Chapter 1

The woman met Nathan’s gaze as he opened the front door to his home.  A polite, confused smile crossed his face as he eyed her up and down.  It wasn’t hard to read his emotions.  Surprise, apprehension, a touch of attraction.  He glanced along her figure before once again meeting her eyes.  She wasn’t used to the attention, but dressed differently than she usually did.  A pair of black tights with a blouse that showed some cleavage.  His cheeks turned red at having been caught, but she simply smiled, placing a hand on her hip.

“Can I help you?”

“I hope so.  I’ve been driving for four hours now.  I have an appointment.”

Nathan frowned.  He wasn’t attractive at all, but had a cute smile.  He was nothing like she was expecting.  She did her own examining, but for reasons different than his.  He wasn’t pasty white with huge horn-rimmed glasses.  He had a slim build, probably a product of daily exercise.  The two feminine scents touching her nose spoke of family, a wife and daughter.  Another scent reached her senses, and the smile on her face faltered somewhat.  He owned a cat.

“An appointment?  Uh, sorry, ma’am.  I don’t know what you’re talking—”

“I’m Jane.”

His eyes lit up.  “You’re Jane?”

Her name wasn’t Jane.  But it was the name he’d taken to calling her the past few weeks.  Every secure email, every phone conversation.  Apparently, his own little private joke.  Jane Doe.  She was annoyed at first, but decided she’d better get used to the simple concept of having another name.

“Something’s not right here,” he said.

“Tell me about it.”  Jane peered over his shoulder to see his wife and daughter eating in the dining room.  She took in the suburban neighborhood behind her.  It was only five o’clock, and children were playing in the street.  A husband parked in a driveway and was met by his wife at the front door, an odd sight to her.  “This isn’t really how I pictured you.”

“Are you kidding me?”  He looked her up and down once again, settling on her breasts slightly longer than necessary.  “Look at you.  I mean…wow.  Really, something isn’t right.  You’re supposed to be eighty—”

“May I come in?” she interrupted.

“Uh, sure.  But…you’re an hour early.  I’m eating with my family.”

“Oh, you won’t even notice I’m here.”

Nathan stepped aside and glanced at the briefcase Jane carried with her.  She smirked at the anticipatory gleam in his eyes.  She took one last look at the street behind her, making sure the kids were keeping far away from her car.

Jane admired the immaculate home as she stepped inside.  Everything was clean and tidy.  Pictures of Nathan and his family littered the walls.  In between those pictures were random shots of a black and white tuxedo cat.  She tried not to snarl.

“Jane, this is my wife, Terri, and my daughter, Mackenzie.”

Mackenzie smiled warmly before shoving green beans into her mouth.  The girl was probably ten or eleven years old.  Jane’s breath hitched at the sight of the silverware all over the table, and fought to calm her nerves.  She knew modern silverware didn’t even contain much silver, but she’d had her incidents in the past that always kept her on her toes.

“Mackenzie,” Jane said.  “Pretty name.”

Terri lifted the corner of her mouth in an attempt to smile, but she was more focused on studying Jane.  Jane suddenly wished she’d dressed differently, more conservatively, but it was seventy degrees outside.  It was technically fall, but the warm weather was still hanging on.  Terri noted Jane’s figure, and a tiny flash of jealousy moved through her eyes.  Jane thought Terri had nothing to be jealous of.  She was an attractive woman, with a beautiful daughter.

“Are you hungry?” Terri asked.  “We have plenty to eat.”

“No, thank you.”

Jane sat at the table with Nathan and his family.  The uncomfortable silence stretched for nearly a minute, until the cat from the pictures jumped on the table.  It sat in front of Mackenzie, its tail wrapping around her glass.

“Lucky!” Terri said.  “You know you’re not supposed to be on the table.”

“He’s just hungry,” Mackenzie said.  “He wants my green beans.”

“Honey,” Nathan said.  “You know you have to finish your green beans.”  He looked at Jane.  “Don’t worry.  He’s a friendly cat—”

Lucky’s ears folded back as he made eye contact with Jane.  He leaned back slightly and hissed, surprising Nathan and his family.  Jane stiffened as her pulse raced.  Lucky turned and dove from the table.  He ran up the stairs leading to the second floor.

