‘We’ve performed a thorough upgrade since then, I assure you.’
‘That’s good to know.Last time was less than ideal.’
Kessler chuckles.‘I remember.Everything is in hand.Enjoy yourself.’
Lachlan stays where he is until they’re both gone before moving.He heads to the staff building fifty paces away from the mansion, knocks on the door.
‘Is Paola there?’he asks when a man answers.
The man calls for her and she comes out.
‘Mr Lachlan,’ she says.‘What can I help you with?’
‘Is there a weather warning?’he asks without preamble.‘Storm on the way?’
‘No, sir.We get updates each morning.Clear skies for the next week, nothing even close by.’She gives a bland smile.‘It’s going to be a nice party.’
It bothers him more than it should.
He’s starting to feel like Fenwick, fucking paranoid about astormthat isn’t even coming.The skies are empty but for scalding sun.Not a cloud in sight.
Lachlan spends the remaining daylight hours making what even Danya would call unnecessary perimeter checks around the mansion.He circles the grounds repeatedly, committing routes, foliage and sightlines to memory until the island is mapped back to front in his mind.
The mansion surroundings are kept immaculately clean.
Staff clear debris constantly and the interior grounds are pristine, but even so, wildlife presses close around the edges; lizards, rats, land crabs and snakes.Pelicans, ibises and ospreys fly constantly overhead, hunting for all four.
A severe headache is building in his skull, pressure makes his nose creak whenever he knuckles between his eyes, but he can’t stop running through more worst-case scenarios, more mapping, more contingencies.
The vegetation is dry, high wildfire potential.
One dock.One staging island.One way off.
When the sun sets, he’s frazzled.
Pent up and on edge.
The party isn’t for another hour, so he calls Danya from his spot on the beach and asks him to check the weather for their general location because when Danya searches forSable Key,nothing shows up on GPS.
‘Clear skies,’Danya confirms.‘Why are you worried?’
‘They were talking about generators.’
‘For the party?’
‘I don’t know.’Lachlan rubs his eye with the heel of his palm.It itches beneath the lid.‘I don’t know what they’re doing but something’s not right.’
‘You don’t sound good.’
‘I need you to work on the location for me.’
‘Why?’
‘Just in case.’
‘You want to activate a contingency trigger?’
Lachlan exhales slowly and nods.‘Yes.’
