Carl Spalter apparently had been the victim not only of a professional gun-for-hire but also of an unusual one—and an unusual investment had been made to secure the outcome. However, considering what was at stake for the three people closest to him—his wife, his daughter, his brother—the high hit fee would have been a reasonable investment for any of them. At first glance, Jonah would seem to be the one with easiest access to that kind of cash, but Kay and Alyssa could have their own hidden sources, or allies willing to invest in a major payday. Then another possibility occurred to him—the possibility that more than one of them was involved. Why not all three? Or all three, plus Mick Klemper?

The sound of Madeleine’s slippered feet padding toward the den door brought Gurney back from his speculations to his immediate surroundings.

“Good morning,” she said sleepily. “How long have you been up?”

“Since five.”

She rubbed her eyes and yawned. “You want some coffee?”

“Sure. How come you’re up?”

“Early clinic shift. Seems unnecessary, really. Early mornings are dead there.”

“Jesus, it’s barely dawn. How early do they open?”

“Not until eight. I’m not going there right away. I want time to let the chickens out for a while before I leave. I love watching them. Have you noticed they do everything together?”

“Like what?”

“Everything. If one goes a few feet away to peck at something in the grass, as soon as the others notice, they all scurry over and join her. And Horace keeps an eye on them. If one walks a little too far away, he starts crowing. Or he’ll run over and try to bring her back. Horace is the guard. Always on the alert. While the hens all have their heads down pecking, he keeps looking around. That’s his job.”

Gurney thought about this for a minute.

“Interesting how evolution arrives at a variety of survival strategies. Apparently the gene that supports high vigilance in the rooster produces behavior that results in a higher rate of hen survival, which in turn results in the rooster with that gene mating with more hens, which in turn propagates the vigilance gene more broadly into successive generations.”

“I suppose,” said Madeleine, yawning again and heading for the kitchen.

Chapter 37

Death Wish

Half believing that he would eventually get around to canceling with Malcolm Claret, Gurney kept deferring the call, until the time came—8:15 a.m.—when he was forced to make a decision: either set out on the long drive to his eleven o’clock appointment or pick up the phone and let the man know he wasn’t coming.

For reasons not entirely clear to him, he decided at the final moment to keep the appointment after all.