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He hated the Blackwood Club

"That ain nervously, because talking to herself was the first sign of madness But she was notin a storet deeper and stormier the more she found out

She lay on the bed and picked up the book It was strange reading froh she had for a moment taken over his life She read four sen-tences before sleep took her

That was a es in ine one selected day struck out of it, and think how different its course would have been

Pause you who read this, and think for a old, of thorns or flowers, that would never have bound you, but for the formation of the first link on one memo-rable day

She drea her mother to Josephine Blackwood, and daisy chains in the park

She woke several times and stared at the door, and every time it remained closed She had left the curtains half open so street light bathed the room yellow, a false dahen-ever she opened her eyes

When the true dawn ca bustle fro around in the kitchen, Jazz pulled the duvet up to her chin and sighed She felt warm and cosseted, but she knew she had a decision to make

Terence did not only want her help because he thought she was talented That was part of it, she was sure, and she felt an unavoidable pride in thinking that But he was also aware that she had secrets

What better way to reveal them than to keep her close and ith her?

But there were Harry and the others: Stevie, Hattie, Gob She owed theiven her their food, let her stay with theht her their ways, and they had lived through the grief of losing Cadge to-gether They trusted her, and now she had betrayed the, hadn't she?

Accepting those shoes fro him to Harrods? He of-fered her protection and a new life, but in truth she sought far s she had never seen while living with the United Kingdos in life are in yourin their s at the fence that badly needed painting She had stared for a long tidoht now But there was soe her e's death too

"Maybe we can work together," she whispered Her voice was startlingly loud, and she glanced at the old fraician would be staring at her He was, but with the saed nothing

She sat up in bed, stretching Then she shook her head The idea of Terence and Harry working together seeht that lost all clarity when the dregs of sleep ether, Terence had said, but she could not iine that now The men were just too different, and it had little to do with the places they chose to live

There was a knock at the door "Breakfast?" Terence asked

"I'll be out in a e of the bed and listened, and for aoutside the door, listening, hand on the handle She stared at it, waiting for it to dip, as if she were a doo in so and Terence whistling in the kitchen She sighed

After dressing quickly, she walked along to the kitchen and watched hi breakfast Hethe table carefully, placing the full cafetiére in the center along with croissants and honey, grapefruit juice, and a selection of cold meats and cheeses

He looked up at last and smiled "So, did you sleep on it?"

Jazz frowned, i across her mind She nodded "I just need a bit of fresh air," she said "Do you mind if ?" She nodded at the breakfast table

"Not at all But fresh air in London?"

She shrugged "Just a walk Stretch my limbs"

"I'll just lockup --"

"I'll be fine, Terence Fifteen minutes, and when I re-turn we'll have breakfast Just want to clear h he had soin Jazz's expression that silenced him, because he walked past her to open the front door

"Coffee's getting cold," was all he said as she breezed by

Jazz turned, stretched up, and gave hi, he smelled fresh and clean "Thank you"

"Left here," he said "Around the block Some nice an-tique shops, but watch out for pavehed at his use of such an unrefined term and de-cided not to look back That would be too keen, too eager

ThePeople of all shapes, sizes, and colors weaved around one another on their way to work,into mobile phones, others lost in their own private iPod worlds

A shop owner swept broken glass fro men hammered boards across his smashed shopA policeman stood with his arms crossed, face set in stone as he was subjected to the shopkeeper's wife's fury The policeht her eye and watched her pass by, and Jazz looked down at her feet If that doesn't look guilty, I don't knohat does

She turned left, following Terence's directions, walking slowly so that she could think She was not sure exactly what he was offering He ice her age, but sometimes there was a tension between theination But he was a clever man, aware of his looks and confident of his abilities to play with percep-tions and emotions He had proved that only too well in Harrods, and the ht about that nick yester-day afternoon, the more she realized how complex a test it had been

Soreeting Jazz looked up Across the street, a tall black wo with both hands, and Jazz turned to see who she aving to

Farther along the street, out-side a butcher's shop, a

As Jazz went to turn back and start walking again, some-one stepped out in front of her A policeht New haircut, darker hair, new clothes I nicked only yesterday It's all about appear-ance, confidence, style She gave her dazzling smile up at him -- he was very tall--and stepped sideways to move around

"Excuse me," she said