“Oh, wow.  I’ve never seen him hiss before.”

Jane’s lip twitched.  “I guess cats don’t really like me.”

The silence stretched once again, and it was Jane’s turn to study.  Nathan was in a unique line of work, and she couldn’t imagine how he balanced his job with a family.  She could tell Terri knew what her husband did.  There were no curious glances, no questioning looks between them.  They were obviously feeling out of place due to her early arrival, but they seemed to be a happy family.  Their scents were all pleasant.  Just enough to mark them as individuals, but close enough to tell her they were related.  Terri and Mackenzie in particular smelled very close.  Strawberry and nutmeg, with Mackenzie having a slightly stronger aroma of nutmeg.

“So,” Terri said.  “Are you a client of Nathan’s?”

Jane cast a sideways glance to Mackenzie, wondering how to answer the question.

“Uh, yeah.  Things have been going very well so far.”

“My husband is very good at what he does,” Terri said, winking at Nathan.  “I’m sure you’ll be happy with his work.”

“Terri….” Nathan said.  He wasn’t comfortable with his wife’s choice of conversation.

“Hey, Mom,” Mackenzie said.  “Don’t forget I have to go to Dana’s house tonight to practice the play.”

“No problem.  Just finish your food and we’ll head on over.”

The rest of dinner went as smoothly as it could.  Nathan noticeably relaxed when they finished and his family prepared to leave.  Jane kept the briefcase close to her side at the table.  She watched Mackenzie wait impatiently at the front door as her mother retrieved her purse and keys.  Jane locked eyes with Mackenzie, and the young child rolled her eyes toward her mother.  Jane stifled a giggle.

“We’ll be back soon,” Terri said.  Nathan met her at the door for a kiss.  “Don’t get into any trouble.”

“I never do.”

They waved politely at Jane as they left.  Nathan closed the door behind them and turned his attention to her.  He looked her up and down once again, but not to admire her.  He was more curious than anything else.

“Wow,” he said.  “Don’t take this the wrong way, but you’re probably the hottest client I’ve ever done work for.  It’s definitely a surprise.”

She smiled.  “Flattering.  You’re quite a surprise, too.”

“How so?”

“I expected some hairy geek living in a cave somewhere, who didn’t know how to talk to people.”

He laughed.  “My wife would probably agree with some of that.”  He pointed at the briefcase.  “Is that the money?”

“Yeah.  Fifty thousand dollars.  I almost cried putting it all in the case.”

“I’m very good at what I do, Jane.  It’s a drop in the bucket, really.”

“I know.”

He gestured to a door, and followed Jane across the dining room.  The door led downstairs to a dark basement.

“So, I have to ask, am I fixing someone’s mistake?  Did someone seriously screw up putting together an identity for you?  There’s no way you’re eighty years old.”

Jane said nothing.  Nathan flipped a switch at the bottom of the stairs and the basement lit up.  Jane didn’t know where to look first.  Nathan’s setup was impressive.  It better had been, for a total of one hundred thousand dollars.  A few computers were scattered along the walls amongst some expensive-looking printers and plotters.  The far corner of the basement was dedicated to taking photos, with a backdrop and chair.

She was in awe, but couldn’t help the second thoughts coming her way.  One hundred thousand dollars—half up front, half on delivery—for what amounted to work being done in someone’s basement.  Was it a wise investment?  Jane tried to shake the doubt away.  It wasn’t just an investment, but a necessity.  Still, Jane couldn’t help but wonder if she should have simply done the work herself.  With the power of the Internet, there wasn’t much a person couldn’t discover for themselves.

“What’s the deal?” Nathan pushed.  “I’ve been pouring my head into the paperwork of your life for the past few weeks.  Everything says you’re a senior citizen.  You’ve got an awfully nice shape for a senior citizen.”

Jane was slowly losing patience.  She hid her mood behind a smile.  “Botox,” she said.  “What’s the next step?”

Nathan sat at a computer.  “Well, I need to take some photos, tie up a few loose ends on the net here.  I’ll have to adjust your age, since you weren’t honest with me.  After that, we really should be all set.”

