Peter watched him walk away. He was bemused. Alan had always been a smart operator, even when they were kids. In fact, he’d been surprised when Alan had stabbed a guy to death during a house break-in. Peter figured he must have panicked when he came face to face with the householder. They were only young at the time, when all was said and done.

Alan had got a long stretch for that, too, because he’d gone to the house carrying a knife. So the courts decided it was premeditated and it had gone against him.

When Peter had known Alan years ago he was the cool, calculating type who always wanted to plan the best way to do things. As Peter reflected on their meeting he figured that Alan had probably become even smarter with age. There weren’t many guys who would have the front to keep him dangling. Yes, Alan would definitely be an asset to the firm. He just had to wait now and see what he decided.

*

Adele folded the application form and tucked it inside the envelope she was holding in her other hand. Over the past few years she had forgotten how much of a drag it was applying for jobs. She was already fed up of visiting job agencies, filling in application forms and sending CVs to companies, and she had only been at it for a couple of weeks.

During that time she hadn’t had a single reply to any of her letters, let alone the offer of an interview. She tried to reassure herself that it was early days, but deep inside she was filled with self-doubt. After all, who would want to employ an ex-convict, especially one who had viciously killed her father?

She wasn’t happy living at Peter’s apartment either. Although he had made her welcome, she couldn’t help but feel that she was in the way. He had brought girls back with him a couple of times after a night out, and there was always a bit of awkwardness when he greeted her in a morning with his latest squeeze in tow.

Then there were the telephone conversations and visits by people who he called his employees. Those conversations were always guarded or spoken in whispers and she knew they didn’t want her to hear what was being said.

She had accepted that Peter was still involved in criminal activities and knew that, after all these years, she wasn’t going to change him. But that didn’t mean she was comfortable with the situation. And the sooner she could distance herself from it, the better.