Killers of a Certain Age

This flashback chapter to January 1979 finds the four women at their training in the United Kingdom. They travel to Dorset and arrive at the Halliday estate, Benscombe, a “Victorian monstrosity of red brick surrounded by gardens and a big lawn that rolls down to the cliffs” (85), where they are met by the formidable Constance. The omniscient narrator recalls that Constance survived a concentration camp after being shot down in Germany. She has spent her life training the future agents of the Museum and now feels ready to train an all-female squadron as a tribute to her fallen comrades, the Furies.

Constance welcomes the women to Benscombe, telling them not to disappoint her. She argues that those who believe female assassins cannot succeed are wrong, in part because women are frequently underestimated and can use this to their advantage. She surveys the women’s attractiveness, warning Billie that sexuality has its place for agents but can also be a weakness.

At dinner, Natalie is confused by the bowls of hot water with lemon, presented as a hand-washing tool at formal dinners. Constance explains that their training will include formal etiquette, and then quizzes them on mythology. Helen correctly asserts that the Furies were vengeance goddesses. Constance tells the women that they will be like Greek sphinxes, with breasts and delicate faces but the ferocity of predators.

The four women navigate toward Nevis, hearing the Amphitrite explode in the distance. When they reach land, they head for a beach bar, eating and drinking rum punch to fortify themselves. They take a water taxi back to St. Kitts, where Billie reveals her false passport and credit card. She and Helen pose as wealthy tourists at the Hyatt, and the four are relieved to be “safe for now” (96) as their training has taught them to use any moment of ease to fortify them for the next steps.

They discuss their options, realizing they need a safe house to serve as headquarters. Billie buys an untraceable cell phone and calls her friend Minka to set them up at their next location and procure false passports for them. Billie assures the others that Minka is trustworthy, but they are skeptical. Mary Alice has been crying, obviously processing their new reality and this forced separation from her wife.

Billie and Mary Alice take a walk on the beach, and Billie smokes a cigarette. Envious, Mary Alice laments that she cannot smoke anymore as she is a breast cancer survivor. She gestures to her reconstructive surgery, lamenting the loss of her healthier body. Billie reminds her that survival is its own gift. Mary Alice struggles to accept that the Museum has turned on them, and Billie grows impatient, accusing her of clinging to naive optimism to avoid facing her wife with the truth about her life. Mary Alice becomes angry that Billie called Akiko a “problem” and storms off, leaving Billie alone (101).

The next stage of the journey involves multiple stops and detours before the women reach their final destination in New Orleans. Minka finds them in the city, taking in the scenery. She runs toward Billie, relieved she is alive. Billie explains that the dilapidated building was once a convent, and after introductions, the women rest in the dormitories.

As the friends eat gumbo and talk strategy, Helen is concerned about involving Minka, but Billie insists on her presence. The friends return to how and why they are being singled out, since they are retired and have had successful careers. Billie explains to Minka that the Museum has a Board of Directors, and only they could have targeted the foursome for extermination. Each department is code-named after a museum department: Provenance, which means the origins of paintings, is a research department that identifies potential targets and their movements, as well as potential new agents. Acquisitions handles the technical and material support for missions while Exhibitions carries out the assassinations (113-14). Vance Gilchrist, the man who was one of the pilots on the team’s first mission, now heads their department. Each Director has a second-in-command, a curator, who handles more routine details and meetings. Mary Alice suggests they ask what intelligence led the board to vote for their elimination. All four women trust the Museum’s curator, Martin Fairbrother, but hesitate to risk his safety.

They ultimately decide to reach out to a retired colleague, Sweeney, and Natalie admits she has previously had an affair with him, which means he would likely talk to them. Billie offers to make the call, taking a burner phone on a walk to historic Jackson Square in the French Quarter. Billie and Sweeney decide to meet on January 2, in two days. Billie, struck with melancholy, meets a street clown who gives her a saint’s card for St. Christopher, the patron saint of travelers. She notes that the “image matched the small medal I wore on a thin chain around my neck” (123).