Leah became aware of a bright blinking yellow light coming through the window. She wondered why she had just noticed, and then realized it was the first time a light had stopped there all evening. There was a car in the left-turn lane, preparing to turn into the parking lot where she had parked the SUV.

She turned off her flashlight. She had to get out. She ran to the counter in the front room, held the rope hanging from the hole in the ceiling, and jumped upward to grasp it as high as she could. She shinnied up the rope and out onto the roof, pulled up the rope, and lay down. She stayed in the dark area beyond the peak of the roof on the side away from the street. She saw the car in the left turn lane waiting for car after car to approach and go by. The driver was patient and determined to make the turn, and that meant he was not abandoning his plan to come into this lot. She threw the rope off the roof to the back of the SUV, where it would not be noticed.

Outside, the car made its left turn and swung into the lot. The driver, Denes Varga, said, “You know, this is one of the two or three worst nights of my life. Maybe it’s actually the worst.”

“I know,” Viktor Panko said. “Losing Attila is like cutting off an arm. Georgy Halasz is a loss too, of course, but it’s not the same. Attila was your brother, but he was always like a brother to me too. My own brothers treated me like crap. I practically supported them. They wouldn’t have had gas money without me, but they looked down on me even before I went to prison. You and Attila and Reggie never wavered, never let me down. I feel terrible about this. It’s my fault that he felt he had to protect me.” Viktor was looking into the lot as his cousin drove in. “What the hell? What’s that SUV doing in the lot?”

Denes looked at the car parked by the shop. “It’s probably somebody from one of the restaurants in the mall across the street. The owners never want the waiters and dishwashers to park where the customers might. We’re closed at night, so they’re probably always parking here. We just don’t know it.”

“I’d like to give him a real surprise when he comes for his car tonight.”

“It could be educational.” Denes pulled his car into a space near the rear door of the building.

The two men got out of their car and walked around to the trunk. They took out four shiny rectangular metal cans filled with kerosene. “I’m sorry we have to do this too,” said Viktor. “I don’t want you to get in a mess with the insurance people or the police.”