Fox picked up mine and put it on me, gently tying the ribbon at the back. Then he put on his own and pulled it down. It was a little large for him, but that worked, as it hid more of his face.
“The masks are great.” Jenny walked in, gripping her laptop and a large thermos of coffee. She always brought her own instant coffee, as she said our expensive coffee machine was overcomplicated and underwhelming. “You’re nearly unrecognizable.”
Jenny had insisted she was up to manning the fort: babysitting Reggie and Bibi and scanning the relevant local police channels. And she was the only person we truly trusted to be with our kids on a night like tonight. We didn’t know what might happen. We just knew we didn’t want someone in our house who would ask questions when we returned, whatever state we were in.
Frank and Sandy were at Jenny’s house with Felix but on standby in case they needed to swoop in and take our kids. None of us had said it out loud, but we’d all felt more than a little guilty about potentially having to use them for childcare when they had enough going on. They had both insisted that if it was called for, it would be no trouble. Just like Jenny had said when we’d questioned her, any distraction was a welcome one.
Having Jenny at base camp monitoring us and looking up anyone we wanted her to was the best course of action. If things went bad, really bad, we didn’t want all three of us neutralized. She needed to be clear of it all, ready to come to our rescue.Like in Ivrea.I shook off the thought. Tonight was not going to be a repeat of that night.
Admits two.The Chameleon had made it clear he didn’t expect Jenny to attend. We needed tonight to run smoothly. He needed to think we were playing ball, right up until we smashed him in the face with it.
Jenny placed her laptop down on the kitchen table. Her hair was scraped back in a high ponytail. “Your watches will make sure I know exactly where you are. Remember, if things look like they’re going bad, ring me and I’ll keep the line open so I can hear everything.” Balgray Hall was too far away for our headsets to connect to Jenny on our secure encrypted radio channel.
I checked my watch. “We’d better go. The kids are asleep. The baby monitor is on the countertop, and the sharpest knife we have is the one on the chopping board.”
“Good luck.” Jenny looked between us both. “I won’t hug you, as I don’t want to crumple you.”
—
Ours was the only minivan in the Balgray car park. We left Danny’s gun in the footwell of the passenger seat. We couldn’t risk being caught with one at the party.
The path toward the house was illuminated by a long line of lanterns plunged into the ground. We joined the many other masked people walking toward the outline of Balgray Hall.
I held hands with my husband because I loved him, and because the gravel made it tricky to walk in heels.
The murmur of those around us talking, the masks, the dark grandeur of Balgray. It wasn’t a particularly cold night, but I felt a shiver.
Inside the house, the entrance hall that had looked mundane by daylight had been transformed. Gone were the black partitions for queuing and the information desk with boxes of leaflets on the history of the estate. Now, huge floral displays adorned the staircase, and waiters and waitresses holding silver trays of champagne were accosting everyone as they arrived.
We entered the main reception room, which was alreadybustling. Fox pulled his mask up over his head. “I can’t see properly with this on.” He looked out at the sea of people. The majority of women had favored feathers and lace for their masks. The men were in anything from animal masks to simple black-and-white ones. There was one joker who was wearing aScreammask. A good percentage hadn’t bothered at all, and more than a few already had their masks half-off.
A tall man with foppish dark hair approached us, a jester’s mask perched on top of his head. “Nathaniel! Good to see you here, supporting the cause.” He gave Fox a hearty backslap. “And this must be your wife?”
Fox tore his eyes away from scanning the room. “This is Haze.”
“Benjamin Norwood.” The man gave me a firm handshake, his fingers gripping mine for just a moment too long.
“Wonderful to have you both here.” He was slurring a little. This was Fox’s big new client. The idiot who didn’t realize Unique Events was using his little charity to launder money for gangbangers. There was already a large red wine stain on his white shirt.
“It’s good to see you, Benjamin, but we’re just looking for some friends.” Fox put a hand on my back and guided me forward.
“Good, good. Have fun!” Norwood stumbled off.
The room was so busy it was hard to take everyone in. Fox looked around. “I’ll head to the back. You check through to the library.”
I pulled his mask back down. “We’re avoiding Drake, remember.”
Our headsets were in. We could keep talking to each other as long as we were within radius.
I walked through the party.
One figure stood out. Diana Morgan, in a white jumpsuit, was holding court in the center of the room, surrounded by several masked partygoers. She hadn’t ruined her hair or hidden her perfect makeup with a mask, instead wearing just one feather on ahairband. She caught me looking at her and smirked as she glided over.
“What are you doing here?” she asked. “I thought you’d be like Cinderella. Stuck at home, busy with council paperwork.”
“That would make you the evil stepmother.” I had nothing to lose by pushing her. If she was here, it wasn’t a stretch to believe she was involved with The Corporation. It was her law firm that had set up the company they were hiding behind, after all. “I see that Backhouse Dunne had a hand in Unique Events. So much for lawyers abiding by the law.”
She shrugged. “It’s technically legal.”
