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"We weren’t in the upstairs ballrooirl! No wonder Harold’s words were so disturbing, and this story but honestly, you ht have floated over from Greece or Albania or well, somewhere"

"I don’t think a head would have made it quite that far," Harold said

As he spoke, the waiter arrived with Jordan’s oreens and tos

"Oh!" Alyssa entleht?" the waiter asked anxiously "Mr Wulfsson,Miss Riley?"

"Yes, thank you," Ragnor said

Alyssa rose "Go eat your o at the plate on the table as if it were the severed head itself She shuddered "Lovely to meet you Harold, we have to leave"

"No we don’t?"

"Yes, we do Goodbye, we’ll be seeing you" She had her hand on Harold’s ar man, ready to follow his slender wife

"Keep the paper!" he said to Ragnor

"Thanks Thanks very nor slid into a seat at Jordan’s table She took her chair opposite hi you to join me for breakfast," she said

"It isn’t really breakfast," hethe paper

Jordan wished she could read Italian "What does it say?"

"Not too much A head was found in one of the smaller canals"

"Near the contessa’s palazzo?" Jordan asked

His eyes shot up at her Not that she could really see his eyes His Ray-Bans shot up at her

He stared at her a while "Yes"

"People were killed at her party I’m convinced of it If only someone else believed it" He didn’t contradict her He translated from the paper instead "Police will call in a forensic artist to try to re-create the face so that bulletins can be sent throughout Europe, as there are no reports ofpersons in the Venice area at this ti at hi his glasses

"No," he said flatly

"Wearing the even an Alasses at the table all the ti the o er, then you tellin Venice"

"I didn’t say that at all"

"What did you say?"

"That you can’t go assu to do with the contessa And if you go to the police insisting again that the contessa’s party was full of costu to think that you’re crazy again Delusional, suffering frorief due to the loss of a loved one"

She started to rise; he caught her hand "Why are you angry withyou what you need to know"

"Well, at the moment, I have work to do Will you excuse me?" His face was expressionless, but he didn’t release her hand "Where are you going?"

"What on earth is that to you?"

"Where are you going?" he repeated

"Down to the front desk?I was supposed to get so tothe red vinyl costu tonight"

"I’ll be in the lobby Make sure you stop by to get o"

"What if I don’t want you with o for now?"

"You haven’t touched your food"

"I’ood tiet some work done" He released her hand His attention was back on the newspaper article

Jordan took the elevator down to the lobby level and went straight to the front desk, asking if a package had arrived for her To her surprise, it actually had; it had arrived in almost exactly twenty-four hours