OF COURSE

There was something about Cass that made Dave feel extremely uncomfortable. 

He had built his whole persona on total exterior affability while remaining entirely secretive about his true intentions. Everyone loved Dave. It wasn't even his real name. Nobody had ever questioned it, except Cass, of course. 

She hadn't actually challenged the name; she just replaced it with "Wayne" a few times in casual conversation. The first time, Dave had almost dropped his drink. And the way Cass had done it, so naturally, without even acknowledging she had made a gaffe, was unsettling. 

In a way, she had acted as if Wayne, not Dave, was his true name. It was, of course. But how could Cass possibly know that? 

He felt cold but blamed it on the weather. It was early, and he was standing outside, smoking in the garden of the villa his father-in-law had built. 

A spider was busy ingesting a dewdrop that had formed on its web. He spent some time watching it. 

Cass would have to go, of course.

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