Derek responded to their hesitation by snapping up the handgun and training it on them.
“Don’t aggravate me further!” he warned. “This has been a bad day, and I’m in a cross mood. I’ll give you two seconds to come in here and sit on the couch.”
Kim swallowed hard, but his voice came out in a hoarse whisper. “I think we’d better sit down.”
Kim urged Tracy forward while he berated himself for not having checked the house when they’d arrived. He’d made the effort that morning to be able to tell if anyone had come in while they were away, but then after the death of Carlos, he’d not even thought of it.
Tracy sat down first. Kim took a seat next to her. They were on the couch diagonally opposite the wing chair.
Derek calmly replaced his gun on the coffee table and leaned back. His hands returned to the upholstered arms of the chair with his fingers slightly curled like a gunfighter ready to draw. It was as if he were daring the people in the room to try to flee or take the gun, thereby giving him an excuse to shoot them.
“Who are you?” Tracy repeated. “What are you doing in my house?”
“My name is immaterial,” Derek said. “Why I’m here is another matter. I was brought to this city to kill the doctor.”
Both Kim and Tracy swayed slightly. Derek’s frightening revelation made them momentarily dizzy. They were speechless in their terror. The man was a hired killer.
“But something went wrong,” Derek said. “They brought me all the way to this godforsaken city and then withdrew the contract without any real explanation other than to say they had someone else who was going to do the job. They even had the gall to ask for the down payment back after I flew all the way out here.”
Derek leaned forward and his eyes blazed. “So not only am I not going to kill you, Dr. Reggis, I’m going to do you a favor. Now, I cannot figure out why these beef people want you dead.”
“I can tell you,” Kim offered anxiously. He was more than willing to cooperate.
Derek raised his hand. “There’s no need for me to know the details at this point,” he said. “I tried to find out, but I gave up. It’s your business. What you should know is that these people want you dead enough to hire me or someone like me. My way of getting back at them for taking advantage of me is to tell you that you are in grave danger. What you do with the information is entirely up to you. Am I making myself clear?”
“Perfectly,” Kim said. “Thank you.”
“No reason to thank me,” Derek said. “I’m not doing this for altruistic reasons.”
Derek stood up. “The only thing I ask in return is that you keep this conversation just between us. Otherwise I might have to come back and visit either one of you again, and I hope that’s just as clear. I should warn you that I am very good at what I do.”
“Don’t worry,” Kim said. “We won’t discuss this with anyone.”
“Excellent,” Derek said. “Now, if you will excuse me, I am going to try to get home.”
Kim made a move to get up from the couch.
“Don’t bother,” Derek said, motioning Kim to stay put. “I saw myself in, I’ll see myself out.”
Kim and Tracy watched dumbfounded as Derek slipped on his camel-hair coat. He picked up his handgun and slipped it into his pocket. Then he picked up his briefcase.
“I wouldn’t have been quite so rude if you’d gotten home at a decent hour,” Derek said. “Good night.”
“Good night,” Kim said.
Derek walked out of the living room.
Kim and Tracy heard the door open and then slam closed.
For several minutes neither spoke.
“This is all so incredible. It’s as if I’m in a nightmare and just can’t wake up,” Tracy said.
“It’s a nightmare that keeps on going,” Kim agreed. “But we have to do what we can to end it.”
“Do you still think we should go to a foreign country?” Tracy asked.