The house was dark around him, all the windows shuttered against the rain and the fading light. But Mormo knew the place, one of his more familiar hideaways. He trudged surely through the shadows to the top of the stairs. The floorboards creaking in the surrounding silence. The old man grumbling. All this intrigue. All this danger, he thought. He was way too old. It was way past time to get out of the business, retire, settle down. Get himself a place in Cornwall by the sea. Gather a cozy little coven about him. Spend his declining years in quiet contemplation and blood sacrifice, appeasing the dark powers in hope of the life to come.

He started heavily down the stairs. Well, he thought, tonight should pave the way, provide him with a nice little nest egg. Assuming it didn’t kill him first.

He came slowly down into the foyer. Caught an obscure glimpse of himself in the mirror there. Poor old bloke with not a true friend left to him, he thought. Hard done by. Everyone on him and on him. Difficult to know who to be most afraid of at this point, really. The old Nazi who’d passed him the panel, there was a right spooky loon if ever there was one. Going on and on about death and culture. “It takes a mountain of corpses to make a Madonna,” he’d said. His eyes all shiny. Mormo could hardly wait to get the hell away from the lunatic.

But the Nazi had been more terrified even than he was. He knew he’d put his tit in the wringer when he’d phoned Sotheby’s to bid on The Magi. He knew Iago would cotton onto him, come after him double quick and no mistake. And now poor old Dr. M had that to worry about too, didn’t he? Iago. He shivered.

He continued his trek, through the darkened sitting room towards the kitchen. No noise anywhere besides his footsteps and his sighs.

He didn’t want to think about what Iago would do to him if he caught him at this. He didn’t want to think about it for a minute. But the truth was: Iago—he would do for him sooner or later anyway, wouldn’t he? At the end of the day, there was no percentage at all in dealing with a man like that.