The October List

a gingham hair ribbon.
    Seeing the beef blood spread, he thought: How lovely, how delicious … A line he would remember to share with Gabriela later. As he worked, he opened a bottle of his favorite beverage in the world. His Special Brew. It was virtually all he drank. Sustaining, comforting. He drank deeply.
    A bottle a day …
    After tidying up and putting the steak into the refrigerator in a tiny kitchen area of the warehouse, he put his handiwork into a CVS drugstore plastic bag.
    He returned to the table and sat, sipping his beloved Hawaiian Punch – the original flavor, red.
    Joseph wondered what the reaction would be to the memento inside the bag.
    Another glance at his watch. The deadline was looming. He was thinking about Gabriela and the October List and Daniel Reardon. Joseph had met him only about six hours ago, on the street with Gabriela, and already disliked him intensely.
    Then his thoughts segued to Gabriela’s friend, Frank Walsh, whom he did not know, but had only followed around and, of course, datamined. Joseph always did his homework before he went out to ply his craft.
    Pudgy Frank Walsh. Nerdy Frank Walsh.
    Joseph didn’t have any particular dislike for Mr Walsh; he considered him to be a rather stupid, naive man. Pathetic.
    He reflected that it was a shame Frank was going to spend his last night on earth with his mother, and not getting laid. At least, Joseph thought, sipping the sweet drink, he assumed not. Ick.
    The September cold seeped in and, even though he had plenty of natural insulation on him, he shivered. Joseph was eager to get this part of the job over with and return home to Queens, where several new Netflix movies awaited, snug in their little red envelopes. Most people would probably be surprised that a man like him, who had killed twenty-two people in his life – men, women and, though only out of necessity or accidentally, children – would enjoy movies. And yet, why not? Killers were people too. In fact, he’d learned some things about his line of work from movies and TV.
    The Long Good Friday , The Professional , Eastern Promises , others. The Sopranos not so much. Although he liked the acting, he wasn’t quite sure why Tony and the crew – none of them particularly clever – hadn’t been arrested and thrown in the slammer halfway through the first season.
    Luck, he guessed.
    No, scriptwriters.
    He turned his jacket collar up and contemplated, with pleasure, returning home, sitting in front of the Sony by himself, well, with his Maine coon cat, Antonioni, and watching the latest disks. He wondered if he should take the tenderloin with him for dinner.
    No, he’d do a Lean Cuisine tonight. Save the calories.
    Joseph glanced at his watch. He took the CVS bag, stepped outside and locked the warehouse door.

CHAPTER
16
     

4:50 p.m., Saturday
40 minutes earlier
     

 

 
     
    ‘I never thought we’d find it,’ Gabriela said breathlessly. ‘The October List.’
    They were on Third Avenue, walking fast away from the office building.
    Daniel Reardon said, ‘I didn’t get a look at it. What could you tell?’
    ‘I just glanced at the first page. Names and places and numbers. Maybe accounts, maybe dollar amounts. I don’t know what they mean. And I didn’t recognize anybody.’
    They continued in silence for a few minutes before he said, ‘In the list, did you see anything about “October”?’
    ‘No.’
    ‘I wonder what it means. An anagram, a name?’
    ‘Maybe,’ Gabriela suggested, ‘it means something’s going to happen next month. Something really bad.’ She sighed, as if feeling all the more guilty about not turning the list in.
    ‘How long?’ she asked. ‘Until Joseph’s deadline?’
    A pause, and Daniel said, ‘About an hour and ten minutes.’
    ‘No! It’s that late?’ Gabriela tugged her jacket closer. The wind was brisk and filled with autumn chill. ‘There’s no way we can find the money in time! We don’t have any leads.’
    Daniel agreed. ‘I don’t see how.’
    ‘We have the list, though!’
    He hesitated then said, ‘That’s not what he wanted by six. He wanted the money.’
    ‘But it’s the most important thing to him. Didn’t you get that impression? If he’s reasonable, he’ll take it and let Sarah go.’
    ‘I’m sorry, Gabriela, but I don’t think he is a very reasonable man.’
    She stared at him and there was hysteria in her voice. ‘But it’s all I’ve got!’
    ‘Still,’ he persisted, ‘we’ve