“I’ve still got quite a drive ahead of me.  I’m not trying to be pushy, but how long are we talking here?”

“It won’t be a long time,” he said, unmoved by her attitude.  “Just have a seat.  I promise, I’ll work as fast as I can.”

She sighed as she sat in a chair against the wall.  Nathan continued to do whatever he was doing.  He shifted from machine to machine, copied data to multiple flash drives, and prepared the photo booth.  She glanced out the small basement window not far away, noticing the full moon in the dusk sky.  When she turned her attention back to the basement she caught Nathan staring at her.

She smiled slightly.  “I know you want to ask.”

“It’s none of my business,” he said.  “I’m a professional.  I just do the work.  Your reasons are your own.”

“I’m not a murderer, or a serial killer, or anything like that.”

He shrugged.  “Again, none of my business.”  He nodded at the briefcase.  “You pay me to do a service.”

“And what a payment it is,” she said, taking a deep breath.

They shared a laugh as he again went to another computer.

“So, what are your plans?  I can ask that, at least.  What’s the first thing you’re going to do in your new life?”

Jane sighed.  She had plans.  She wanted to get back to her roots.  She wanted to get back to Sandy Cliffs, the small town in Montana where she was born and raised.  It’d been decades since she’d been home, and she decided it was finally time.  The quiet woods, maybe a small house or apartment, restoring her parents’ old bar.  She didn’t think that was too much to ask for.

Of course, she’d have to start her new life minus decades of savings.  She had a nice nest egg saved up, but losing one hundred thousand dollars was painful.

“The first thing,” Jane said.  “I’ll probably eat a nice, juicy steak.”

Nathan laughed and shook his head.  Jane stood and stretched her arms over her head.  Her blouse rode up slightly, and Nathan enjoyed the view, eying her slim stomach.

“What’s your story?” she asked.  “Like I said, I wasn’t expecting to come all this way to meet a family man.”

“You were probably thinking something like the movies, right?  Some young tech nerd with empty pizza boxes all over the place?”

“Something like that.  I definitely didn’t expect a wife and kid.  Your wife knows what you do?”

He hesitated before deciding he was willing to share a little of himself.  “Let’s put it this way.  Before she was my wife, she was a client.  So she understands why someone might need to do what you’re doing.”

Jane didn’t push further.  She wasn’t sure she wanted to know much more about Nathan and his family.

With dramatic flare, Nathan scooted his chair across the basement, from one computer to another.  His hand hovered over the keyboard.

“Okay.  Are you ready?”

“Definitely.”

He hit the enter key.  Four printers went off all at once, creating quite a racket in the basement.  “All done.  Jane Doe is officially deceased.”

“That’s it?”

He pointed at different printers.  “Obituary.  A copy of your death certificate.  A copy of the will you wanted to make, although we need to talk about that in a minute.  You died peacefully in your sleep three days ago.”  He smiled at her.  “Although I don’t think that’s happening to you for a while.”

She nodded slightly, actually impressed.  “What’s next?”

He gestured to the photo setup in the corner.  “Have a seat over there.”

Nathan took pictures of Jane from every angle, both sitting and standing.  She thought she’d go blind from all the flashes when it was done.  He spent another thirty minutes moving between computers, and finally made another grand gesture of pushing the enter key one more time.  An unusual-looking printer spat out a very convincing driver’s license.  Nathan smiled as he handed it over.

“You are now Marie Johnson.”

Jane, or rather Marie, ran the license through her fingers.  She knew it was a big moment in her life.  Her old life, everything she ever was, gone with a few strokes at a keyboard.  Emotions assailed her, and Nathan put a gentle hand on her shoulder as she dabbed at her eye.  The emotions quickly faded as realization dawned on her, and anger took hold.

“Johnson,” she said.  “That’s not my old last name.”

He held up a finger.  “About that—”

“We talked about this.  I told you.  I have property I wanted to hand down to…Marie, in my will.  I need to be related to my old life.”

“That’s the last thing you want.  Whatever you’re running from, you want to be as far away from your old identity as possible.  Linking them in a will?  Terrible idea.”

