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If he was alone, that was how he’d want to do it The girl was collateral dae It was safer and easier to do two for the price of one, and while Carina was a good example of what Mother Nature could do when inspired, she was unlikely to find a cure for cancer or bring about a lasting peace in the Middle East She’d assureed to share a cabin with a man like Carmody, and if her luck was bad, well, that was just bad luck Killing her would bother Keller for a while, but he kne to deal with that sort of thing, and he’d get over it

That’s if he was alone But he wasn’t, he had Julia along, and it was hard to kno Julia would take one death, let alone two She knew that his assignments occasionally included women--Dot had more than once called him an equal-opportunity killer--but this was a woman she’d seen up close, and that made it different

Well, maybe both he and Carina would be lucky this time, and Carmody would come back all by himself But then what? Carina would return sooner or later and find the body, and just how much of a flap that raised would depend on whether or not he could make it look like natural causes If he couldn’t, there’d be cops on board the next time theyuntil he had a chance to get off the ship and disappear, but once again, da

He paced the floor--the Sun Deck cabins provided a to find a way, and then he stopped pacing and stopped thinking and froze in his tracks

There was a key in the lock So soon? How could they be done with dinner already?

He braced hiht, and the door flew open

It was Carina

His hands were out in front of him, ready to stifle her cries of alarm But there were no cries, nor did she seem at all alarmed

"Thank God!" she said

Huh?

"The way you look atthe door shut "And I know you saw the looks I gave you in return But you have not approached htto my cabin, and I made some excuse, and--"

She really was quite beautiful

"But there’s no time," she said "Not now, he’ll be here any minute Oh, I want to be alone with you! What shall we do?"

"Uh…"

"Later tonight," she said "One o’clock No, one thirty, he’ll definitely be asleep by then I’ll meet you on Deck Two out on the afterdeck"

"Uh, port or starboard?"

"All the way at the back," she said "Behind the library At the rail, at one thirty Can you be there? Oh, I hope you can Oh, God, there’s no time, but kiss me You have to kiss me"

And she pressed her et it," he told Julia "I wonder what she wants"

"Your fair white body, if I had to guess"

"Not unless she thinks I’ director," he said "And it’s just as well I’ood an actress"

"It was an act?"

"‘Oh, I want to be alone with you! What shall we do?’ Yes, I’d say it was an act"

"I don’t know," she said "I frequently want to be alone with you What shall we do? I ask myself that all the ti"

"I asked ot back, and what I came up as that we should call Donny and Claudia’s It’s early, they’ll be up, and with any luck so will Jenny"

Everyone was still awake at the Wallings house, and everybody talked to everybody else, until Donny Wallings took the phone and said, "This is costing y’all a fortune, and y’all are having fun and so’s Jenny, so I’ood-bye now"

They ended the call, and Julia said, "She’s having a wonderful tireat"

"She’ll probably want to stay there forever With her new family, that she now likes ever so much better than her old one"

"Maybe we can rent out her room"

"Go ahead, make fun of a mother’s tears Did you enjoy it? Was it hot?"

"Was what hot?"

"Kissing her It lobal war"

"It was just…I don’t know Dumb"

"Dumb?"

"I knew it had to be an act, and that she had an agenda And even if it wasn’t, I didn’t want to be there"

"Poor baby Was she at least a good kisser? Did she use her tongue?"

"Julia--"

"And press her tits against you? I’ you, aren’t I?"

"I don’t know Yeah, sort of"

"If she doesn’t want your body--"

"She doesn’t It was an act, pure and simple"

"Pure? Simple?"

"Well--"