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    Jf8
    to see her except the unsmiling face of Adam as she tilted him carefully into the light. "Then maybe I'll take this job, Mr. Cobbs."
    The cleaver lifted slowly, came down again with a wet thud on the raw meat.
    "If you're ready, I'll drive you home now."
    That strongy challenging face . . . full of dark secrets and dark emotions . . . With a sigh BeUnda closed her Spanish book, realizing she had no idea what she'd just read. Adam Thome, whatever happened to you, couldn't have anything to do with mPS . . . but Fm going to help you come out of your darkness. She sighed again as she heard a car in the driveway. Frank and Hildy were already here. She couldn't remember when she'd ever felt less like seeing them.
    "So?" Hildy burst through the back door, flinging her coat onto the kitchen table. "Did you take the job? I want to hear all about it -- don't leave anything out --"
    "Is this gonna take very long?" Frank opened the refrigerator door and helped himself to a Pepsi, then rummaged for something to eat. "Hey, your cupboard's kinda bare, Belinda. Hurry up with the lessons, will you? There's a movie we wanna catch. And maybe -- if Hildy's a real good girl -- a nice surprise after that."
    Hildy looked intrigued. "What kind of surprise? Where are we going?"
    "I was thinking . . . maybe a Httle action. You know -- up at Suicide Drop."
    Belinda shuddered. "You don't really take Hildy up there, do you?"
    ^What's the matter with that? It's nice and deserted . . . dark and quiet . . . perfect for making out -- wish it was you I was taking instead?" Frank grinned.
    Hildy shook her head at Belinda. "Don't worry. He's always trying to get me to go up there with him, but wild horses couldn't drag me. Yuck . . . just thinking of that awful place gives me the creeps. Frank, sometimes I think you're totally
    insane."
    "No, you think I'm totally irresistible. And Where's your sense of adventure? Your sense of romance?"
    "You mean her sense of intelligence," Belinda frowned. "And anyway, that road's been closed for months."
    "The better to be alone together, my dear," Frank gave a wicked chuckle, and Belinda turned away, trying to shut the whole idea out of her head.
    Everyone knew about Suicide Drop, the hill outside of town that had claimed so many innocent Hves. Its narrow dirt road descended almost straight down, then cut sharply between a jagged slope on one side, and a sheer drop to rocks below on the other. Its danger was also deceiving -- most people didn't even realize how quickly their car could pick up speed until they were too close to the cliff to make the curve. Thinking about it now reminded Belinda of the road near the airport, and she nearly dropped the coffeepot she was filling.
    "So what do you think?" Frank asked again. "An hour? Two at the most? How long is all this stupid homework gonna take?"
    "That depends on Hildy," Belinda said shortly, and Frank spun around with a grin.
    "My, my, aren't we touchy tonight! What happened -- you get canned today before you even started your job?"
    "Frank," Hildy gave him a warning look and he shrugged, finally settling on a jar of oUves, which he took to the table. "Okay, Belinda," Hildy turned back, "what happened? We were right, weren't we? You did all that worrying for nothing." She gave a triumphant grin, but it faded at the look on her friend's face.
    "I don't know," Belinda said.
    *What do you mean, you don't know?" Frank snorted. "It's either a coincidence or you're crazy. Very simple." Hildy glared at him and he promptly popped an ohve into each eye and made a face at her.
    "Stop it, Frank; that's disgusting." Hildy pulled her chair close to BeUnda. "So why don't you know?"
    "He won't talk about his accident. He won't even let me see his face." She shuddered inwardly, remembering that distorted image in the dark. "He's all stitched up and something's wrong with his legs -- he uses a cane. I don't know. ... I just don't want to believe we could have caused something like