“Well then how am I supposed to get my property?”

“You mean that bar?”  He grabbed a few more pieces of paper from a printer, along with several flash drives.  “The lady who just died in her sleep sold that bar ten years ago, and it passed hands a few more times, before Marie Johnson bought it five years ago.”

Marie glanced over the paperwork, all proper and legal.  She had to admit to herself that she wouldn’t even know where to begin with what Nathan was doing.

She finally smiled.  “Marie Johnson?  Not very imaginative, is it?”

“Hey, the plainer, the better.  You don’t want to stand out.  And I think Marie is a pretty name.”

She mulled it over.  “You’re right.  It is.”

“Okay,” he said, holding up the flash drives.  “These have copies of all the paperwork I’m giving you.  Your driver’s license is perfect, but your home address is currently empty, so if you’re moving to Montana, do it soon.”

Marie’s shoulders tensed.  It was all almost overwhelming.  She glanced at her license.  Her birthday put her at twenty-nine years old, and she had to laugh.  She would gladly take appearing to be a twenty-nine-year-old forever, like many women did when they hit thirty.  She certainly didn’t take an ugly photo.  For the past few months she wore her hair short.  It was simply easier to manage.  She went with strawberry blond, a color she didn’t think she’d like.  The look had grown on her, and despite the identity change, wanted to keep the look, at least for a while longer.

Nathan slid all the paperwork into several folders, and handed them over, along with the flash drives.

“That’s it?” she asked.  “There’s nothing else?”

“I’m all done.  Of course, for a few dollars more, I can put to use more of those photos I took.  Give you some nice eye candy for your living room.  Fake pictures with a cat, some family that doesn’t exist, an ex-boyfriend or two—”

“Oh, no,” she said.  “I’d like to hold onto the dollars I have left.  Besides, I’m more of a dog person.”

He smiled and extended his hand.  “It’s been a pleasure doing business with you, Marie Johnson.”

She shook his hand, and jumped slightly when a quiet sound reached her ears.  She cocked her head slightly to the side, focusing on the noise.  A pane of glass breaking quietly.  A doorknob turning.  A cat hissing before darting away.  Hushed, male voices.

Marie looked at Nathan, who looked back with concern.

“Marie?  Are you alright?”

“I doubt you’re expecting company.”

“Well, no, not really.  Why do you—?”

He went quiet as the floorboards creaked above them.  They both glanced up to the ceiling as more footsteps were heard.  Marie knew they weren’t after her.  As much as Nathan thought otherwise, she wasn’t running from anything.

“Do you have a back door down here?”

“Oh my God,” Nathan said, grabbing at the sides of his head.  “Uh, no.  And these windows, they’re kind of small.  What trouble are you in?”

“They’re not here for me.”

“What?  Whatever.  Do you have a cell phone?”

“Of course not.  I’ve been trying to kill my old name, remember?”

“Shit.  Mine’s upstairs.  Let’s try a window.”

Nathan slid open the tiny basement window above the computer.  Marie had a chance at sliding through, but didn’t think Nathan would fit.

“Go,” he said.

“I can’t leave you here.”

“Go and get help!  I’ll try to find a place to hide.”

Marie jumped on the desk and reached for the window.  She pulled herself up with Nathan shoving from under her.  It was a tight fit, but with a wiggle here and there, she slowly made progress.  She was halfway out, her hips pressing against the window frame, when she heard a voice in the basement.

“Hey, Nathan.  Trying to run away before saying hi?”

“Eddie?” Nathan said.  “Is that you?  What the hell is going on?”

“I’m glad you remember me.  Do me a favor, and pull that woman back in here, before I kill you both.”

Nathan hesitated, and Marie heard the cocking of a gun.  He grabbed her by the back of her tights and pulled.

“I’m so sorry,” he whispered.

Marie squeezed back into the basement.  She nearly tumbled off the desk, but Nathan held her and helped her down.  She turned to face the three new men in Nathan’s home.

Eddie stood in front, a gun at his side.  Two large men were just behind him, oozing menace.  All three of them had obviously seen their share of fights.  A few scars here and there, and one of the men had fresh cuts on his knuckles.  Marie locked their scents away, just as other people would remember their faces.  She was just as proud of her hearing and nose as she was her eyes.

