Rickard grunted. “I told you, circumstances overtook me in Maine. It does not mean I’m incapable of finishing the job. Alone.”

There was a long pause. The ticking of the cooling engine, a distant bark of an excited dog, was all that filled the seconds.

“I have reconsidered our arrangement.”

“In what way?” Rickard asked.

“You were employed to set Hunter up. I wanted him to suffer greatly. I wanted him to lose people he cared for in the knowledge that he could do nothing to stop their deaths. He was to have no one to turn to, no place to hide. But it seems all of that was ridiculously grandiose of me. I should have simply had you take him out at the first opportunity, allowed you to kill him.” Rickard couldn’t argue with that: it was what he’d thought all along. So he just listened. “The plan has backfired. It has caused problems I could do without. I said I did not want a trail leading back to me.”

I am a trail to you, Rickard realized.

But that was not what was said. “Hunter killed three of those I sent to help you. One of them is still alive and in the hands of law enforcement. I can’t risk having him mention my name.”

“You want me to kill him?”

“No, I have other people who will do that for me.”

“I’ll do it.”

“No, Rickard. I want you to disappear for a while. The police are looking for you now. So is Joe Hunter. I will pay you for your services to date and will also see that you receive a weighty bonus. However, that is it. You must have no more involvement in this case.”

“That’s not the way I work.”

“I understand your disappointment, Rickard. But that’s the way it must be.”

“You don’t understand what I’m saying . . .”

“I do. You took the job on the understanding that you would ultimately kill Hunter. Professionally you want to see that task through. I know that you wish to finish things but it’s better this way.”

“Better?”

“You delivered exactly what was asked of you, it just did not have the result I was hoping for. From here on in I wish to play things differently.”

“You’re saying that you’re severing our contract?”

“For the time being. However, I may use you again in the future.”

“Use me?”

“You’re disappointed. I understand. I will compensate you well: believe me, you will be happy with the bonus I mentioned.”

“I am more than disappointed,” Rickard said, his voice low. He had begun to shake, vibrating like a tuning fork.

“Rickard, you are going to drop out of sight for a while. My own people will deal with this from now on. Should I need your services again, I will contact you.”

The line went dead.