"Hmm?" He blinked. "A while ago, when I said I didn't know Herb, did you say you knew that?" "Yes." "When did you know?" "Almost immediately." She frowned, as she worked on that sentence. "I'll help with Mutt. The dogs accept cats fairly well, but a strange dog has to be introduced." While they were doing that, Salty rang the bell for dinner and automatically Georgia showed Luke where to wash. "Did you leave me because I didn't tell you about the Molly Q sinking? I was afraid, if you knew, you 'd leave me." "No Because you asked me if Herb was good as you. You offended me. You made me sound like a bed-hopper. I told you I didn't know any Herb." "I was sure you didn't and I only meant to tease, to make you say I was a good lover. I would never try to offend you." She was silent. Luke wanted to hold her. He wasn't sure she'd allow it. He asked, " How's your arm?" " Just fine. You can hardly see the marks any more." " Lete see." So when he had her arm in his hands, he couldn

Dante Di Sione felt the adrenaline pumping through his body as he walked into the tiny airport terminal. His heart was pounding and his forehead was beaded with sweat. He felt like he'd been running. Or just rolled away from a woman after bout of particularly energetic sex. Even though it was a long time since he could even remember having sex. He frowned. How long? His mind raced back over the past few weeks spent chasing across continents and fitting in and out of different time zones. He'd visited a dizzing array of countries, been presented with a whole shoal of red heerings and wandered uo against several dead ends before arriving here, in the carribean. All in pursuit of a priceless pices of jewellery which his grandfather wanted for a reasons he'd declined to share. Dante felt the tight clench of his heart. A dying man's wish. Yet wasn't the truth that he had been tantalized by the task he'd been given which he had taken on as a favour to someone who had given him so much?