I tap on the glass. “Hi, excuse me. This is the Henley Estate, yes?”
The guard glances up at me through his shades. He’s a short, bulky man with roughly chiseled features. It looks like his face might crack if he ever considered smiling.
His English is slightly accented. It strikes me as familiar somehow, but I can’t place it.
“My name is Willow Powers,” I say, falling into my maiden name almost instinctively. “I have an appointment in five minutes with, uh… the, um, owner of the estate.”
I forgot to ask Marjorie for the owner’s name. Strike number one and I’m not even through the gates yet.
He regards me coolly, hiding all his thoughts behind those dark sunglasses. I don’t see him move or lift a finger, but suddenly, I hear a buzz and the side gate swings open.
“Head on through,” he
