Chapter 12: Final Account

Ashby Merritt scheduled terminations through the same system it used for property tours. The calendar invitation arrived with a map, parking instructions, and a green button marked ACCEPT. Callum turned the phone toward the ghost. She sat in the passenger seat with his jacket around her shoulders and read the screen. "Dismissal by calendar invitation is admirably convenient." "They validate parking." "Then you must go." Callum declined the invitation without touching the green button. Three seconds later, an email confirmed his appointment anyway. Vivian Ashby's office occupied the third floor of an old brick building in Jackson Square. Nine in the morning. No agenda supplied. She tapped the address on the screen. "How far is that from Lincoln Park?" "Five miles." "You said we would go there." "We will." "You also said you would fix the tether in the morning." "That was a bad estimate." "Your estimates appear to be…