Page 9 (2/2)

Steph, he was certain, had taken on the project to get out of Chicago--and away from him He wasn’t at all sure how he could prove that he had made his plans the day she had walked out--way ahead of her own And if he tried to explain that he’d felt as if he’d been waiting all his life for this particular opportunity, she’d think he was in a stranger state than she had apparently considered him to be in when she left

Maybe the neoie owned the place

But what the hell Maybe she wouldn’t be around And he couldn’t spend the nextto have to believe whatever she chose

"Grant?" Carlo said "Are you all right?"

He wasn’t A fierce pain had suddenly snaked throughout his li that had happened with Steph had been torture, just as it was a constant agony noonder just what the hell rong with him, why he was here, and why he had all but throay the person who hadin the world to hient, fun, and richly talented

"Grant?"

"Yeah, sorry, daydreauess About the bones, that’s all," Grant said

Carlo shook his head with patient tolerance "Grant,woo?"

"Sure Givewo He felt as if he could unearth the bones, an entire section of history, a moment in time Patience here had been difficult He couldn’t help that really strange feeling that if he really kept at it, searched and tore into the dirt, he’d have the answer he was so desperately seeking

Probleood God! What?" Stephanie cried, heading quickly for the stairs

There see from all around as the lot of them joined Suzette where she stood, just inside the doorway of Gema’s bedroom

"It’s a roach the size of Texas! I didn’t know that they even got roaches in Italy!" Suzette said, horrified

Her words were greeted by silence as those around her stared at one another, not sure whether to laugh, strangle Suzette, or sinity at last "Naturally, we have a great deal of foliage, we are by the seaside We are very, very clean… but upon occasion, an insect will make its way inside"

"Roaches are survivors Older than dinosaurs, I believe," Clay said, a spark of ahtly in front of her She could have sworn that he had been behind her as she ca up the stairs

"Suzette, you dip!" Lena let out suddenly "You scared us all to death! My heart is still racing a ht that you’d… that you’d…"

"She thought you’d found Ge impishly

"Drew, that’s horrible!" Lena protested

"Oh, come on!" Drew said "It would be horrible if we had found Gema… hurt Or worse," Drew said

"But she’s not here Thatpast the the doors open

They were all silent again as they stared in

The closet was e breath "Well… there you have it She’s gone"

"But… but… she just walked out!" Arturo exclaied

"Apparently," Drew said "The bright lights of Rome and all, you know"

"I didn’t know her," Stephanie said, looking at Arturo, and then the group "Would she really have done such a thing?"

"I have to aded "She talked a lot She is good-looking, and she certainly has balls, if you knohat I mean She’s the type who intends toe took the job, so I really thought that all of her talk was just that… talk"

"I don’t know It doesn’t really surprise me," Suzette said "I mean, think about it, Lena It’s not that I dislike Gema, mind you--she can be really funny--but she was that… well, type Iterribly important And if I had a boyfriend or husband, well, quite frankly, I wouldn’t trust her in the rooht Okay, come on, really, think about it When woood friends, people they trust And then they have friends like Gema, who kind of move to their own tune They can be friendly as hell, but you know that they don’t really have the sa at ht she could better herself by leaving, so she left For her, it wasn’t a bad thing to do"