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Taking the button out of his pocket, he toyed with it, studied it as though it were so puzzle to be solved

He was an idiot, Roarke realized It was hu to admit what an incredible fool love could make of a man He stood, slipped the button back in his pocket He had a boardto complete, business to take care of

And, he thought, some research to do on whether any details of the Slade arrest had left Sector 38 And if they had, how and why

Eve couldn’t put off her appointment with Nadine The necessity of it irritated, as did the fact she had to schedule the ti and late live broadcasts

She plopped down at a table at a ses It ith its quiet corners and leafy trees, several large steps away from the Blue Squirrel Eve winced at the prices on the reat deal more than cops—and settled on a Classic Pepsi

“You ought to try the muffins,” Nadine told her “The place is famous for them”

“I bet it is” At about five bucks a rehydrated blueberry, Eve thought “I don’t have a lot of time”

“Neither do I” Nadine’s on-camera makeup was still perfectly in place Eve could only wonder how anyone could stand having their pores gunked for hours at a time

“You go first”

“Fine” Nadine broke open her rantly “Obviously thenews of the day Who came, who said what Lots of side stories about the fahter and her fiancé”

“Why?”

“

Hu plans interrupted by violent murder Word’s leaked that the ceremony will be postponed until the first part of next year”

Nadine took a bite of nored the envious reaction of her stomach juices “Gossip isn’t what I’m after, Nadine”

“But it adds color Look, it was more like a plant than a leak So’s been postponed So I wonder if thisafter all What I smell is the scent of trouble in paradise Why would Mirina turn away from Slade at a time like this? Seems to me they’d have a nice quiet private ceremony so he’d be there to comfort her”