Page 28 of Close Up

Nick turned away from the view and looked at Vivian. “Pell and my uncle are convinced that the poems are actually the private record of a professional killer for hire. Uncle Pete says each poem has a pattern. It starts with a date and certain personal details about the victim. There are also a couple of encrypted lines that identify the individual who commissioned the murder, how much that person paid, and the motive.”

Vivian frowned. “Why would the killer put down so much information about the individual who hired him?”

Nick shrugged. “I think it’s safe to say that at some point in the future the assassin will start blackmailing his clients.”

Vivian shuddered. “Of course. He’ll want to impress them with the details as a way of proving he knows their secret.”

“The remainder of the verses in each poem describe the strategy and methods the assassin used to complete each commissioned murder. Uncle Pete told me that the killer apparently prides himself on creativity, but more importantly he has a strict pattern. He observes his victim for a month before he decides exactly how he will carry out the murder. Evidently he savors that part of the process.”

“The murder?”

“That, too. But my uncle read a couple of the poems to me. I got the impression the killer enjoys stalking his victim. It gives him a sense of power. It’s his cocaine.”

“I can’t believe I am the subject of one of those horrible poems. It makes no sense.”

“To be clear, the last entry in the journal, the one that has your name in it, is not a completed poem. Uncle Pete said there are only a couple of lines. In addition to the date, they detail your name, the town where you live, and your profession.”

Vivian rose and went to stand at the window. Rex followed, sat down beside her, and leaned heavily against her right leg.

“What about the name and address of the person who paid to have me murdered?” Vivian asked quietly.

“Luther Pell says apparently the journal was stolen before the killer recorded those details in the poem. The thief died in Burning Cove, which is how the volume fell into Pell’s hands.”

“If the killer lost his book of poems, perhaps he will abandon the commission.”

“I don’t think we can assume he’ll stop. Judging by what my uncle read to me over the phone, I believe it is far more likely he will be obsessed with finishing what he started.”

Vivian folded her arms very tightly and began to pace the small space, walking in circles. Rex accompanied her. Nick had to get out of the way when they went past him.

“Since the assassin began the project involving me about three weeks ago, time is running out fast, is that what you’re trying to say?” Vivian asked.

“Assuming he sticks to his pattern of taking a month to complete each commission, yes.”

Vivian frowned. “How can Pell be sure that the man who died with the poems in his possession wasn’t the assassin?”

“Good question. The name of the thief was Jasper Calloway and Pell is certain he was not the hired killer.”

“How can he possibly be sure?”

Nick paused and then decided he might as well tell her what Luther Pell had told him.

“Two reasons. Pell knows something about the thief. He saysCalloway was many things, but not a poet. Pell also said that Calloway was very... competent. He was thorough but he was careful not to be predictable.”

“In other words, if Calloway had been the assassin, I would probably be dead by now, is that it?”

“That’s Pell’s theory and I’m inclined to agree with him. There’s another reason to think that the assassin is still alive. Pell says he has been informed that someone in the underworld is trying to find the journal. That individual will pay any price. No questions asked.”

Vivian turned quickly. “The assassin?”

“Maybe. Probably.”

“How does Pell know such things?”

“I told you, he has mob connections. Someone from that world, a man known as the Broker, contacted Pell shortly after Calloway died. The Broker told him that someone is looking for the journal.”

“There must be any number of people who would want to get their hands on that volume,” Vivian said.

“Certainly. Any of the clients who paid for a murder, for starters. But he or she would have to know about the existence of the journal in the first place. It seems unlikely that any of the people who commissioned the murders would be aware of the volume, let alone that the poems were encrypted.”

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