Freeman opened the file and laid the pages out side-by-side. There were only two of them: the cover letter from Bluesmoke, and his exit form from the State Department. Vincent thought the State Department people could actually write a pretty good letter when they wanted to—the way they outlined his operational specialty without saying a lot, leaving far more between the lines than in the printed text.

Freeman seemed to get the gist of it, anyway. He waved the letter gently, like the weight of the paper would help him take the measure of the man. He said, ‘Your role here will have two components. Principally, you’ll maintain security of the property, and you’ll also serve as driver for Mr Lamar. We’d prefer this to be a twenty-four–hour position. There’s self-contained accommodation on the ground floor.’

‘All right.’

Freeman said, ‘We’ll give you the tour, obviously. But do you have any questions at this point?’

No, he didn’t really, even though the guy hadn’t told him much. Bluesmoke had given him the background. Eugene Lamar had made his money from supermarkets, and he had no law-enforcement flags. But Vincent was distracted, slightly, by Freeman’s business card. What he’d like to know was if the M stood for Morgan. Vincent presumed the man would find it pretty irksome, being told all the time that Morgan Freeman was a movie star. It would dent your sense of self-accomplishment, having a name made famous by someone else.

He said, ‘Who else is on the property?’

‘Myself and Mr Lamar are here fulltime. There’s a gardener, but he’s only here two days per week.’

‘What about security?’

‘It’s a staff of one, and our previous man retired last month.’ Freeman smiled tightly. ‘Mr Lamar would like a replacement sooner rather than later.’

Vincent said, ‘Does the gardener carry?’

‘Excuse me?’

Vincent tilted his head. ‘Just curious about the guy in the living room.’

Freeman said, ‘Mr Lamar’s daughter is visiting. She has her own security.’

Vincent hadn’t heard anything about a daughter. ‘Has she been threatened, or does she just like having back-up?’

‘Ms Jones is a public figure, and I understand that necessitated the protection. You’d need to discuss the specifics with her or Mr Lamar.’

‘And what about Mr Lamar? Has he ever been threatened?’

Freeman said, ‘Not that I’m aware of. Though I’m sure Mr Lamar can apprise you of relevant details. Should there be any.’

He wasn’t qualifying anything with ‘if you get the job’. It sounded like the decision had been made before he got here. So Vincent said, ‘I’d like thirty-five hundred a week. I’m happy to chauffeur, but I won’t carry a gun. Hopefully someone’s mentioned that already.’