valet and pull into the parking deck of our hotel and I turn off the engine

We sit in silence for aembedded in the concrete beams above us

"But how did she order the hit on herself?" She runs her hands through the top of her hair "I just don’t--"

"There were few people allowed inside the roorants Fearful for being sent back to their country, and likely for their lives, Arthur Haht because it was one of theset up the hit"