67 pages • 2 hours read
Deanna RaybournKillers of a Certain Age
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2022A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Summary
Background
Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Character Analysis
Themes
Symbols & Motifs
Important Quotes
Essay Topics
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BetaChapters 25-31Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 25 Summary
The flashback opens in July of 1981, with a giddy Mary Alice and Billie reunited for a mission. They are going to Zanzibar, an island off the coast of Tanzania, to target a Nazi, Baroness Elizabeth von Waldenheim. The baroness has an extensive cache of looted art, and her loyal servants, employees since before the war, are also slated for execution. Billie is drawn to one painting in the collection, a depiction of the Queen of Sheba by Safonisba Anguissola.
The painting depicts an episode from the Old Testament, in the Book of Kings, in which a wealthy queen visits the court of King Solomon to seek his wisdom. In the painting, the queen is depicted in jewels as a conqueror who has spent a romantic evening with King Solomon and now savors her triumph. Billie and the women are there to secure the art while the ambitious Vance has decided he should kill the baroness as the Museum rarely finds living Nazis now.
The group spends several grueling days on a fake archaeological dig at a plantation next to the baroness’s residence. Billie watches the baroness smoke, struck by her age and ill health, especially compared to photos of the woman in her youth. She reminds herself that “whatever it looks like, this life has been lived. And that is something the baroness took from others when she had the chance” (233). The baroness sees Billie and wonders if she is a ghost from her past, possibly a Holocaust victim.
Carapaz is ambitious and driven but only for wealth, which is why he has become a hired killer. He tries to proposition Billie, seeking her sympathy when he tells her his parents lived and worked on a wine-making estate owned by a rich family. Both his parents died young, following years of hard labor on the estate. Carapaz was recruited by the Museum as a teenager because he set fire to the estate, killing the owners. He tells Billie his life’s ambition is to buy the Parisian townhouse that belonged to the family his parents worked for.
Chapter 26 Summary
In the present, the others are frustrated with trying to find Carapaz. Billie remembers their conversation in Zanzibar and tells Minka to search for the Parisian townhouse. Minka succeeds in finding proof that Carapaz now lives there.
Chapter 27 Summary
The next puzzle for Billie and the others is how to enter without being observed as the street has many security cameras. Natalie realizes the best route is underground through the famous Parisian catacombs, which contain many tunnels of bones as the city relocated its dead underground in the 18th century to prevent health problems from crowded cemeteries. Natalie knows the tunnels because she has been involved with a man who explored them as a hobby. Natalie reminds the others that many catacomb tunnels go directly into residences as they were used to transport goods or as hiding places during periods of upheaval. Natalie and Billie will be the ones to do reconnaissance because Helen’s recent respiratory infection and Mary Alice’s cancer mean neither of them can risk breathing the underground air.
Chapter 28 Summary
Billie and Natalie pose as German tourists to explore the catacombs. They reach a hidden gate not open to the public. Natalie uses wire the pair had concealed in knitting needles to open the gate while Billie scares off a small boy from asking questions.
Chapter 29 Summary
Hours later, they successfully navigate their way into the villa’s wine cellar. A biometric lock blocks their way into the house itself, but Natalie finds a utility entrance through the plumbing system. Natalie investigates it, leaving Billie behind to ponder her fear of tight spaces, which she conquers in the name of remaining fit for missions. Natalie returns to report her success, and they go back to the hotel. Natalie has a plan for the assassination, to which Billie says, “it’s going to be hard” and Natalie responds “just like old times” (257).
Chapter 30 Summary
The friends discuss operational details over Vietnamese food. The main obstacle is security: The museum staff keeps track of the entrance and exit numbers to ensure no one remains inside overnight. Mary Alice and Helen will have to ensure that the numbers reflect four people entering and exiting. Mary Alice expresses concern for Helen’s mental health, and Billie tells her, “Helen has the yips” (259) like a star athlete who suddenly cannot perform to standard. She tells Mary Alice the truth about what happened in New Orleans and assures her Helen only needs time and support.
Chapter 31 Summary
The next day, Billie and Natalie pack supplies for their underground excursion. All four women assume costumes that make them look older, and Billie is especially annoyed when a teenager ignores her and tries to get ahead of her in line. She contemplates using her knitting needles, telling Mary Alice, “a little light stabbing might teach him some manners” (262). Mary Alice and Helen give two tourists their ponchos, ensuring that the surveillance will indicate that four women in identical rain gear left and entered.
Billie and Natalie wait for midnight, then enter the estate wine cellar and use their climbing gear to enter Carapaz’s plumbing system. They hear the toilet flush and then decide to enter the bathroom where they discover their exit is through a medicine cabinet. They climb out over the sink and enter the bedroom to find the sleeping man has some Museum files nearby.
They get closer and realize Carapaz has a gun under his pillow, which makes Billie nervous since he could attack when roused. Natalie accidentally misreads Billie’s signal and stabs Carapaz before Billie can grip his gun hand. He gets off a shot before dying and alerts his security. Billie grabs the dossier he was reading, and the dying man shoots again, slightly wounding Billie. She runs with Natalie for the medicine cabinet that will take them back through the plumbing system. Carapaz’s bodyguards shoot down the plumbing system, knowing that they cannot fit, and Natalie pulls Billie to safety. Next, Billie decides to set the wine cellar on fire to protect their exit. They exit the catacombs to find themselves in Montparnasse cemetery, their journey finally over.
Chapters 25-31 Analysis
Though this section is largely action scenes to resolve the fate of Carapaz, Raybourn uses the flow of the plot to underscore the women’s dedication and expertise. Though age prevents them from journeying underground, Helen and Mary Alice still ensure Billie and Natalie are able to succeed by acting in support roles. Helen may have the “yips,” as Billie put it, but she does not abandon her friends. Billie is frequently impatient in this episode, especially with younger people who underestimate her. The women go underground to dispatch Carapaz, making themselves nearly invisible and unseen, just as they often are in the world above.
The flashbacks to the Zanzibar mission emphasize the value of accumulated wisdom for trained assassins. Billie uses her memories of Carapaz to track him down, and long reliance on instinct leads her to take the dossier from Carapaz even at risk to a smooth exit. Natalie’s past romantic history, previously treated as humorous, aids in their work: Because of her experience, she is familiar enough with the Parisian catacombs to join Billie in the mission. The flashbacks serve another purpose as they establish Carapaz as disrespectful of women and coldly violent when it suits his purposes. The younger Billie found him distasteful, which helps the reader understand why the older Billie finds it morally acceptable to kill him to save her own life.
The flashback scenes to Zanzibar, like the previous one to Rome, reveal the moral depravity of the Museum’s targets. The younger Billie finds the baroness almost pitiable before remembering her crimes. She has deprived others of both time and treasure without qualms and seemingly without regrets. The stolen painting asserts the power of a woman of color in biblical history, including her power over men. Billie is drawn to the painting and the prospect of liberating it from its undeserving possessor. She recognizes and appreciates a narrative that centers a strong woman rather than marginalizing or dismissing her. The painting will become central not only to the resolution of the Zanzibar episode, but also to Billie’s effort to rescue herself and her friends. This underlines that in a patriarchal world, it is women’s stories and refusal to give up power that remain integral to combating sexism and ensuring their survival.
