Chapter summaries Kills Well with Others Deanna Raybourn

Chapter Three Summary & Analysis – Killers of a Certain Age

⚠️ 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

Billie, Helen, Mary Alice, and Natalie arrive in Colonial Williamsburg and meet their former Museum colleague, Naomi Ndiaye, who now leads the organization. Naomi explains that Lilian Flanders, a retired Provenance agent who compiled the dossier for their 1979 mission to kill Bulgarian assassin Boris Lazarov, has been murdered. Found with fibers from a needlepoint pillow in her mouth and nose, Lilian was suffocated. A crude obsidian wolf figure—etched with Cyrillic initials matching Lazarov's—was clutched in her hand. Naomi suspects Lazarov’s son, Pasha, is seeking revenge on everyone involved in his father’s death. Since the pilots of that flight are already dead (killed by Billie), the women are the remaining targets. Naomi also reveals a security breach at the Museum: two files were accessed—the Lazarov job and a recent unrelated hit. She has left a packet with details at a dead drop and urges the team to eliminate Pasha before he acts. The women retrieve the packet and decide to hunt the Bulgarian.

Key Events

  • The four women arrive in Colonial Williamsburg, go for a jog and breakfast, then meet Naomi under an oak tree.
  • Naomi identifies Lilian Flanders as the recently murdered former Provenance agent who worked on the 1979 Lazarov mission.
  • She shows them the obsidian wolf left with Lilian's body, carved with Lazarov’s initials.
  • Naomi reveals that Pasha Lazarov, Boris’s son, is now in the U.S. and likely targeting everyone involved in his father’s assassination.
  • The women learn that the pilots of the plane used in the 1979 hit are already dead, making them the only living targets.
  • Naomi admits to a security breach at the Museum: two sets of files were accessed, including the Lazarov file and a recent unrelated hit.
  • She instructs them to retrieve a packet from a dead drop under a porch on Duke of Gloucester and Nassau Streets.
  • Billie leads the group to retrieve the packet, declaring they need to “kill a Bulgarian.”

Character Development

  • Billie: Takes charge of the situation, showing sharp recall of the obsidian wolf's meaning and cutting through Naomi’s evasions. She reflects on her chosen life without regret.
  • Helen: Skeptical throughout, questioning Naomi’s theory about a sixty‑one‑year‑old avenger and the source of her government intel.
  • Mary Alice: Surprises the team by remembering Lilian Flanders from the 1979 mission—the detail sticks because of a personal crush on a boy named Flanders. Her memory proves vital.
  • Natalie: Provides comic relief with her crass language and banter (e.g., her comment about “Satan’s balls”), but also shows her intellectual side by referencing Marie Kondo.
  • Naomi: Emerges as a competent but vulnerable interim director. She is a mother juggling a nursing baby and the pressures of leadership, forced to handle the breach privately to avoid appearing weak.

Themes, Symbols, or Motifs

  • Revenge Across Generations: The chapter introduces Pasha Lazarov as a potential avenger, raising the question of how far a child will go to settle a parent’s score decades later.
  • Obsidian Wolf: A symbol of the Lazarov mission—the wolf represents Boris’s name (wolf in Russian) and the crude carving suggests a personal, almost ritualistic message from the killer.
  • Organizational Trust: Naomi’s choice to handle the breach off‑the‑books highlights the fragility of trust within the Museum; any hint of weakness could cost her the director position.
  • Aging vs. Experience: The women’s jet lag and leisure activities contrast with their lethal profession, underscoring their age but also their deep well of experience and memory.
  • Marie Kondo / Clutter Debate: Natalie and Mary Alice’s argument about decluttering echoes the broader theme of whether the past (clutter) can be fully discarded or must be addressed.

Why This Chapter Matters

This chapter pivots the story from a relaxing retirement trip into an active mission. It establishes the central antagonist (Pasha Lazarov), reveals a major security breach within the Museum, and ties the present danger back to the women’s very first assignment in 1979. The introduction of the obsidian wolf as a calling card and the dead drop setup create suspense and raise stakes. Naomi’s personal life—her family, her need to protect her position—adds depth to the world of the Museum and foreshadows the political intrigue that will complicate the women’s hunt.

Study Questions and Answers

  1. Why does Naomi handle the security breach privately rather than through official Museum channels?
    Naomi fears that any public acknowledgment of a breach could undermine her authority as interim director, making her vulnerable to internal rivals. She says containing the threat quietly is the only way to keep her leadership secure.

  2. What is the significance of the obsidian wolf found on Lilian Flanders’s body?
    The wolf’s name derives from the Russian meaning of “Boris,” and the carved Cyrillic initials confirm it is a personal message from someone avenging Boris Lazarov. It also indicates the killer wants the Museum to know the deaths are deliberate revenge.

  3. How does the women’s past mission in 1979 connect to the current threat?
    Lilian Flanders compiled the dossier for that mission, making her the first victim of Pasha Lazarov’s revenge. Since the pilots are already dead, Billie, Helen, Mary Alice, and Natalie are the only remaining targets directly involved in Boris Lazarov’s assassination.

Navigation