Killers of a Certain Age

The flashback opens in July of 1981, with a giddy Mary Alice and Billie reunited for a mission. They are going to Zanzibar, an island off the coast of Tanzania, to target a Nazi, Baroness Elizabeth von Waldenheim. The baroness has an extensive cache of looted art, and her loyal servants, employees since before the war, are also slated for execution. Billie is drawn to one painting in the collection, a depiction of the Queen of Sheba by Safonisba Anguissola.

The painting depicts an episode from the Old Testament, in the Book of Kings, in which a wealthy queen visits the court of King Solomon to seek his wisdom. In the painting, the queen is depicted in jewels as a conqueror who has spent a romantic evening with King Solomon and now savors her triumph. Billie and the women are there to secure the art while the ambitious Vance has decided he should kill the baroness as the Museum rarely finds living Nazis now.

The group spends several grueling days on a fake archaeological dig at a plantation next to the baroness’s residence. Billie watches the baroness smoke, struck by her age and ill health, especially compared to photos of the woman in her youth.