08 - Palace
"You're gonna have to do what you do best and sell him back that policy."
I sighed. It was one thing to kill a man for love, for a woman - an android...whatever! - it was another to sell him an insurance policy right before.
"Won't it look suspicious if he rewrites his insurance policy a few days before he dies?" I said, after a long pause on the phone. My voice was wavering more than I'd like to admit.
"Suspicious, sure. But, things like that happen all the time."
"I don't think they do, Honeysuckle."
"Sure they do. You just gotta trust me."
Her house was a palace. It was five stories tall, with the upper portions overhanging the lower ones by quite a bit. There were tall, thin columns buttressing the upper portions, making it seem like a fortress; a gigantic, weightless fortress. As I walked along the winding driveway, with the shadow of Jupiter making me near-invisible, I started to have the sense that this was all a bad idea. I caught the faint smell of marigolds in the air. It could only have been an illusion, there are no flowers on Europa.
I felt like an idiot as I knocked on the gigantic wooden door, which looked like it was designed by a fan of 1920's Hollywood art-deco. All thick and laced with iron.
After an eternity, and several more knocks, a short, stocky man opened it. I told him I was there to see Mr. Walsh. He asked me what it was regarding. I looked him over a bit. He seemed like a tough guy; narrow, beady eyes, thick arms, a bit slow. I told him I had better tell Mr. Walsh directly what it was regarding. He told me he was Mr. Walsh.
I looked him over again. Then it clicked.
"It's I need to see the /real/ Mr. Walsh", I said. His eyes narrowed even further.
"Very well", he drawled, and let me in.