Then she stabbed the man in both eyes and finished him off by slashing the blade across his throat.

She panted a bit while waiting for him to die. When he did, she stood, slid the blade back into the walking stick, and slowly made her way back across the room. She crouched down by that opening in the bench—and that was when she looked up at Kiril.

She held one very old finger to her lips. Then winked at him. She slipped back into that impossibly tiny space, somehow managed to put the wood panel back, and was gone.

Kiril still didn’t run. He still didn’t leave. He realized later that his not going had saved his life. Because when the two younger men came back in, screaming and wailing over what he now realized was their father’s body, they quickly dismissed him as the culprit because he appeared so terrified. Finally, one of them grabbed the other, more hysterical one, and they ran out of the room.

And, after throwing up, Kiril finally went outside and told the staff that they needed to contact the police. Now.

CHAPTER 40

Livy checked the lighting while she waited for the bride and groom. Toni stood watching and drinking a can of Sprite. Leave it to Toni. The fanciest wedding either of them would ever be invited to, and Jean-Louis Parker breaks out the can of soda.

“Sooooo,” Toni sang, “I got an excited text today from Michael, telling me how wonderful your show is going to be. He is so excited about the last batch of prints you gave him.”

“Why is he talking to you about this and not me?”

“Because you frighten him.”

“I don’t know why.”

“He said something about the way you stare at him.”

“I stare at him like I stare at everyone.”

“Yes. And you frighten many with that stare. I promised him he would only have to deal with me from now on.”

Livy picked up her camera. “I have an agent.”

“Not as an agent. More like a go-between once deals are done. But your agent thinks it’s a good idea. He’s sure this upcoming show is going to catapult you to the next level, but he’s afraid your lack of social skills will destroy any goodwill your art creates.”

Livy thought on that a moment. “He’s probably right.”

“The ceremony was beautiful, wasn’t it?”

“Oh God,” Livy sighed. “Are you going to insist on marrying that hillbilly now?”

“Why? So Ricky Lee’s sister and Sissy Mae can argue with Kyle about how my wedding should look while Oriana tells me my ass is too fat for the dress I choose? I think the answer is no.”

“Good. Because we both know I’d spend all my time with Coop tormenting you.”

“I know.”

“Oh, by the way . . . I went to the ATM this morning to grab fiftybucks out of my account. Just in case I needed the extra cash for anything. And I found some additional money there.”

“How much additional?”

“Two-point-eight million dollars.”

Livy turned just in time to avoid the spray of Sprite that came at her.

“What?”

“Keep your voice down.”

“Why is there that much money in your account, Livy?”

“At first I thought it was Jake fucking around, but then I figured out it was from my mother.”

“Your mother gave you money? Your mother?”

“I’m guessing it’s from my father’s life insurance policies.”

“So? Your mother never gives you money. She expects you to steal it like everyone else in your family.”

“That She-bear from BPC told me that someone had cleaned out Chumakov’s bank accounts. Chances are that was my mother with the help of Jake. So it’s easy for her to hand over the cash she got from the insurance, plus it’s a really smart way for her to get Aunt Teddy off her back. I’m his only daughter, so the Kowalskis can’t really complain that they didn’t get a cut.”

“What are you going to do with all that money?”

Livy shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe I’ll just stick it in my savings and hope that the banks don’t crash again.”

“You know . . . you’d think you’d show a little enthusiasm now that you have so much cash.”

“It’s nice to know it’s there, especially if I ever lose my health insurance. But with lots of money comes lots of problems.”

“Are you going to tell Vic?”

“Not right away. Maybe in a few months.”

“Why so long?”

Livy held up her new camera rig. “He paid a fortune for this to replace the old one that got damaged. So I’m not about to turn around now and tell him that I could have bought sixty of these if I’d felt the need and still had lots of money left over. The money’s there if we need it, but I’m not going to make him feel he has to keep up with me when I did nothing to actually earn it.”

“Insurance money is to help your family after you’ve gone.”

“I told that old bastard I didn’t need his goddamn money. And his exact words back were, ‘Then you will get nothing, you little bitch!’ ”

“You and your father had an . . . interesting relationship.”

“The word you’re looking for is dysfunctional. We had a dysfunctional relationship.”

“And you plan to keep it dysfunctional even after he’s dead?”

“That has been my plan all along.”