Chapter 18: The Glass Wall

The old man called at seven on Sunday morning, as politely as ever.

"Winthrop," he said. "The white house at the end of Shore Road. Come at ten, the two of you, with no boy and no guns."

"Why?" Vincent asked.

"Because I promised you a courtesy on Saturday and I am a man of my word." The line clicked.

Nico was eating toast at Cormac's table, wrapped in a blanket, his eyes fixed on Maura.

"Is that him?"

"It was a wrong number," she said.

He looked at her for a long moment, then went back to his toast.

She hated how easily he forgave a lie.

Cormac drove Nico to a coworker's apartment, where the crew was set up.

Vincent drove Maura to the water.

For the first ten minutes neither of them spoke.

On the bridge at Winthrop, he said, without looking at her, "Last night my father said the old man kept his word to him. For years."

"I heard."

"I don't know what he's done, Maura. I don't know if I'm driving you into the thing he built."

"Then you'd better keep the car running."

"I'm not going to let anything happen to you."

"Don't promise things you can't keep." She turned to the window. "Just don't leave me in there."

His hand crossed the console and rested on hers.

She let it.

The white house stood alone at the end of the road, with grey water behind it and a flagpole in the yard.

Keep reading free with an account. Start He Sacrificed Our Son, But Won't Let Me Go from Chapter 1, then sign up free to read the rest of this chapter.