Killers of a Certain Age – Chapter 27 Summary and Analysis

⚠️ Spoiler Warning: This guide contains detailed spoilers for the entire novel. Proceed only if you've finished reading or are comfortable knowing the plot.

Summary

After decoding Jovan Murić’s files, Billie reveals that the target of both Galina and the Lazarovs is a lost Raphael painting called Leda—the same painting the women failed to retrieve in 1994 from Fermín Bosque. They theorize that a mole inside the Museum’s Provenance department fed information about Leda to the Lazarovs, using the women’s names as payment. The team decides to kill Galina, but also to finally complete their old mission by recovering the painting for its rightful heirs. During a sudden train stop caused by livestock on the tracks, they search the cars and discover Galina and her accomplice Tamara barricaded in a compartment with Marilyn Carstairs, a traveller Billie instantly recognizes as the mole.

Key Events

Billie deciphers the code from the 1994 Bosque job, identifying the painting Leda as Galina’s prize.
The women connect the mole in Provenance to the Lazarovs’ contract on them and the painting.
They agree to stop Galina and retrieve Leda so it can be returned to its original family.
The train screeches to a halt just before the Mala Rijeka viaduct after hitting a goat.
As passengers disembark to inspect the damage, the four women split up to search every carriage.
Billie and Mary Alice find a locked compartment; a voice replies in Spanish, but Billie suspects Galina is inside.
Billie uses burning tortilla chips to smoke out the occupants, while Nat covers the window outside.
Billie breaks in and confronts Galina, Tamara, and a third person: Marilyn Carstairs, the mole.

Character Development

Billie takes the lead in deducing the painting’s significance and formulating the plan. Her memory of the Bosque code and her quick thinking with the burning chips show her adaptability. She is driven by both professional obligation and personal unfinished business.

Helen provides a calm, moral perspective, questioning whether they have the right to ignore collateral damage. She accepts the chicken Nula from Nat, showing her pragmatism and willingness to handle unpleasant tasks.

Nat displays squeamishness over animal death but volunteers to cover the window, demonstrating her courage and commitment to the team.

Mary Alice contributes blunt humour (“I am not babysitting a goddamned chicken”) and sharp tactical thinking, advocating for direct action.

Galina remains a resourceful antagonist who has barricaded herself with the painting, underscoring her single-minded pursuit of the job.

Marilyn Carstairs emerges as the long-suspected mole, confirming that the Museum’s security was compromised from within.

Themes, Symbols, or Motifs

Unfinished Business: The Leda painting represents a decades-old failure that the women now have a chance to correct.
Moral Ambiguity: Helen reminds the group that gangsters have families too, and Nat points out they lack a moral high ground given their own profession.
Aging and Competence: Despite being “past their prime,” the four women effectively improvise under pressure, proving their decades of experience still count.
Balkan Train as Microcosm: The chaotic, outdated train system mirrors the lawless underworld through which they move.

Why This Chapter Matters

This chapter reveals the identity of the mole (Marilyn Carstairs) and the true prize of the Lazarovs’ operation: the Raphael painting Leda. It ties the present-day plot to the women’s earlier career in 1994, giving emotional weight to their mission. The train setting allows for a tense, confined search that raises the stakes before the final confrontation.

Study Questions and Answers

How does Billie deduce that the painting Leda is Galina’s goal, and what does that imply about the mole?

Billie memorised the code from the Bosque job and recognised it as the same painting the team failed to retrieve. This implies the mole had access to decades-old Provenance files and fed the information to the Lazarovs.
Why does the team decide to prioritise retrieving the painting over simply killing Galina?

They see recovering Leda as a chance to finish an old mission and return the art to its rightful family. Billie states that the mission has changed—it is no longer just self-preservation but also justice and closure.
What evidence leads Billie to suspect that Marilyn Carstairs, not Lyndsay the P.A., is the mole?

The Spanish reply from a supposedly locked compartment on a Balkan train seems out of place. Galina’s boarding school in the Pyrenees matches the Spanish response, and finding Marilyn inside confirms she gave Galina the information.