Page 66 of Line of Sight

I scribbled down notes, laughing to myself.Oh, how the mighty have fallen. Sweet little Amy had been sneakily passing valuable tech secrets to a rival firm in exchange for the promise of a key executive position. It had all been going swimmingly until a perceptive and equally sneaky coworker stumbled upon Amy’s deceitful actions.

Blackmail. Such an ugly little word, but entirely appropriate.

The guy, Jeff Murphy, had confronted her, demanding she arrange for him a similar high-ranking position with Amy’s soon-to-be new employer. And if she didn’t?

Can you spell unemployment? Scandal? Maybe even jail time?

She’d dug a huge hole for herself, and now she wanted me to get her out of it.

“So… can you help me? Not that I’m happy about doing this. I still feel so guilty about Brad.”

I snorted. “You can’t have it both ways. Now, do you want me to rub this guy out?”

“Yes, but—”

“But nothing. Give me whatever details you can about him, and I’ll do the rest. And when I’m ready, I’ll let you know what to do to make sure you’re not connected to his death. When were you expecting this new high-powered job to start?”

“Next year. Late January or early February.”

Yeah, I had plenty of time to come up with something.

“Okay. I’ll make some plans.” Then I realized she was still on the line. “Unless there’s someone else who’s a threat. If that’s the case, I think you’re being a little greedy.”

“Of course there’s only one. You think I do this sort of thing all the time? It’s just that… this all seems kinda one-sided. Is there anyoneyouwant… taking care of?”

I laughed. “Why? Are you offering to help me?” I didn’t wait for a response. “No, there’s no one in my way.”

Not anymore.

“You mean like Brad was?”

Okay, that was a low blow. “I think we’re done.”

“Wait!”

I waited.

“So… how will you… kill Jeff?”

“I haven’t decided yet.” That was the truth. A few hours later, with a good bottle of wine and a couple of movies for inspiration, it might be a very different story.

“Which murder will you copy this time?”

I grinned. “Aw, you noticed. I’m touched. Like I said, I haven’t decided. The first you’ll know about it is when you read it in the papers.” Now I reallywasdone.

I hung up.

To be honest, her call couldn’t have come at a better time. I’d been contemplating killing down-and-outs, hookers, anyone who pissed me off, really.

Hey, it worked for Patrick Bateman, my mentor. And if it was good enough for him….

I glanced at the notes I’d taken. One item stood out.

Could I use that?

Hell, I wasn’t thinking aboutfuckingthe guy. Not my game at all. But it could prove useful as a way to get close to him.

I grinned. Jeff Murphy was in for the screw of his life.