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more damn letters , yet.”
    Sophie leaned back in the plush leather seat, putting her earphones back in. “ Then h ow do you know I’m not right?”
    The CSI got out of his chair. “I’ve got to take a leak . . . and it’s not condom.”
    “Whatever you say. But if you’re going to act like that, I’m not going to help anymore.”
    She winked at Manny and dialed up her music as Alex marched to the rest room, mumbling something about wise - ass detectives.
    Never a dull moment.
    He put his book on the floor, beside the other one, a Tim Ellis thriller, and turned on his laptop , wait ing for it to fire up.
    So this is how the FBI worked, at least the BAU. Nothing seemed out of their reach, if it was needed. Like this jet, for starters. It wasn’t just your everyday, run - of - the - mill, executive plane. This one had all of the state - of - the - art communications equipment , including satellite links. It was comfortable, quiet, fast, and even the food was good. Not to mention all of the amazing criminal databases and latest forensic research provided by the b ureau’s ERT units and NCIS case data dancing at their fingertips. These types of resources would be an amazing upgrade to what Lansing had to offer , and he could be part of it. Josh had made him an incredibl e job o ffer with more leeway than he ’ d ever had or dreamed of . Extremely appealing. But leaving Lansing, home . . . well that was the conundrum , wasn’t it?
    Which way is the right way?
    He gazed out the curved window and flirted with the star-filled night. The stars winked back a million times over as his thoughts turned to the rush of the last four hours — and what kind of hell Katie Hayes was now living .
    The e-mail she had sent was in response to one that came from Eric’s account, telling her to contact Manny right away, that it was a matter of life and death , giving her Manny’s e-mail address. The message to Katie also had one of the pictures of Eric attached, up close and personal. He could almost hear her screams.
    Gavin had volunteered to call her and do the best he could to explain the situation, as well as they knew it anyway, and shooed Manny out the door. As he was leaving, he heard Gavin tell Katie as soon as the cruise ship’s security staff could locate which suite Eric was in, or at least had been in, they would contact her. He asked if Kat i e had anyone close by . Gavin was still talking in that quiet, comforti ng voice , contradicting the gruff exterior that Manny had heard so many times before. All the while, Gavin tried not to show his own tears already add ing twenty years to his face .
    As he left the office and climbed into his Ford Explorer, it occurred to him that i n this day and age of M e F irst , he was grateful to work for a man who didn’t operate that way. Gavin Crosby truly cared about others.
    When Manny had arrived home to get his travel case and tell Louise he was on the way out , he could smell her famous spaghetti and meatballs. The smell of garlic and tangy tomato sauce swirling through the modest ranch home was amazing, but he wouldn’t be eating any of it tonight.
    Louise had been a cop’s wife too long . W hen Manny put his hands on her shapely waist and found her eyes, her look turned from “ glad to see you ” to “ what’s going on ?” He explained as much as he could, grabbed the already - packed travel bag from the closet, and walked to the front foyer. She hugged him ferociously, told him to be careful, and pushed him out the door.
    She knew there wo uld be no peace for the Williams family as long as Argyle was out there and wanted him put away, or in the ground , as badly as anyone .
    The lap top blinked brightly into existence , bringing Manny out of his deep thoughts just as Alex plopped back in his chair. Manny had a message from Agent Corner saying that he and his people would meet them in Miami , and they wo uld fly to St. Thomas together.
    The ship’s security people had