“What are you doing here?” Nathan said.  “What’s going on?  Did you break into my house?”

Eddie didn’t answer.  He toured the basement as his henchmen stood motionless.  He took in the computers, the cameras, all the technology.

“So, this is where you do your thing.  This is where you gave my father a new life.”

Nathan rolled his eyes.  “Oh, no.  Let me guess.  Your father got caught, didn’t he?”

Eddie, not appreciative of Nathan’s tone, glared at him.  He shifted his attention to Marie.

“And who’s this fine little lady?  Damn,” he said, stretching out the word.  “Do you got a boyfriend?”

Nathan took a subtle step in front of Marie, and she had to admire his bravery, if not his choice in previous clients.

“Your father, he didn’t listen to a word I said,” Nathan said.  “I told him, if he wanted a new life, he had to give up his old one.  But he didn’t.  He hung out at the same places, talked to the same people.”

“He was arrested last week,” Eddie said.  He kept his eyes on Marie, and she didn’t like the look he was giving her.  “And he’s staring at a lot of time.”

“Well, what do you want me to do?  I’m not a lawyer.”  Nathan put a hand on Eddie’s shoulder.  “Look, you’re mad at me, fine.  But the woman here doesn’t have anything to do with us.  Let her walk out the door.”

He swatted Nathan’s hand away.  “I don’t know.  I’d like to see her crawl through that window again.  That was a nice view.”

Eddie laughed, and his henchmen did the same.  He reached out to touch Marie’s hair.  She backed up a step, and their eyes met.

He didn’t like what he saw.

He’d seen fear before.  Half of his father’s men were more afraid of Eddie than anyone else.  Even Nathan, despite his best bluff, had that sparkle of fear in his eye.

Marie Johnson was not afraid.

He shifted his attention back to Nathan.  He’d get to the woman later, maybe have a little fun.  She did look good in her tights.

“Who said anything about wanting you to do something?  I’m just here to work off some steam.  And that pretty lady might be able to help with that, so she has to stay.”

“Look, Eddie—”

“Shut up.”

Eddie threw a left fist, catching Nathan in the nose.  Nathan stumbled back and fell against his computer desk.  Marie was at his side in a second.  She squatted next to him and tried to keep him steady as blood poured out of his nose.

“You don’t have to do this,” Marie said.  “Just take what you want and go.”

“Just take what I want,” he repeated.  “Hmm, don’t mind if I do.”

He grabbed Marie by the wrist and pulled her to her feet.  He managed to get one hand under her blouse before she clawed at his face.  Grimacing in pain, he put a hand to his cheek to feel blood.  Rage took over, and he punched Marie in the stomach, making her double over.  His henchmen jumped at the aggression, but did nothing as he kneed her in the jaw, then threw her across the room.  Marie fell into the makeshift photo booth, dragging the curtain to the floor with her.

Eddie raised his gun and shot Marie three times through the curtain.

Nathan watched in horror, everything inside him going numb.  Eddie stood over him with his henchmen just behind.

“She really made me angry.”

Nathan protected himself from the beating as best he could.

• Jack Kursed’s second full-length novel.
• I kept Kevin Mishnar’s involvement in this story a secret. This is Jack’s novel, but I wanted Kevin to have a good chunk of scenes/development as well.
• Marie Johnson’s first appearance. She is a character that I want to get back to soon.
• Looking back, I have a few regrets with introducing the character of Erica in Jack Kursed’s first novel. I think I should have kept the romance out of that, and focused instead on Jack and Tiffany. So it was therapeutic, in a way, to write her fate.
• I don’t really consider Jack and Marie a couple by the end of this novel. They are both aged, world-weary (and slightly cynical) people that realize love between immortal beings doesn’t last forever.
• I do consider Marie a good match for Jack, though. She is no saint. She will kill when she has to, and does not have guilt or long internal debates on the subject (unlike a certain witch).
• Many readers have said my novels have under developed villains, and I agree. I know my strengths, and villains aren’t one of them. But in this novel I tried to define the villains, really give them character and a reason for their actions.