Free New York One by Tony Schumacher Page B

programmed into that thing?"
    "No."
    "Well we've got a problem if I ask one it can't answer haven't we?"
    "No."
    Crace smiled in spite of himself and took another sip of coffee, he glanced around the diner and noticed there was now only about six or other customers in there, most of them with heads buried in meals or conversations. The man had chosen the venue well.
    "Okay, let's get down to business here; I gotta get back across town. This is what I want you to do..."
    The man held up the palm of his right hand and with his left index finger tapped at a square on the screen, Crace leant forward to read it.
    "You have asked me to kill your wife; I will do this for fifteen thousand dollars. Half at the end of this meeting and half after I have completed the task. The figure is non-negotiable as I explained in our previous correspondence. The manner of the task will be to my choosing. The collection of the outstanding monies will be to my choosing. If you do not pay the outstanding amount I will kill your parents in New Hampshire. If you speak to anyone of this matter I will kill your sister in Georgia. Once I have killed these people I will find you and kill you. If you behave in the manner I have told you and follow all of my instructions, at the completion of the matter you will never see me again. Is this understood?"
    Crace sat back and let his mouth hang open for a moment while his brain figured out how to close it, a moment passed until he found some words.
    "How did you know about my folks and my sister?"
    The man tapped the screen again summoning another caption,
    "Answer yes or no."
    "There won't be a problem with the money or the job I promise."
    "Answer yes or no."
    "Yes."
    Crace leant back from the table and stared at the man who coolly stared right back at him. Prior to the meeting Crace had wondered if this guy was just some sort of nut job fantasist who was pretending to be a hit man, but right now, looking across the table at this guy, he felt like he was staring at death.
    Death stared back, smiled and nodded, as if reading Crace's mind. The man tapped another white box and Crace leant forward to read it,
    "If you wish to leave now you may do. We will never see each other or speak again and you will be safe to carry on with your life as if this meeting had never taken place. You have ten seconds to get up and leave the table."
    "I don't want to leave, I need... no, I want to do this I swear." Crace whispered urgently, leaning in close, head inches from the table, the light of the iPad illuminating his face from below. The man didn't reply, and it took Crace a moment to realise death was tapping his index finger on the table.
    He watched it. Eight, nine, ten, before the finger pressed another square on the iPad,
    "You want me to execute your wife, Karen, who works as a lawyer Maybrick Legal Inc. You want me to do this so that you can inherit Karen's wealth, wealth that was left to her by her father who died last year, and also a joint six million dollar insurance policy that is payable should either of you die before your apartment is paid for. Is this correct?"
    "Jesus, it sounds like I am one evil son of a bitch, but let me tell you buddy, she is looking to nail my ass to the wall if the divorce she is threatening me with goes though. I'm in a hole here, I gotta girlfriend who is pushing me to move in with her, my job is up and down, it ain't easy being a broker these days I gotta tell you. I can't afford to split from that bitch and get a divorce."
    "Answer yes or no."
    "Yes. Jesus Christ! It's correct. Yes."
    "If you wish to leave now you may do. We will never see each other or speak again and you will be safe to carry on with your life as if this meeting had never taken place. You have ten seconds to get up and leave the table."
    This time Crace counted along with the tapping finger, eight nine ten. He didn't leave; he just sat with his hands on the table like the first email had told him too.
    "You are