Page 101 of Pieces of Her (Andrea Oliver 1)

Andrew straightened his shirt. The metal box had fallen to the floor. He tried, “Paula, we—”

The air went cold.

Paula said, “What did you call me?”

Andrew didn’t respond for a moment. In the silence, all Jane could hear was the record playing upstairs. She dropped her purse on the floor in case she had to help her brother. Paula’s fists were clenched. Nick had told them only to use their code names, and as with everything else that came out of his mouth, Paula had taken his order as gospel.

“Sorry,” Andrew said. “I meant Penny. As in, Penny, we can talk about this later?”

Paula did not back down. “Are you in charge now?”

“Penny,” Jane said. “Stop this.”

Paula reeled on her. “Don’t you—”

Quarter cleared his throat.

Jane startled at the noise. She hadn’t seen him when they’d walked in. He was sitting at the table. A red apple was in his hand. He lifted his chin toward Jane, then Andrew, by way of solidarity. He told Paula, “What’s done is done.”

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Paula’s hands went to her hips. “This is murder, you fucking idiots. Do you know that? We’re all part of a conspiracy to commit murder.”

“In Norway,” Quarter said. “Even if they manage to extradite us, we’ll get seven years, tops.”

Paula snorted in disgust. “You think the United States government is going to let us stand trial in a foreign country? It was you, wasn’t it?” Paula was pointing her finger at Jane. “You put the gun in the bag, you dumb bitch.”

Jane refused to be bullied by this festering asshole. “Are you pissed at me because Nick didn’t tell you about the gun or because Nick is fucking me instead of you?”

Quarter chuckled.

Andrew sighed as he leaned down to pick up the metal box. Then he froze.

They all froze.

Someone was outside. Jane heard feet stamping. She held her breath as she waited for the secret knock—twice, then a pause, then another knock.

Nick?

Jane felt her heart leap at the possibility, but still, she was racked with anxiety until she opened the door and saw the smile on his face.

“Hello, gang.” Nick gave Jane a kiss on the cheek. His mouth was at her ear. He whispered, “Switzerland.”

Jane felt a rush of love for him.

Switzerland.

Their dreamed-about little flat in Basel, surrounded by students in a country that had no formal extradition treaty with the United States. Nick had talked about Switzerland that same Christmas night that he had revealed the plan. Jane had been shocked that he’d been able to focus so acutely not just on the mayhem they would cause, but on how they would extricate themselves from the fallout.

My darling, he had whispered in her ear. Don’t you know I’ve thought of everything?

“Now.” Nick clapped together his hands. He addressed the group. “All right, troops? How are we doing?”

Quarter pointed to Paula. “This one was freaking out.”

“I was not,” Paula insisted. “Nick, what happened in Norway was—”

“Exceptional!” He grabbed her by the arms, his excitement flowing through the room like a ray of light. “It was tremendous! Absolutely the single most important thing that has happened to an American in this century!”

Paula blinked, and Jane could see her mind instantly shift to Nick’s way of thinking.