“No kidding. Not exactly the most inconspicuous place in the world to live.”
He tapped the top of the back of one of the chairs in a small sitting area, and I took my seat.
“Did you bring your things?” he asked, glancing down at my purse.
“My things?”
“Right. Did I not mention this was a live-in assignment?”
“You did. Sorry—got a little caught up in starting the job.”
And figuring out how to spy on you.
“Good. Because my work requires me to be out at odd hours—I don’t exactly work a nine-to-five.”
Of that, I had no doubt. I suspected that managing an illegal empire didn’t exactly come with a forty-hour work week and time off for vacation.
As Jason and I spoke, I found my eyes tracking over to the computer on his desk. That’s what I’d need to get into. Who knew what sort of security he had on it.
“OK. How about you give me your address,” he said. “I can send someone for your things. But in the meantime, let me show you to your room.”
He led me out of the office. “I’m assuming Shauna gave you the grand tour?”
“No, we didn’t really have time.”
“I’ll be sure to have her show you around. This house is huge, as I’m sure you noticed, and the layout is a little strange—easy to get lost in. And that’s by design.”
“Really?”
He nodded. “The man who built the house was…well, let’s just say he didn’t exactly make his money legitimately.”
Then Jason wasn’t the first criminal to call this place home.
“Like, he was a crook?”
“Not just any crook, but one of the biggest criminal kingpins of the nineteenth century. Anything illegal that happened in Manhattan, he knew about it.”
Jason spoke of this so casually, as if he weren’t involved in the same line of work. “The place was designed to be easy to get lost in. Guess he figured that if anyone broke in, they’d lose so much time just trying to figure their way around the place that it’d give him the chance to scare them off.”
We stopped at a door at the end of the hall, and Jason opened it up. Past it was a small but cozy bedroom with a four-post bed and simple, elegant furniture. The view looked out over the Hudson River, the skyline of Newark off in the distance.
“Will this do?” he asked.
“It’ll do perfectly,” I said with a smile.
OK, so it wasn’t all going to be bad. At the very least, I’d have a break from a cramped apartment with a ton of roommates.
“I’ll let you get settled,” he said. “Don’t forget to text me your address, and I’ll get the process started to get your things.”
Before we could say anything else, however, the sound of the front doors opening and then closing with a slam echoed through the house.
“Dad!” called out Willa.
“Actually,” said Jason with a smile. “I hope you’re ready now.”