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    commendation you need. If you joined the force to be cuddly and nice, you were fooling yourself, for we can't be like that, especially not in CID. You are what you should be, and you are where you should be.
    Whether it's in spite of your background or because of it doesn't matter any more than a single bean in my rapidly cooling soup.'
    He grinned at her as he picked up his spoon, and this time, she smiled back, weakly.
    'This birthday card your sister received; did she say where it was posted?'
    'London.'
    'And it arrived out of the blue?'
    'Yes.'
    'Did he put an address on it?'
    'No. What concerns me is how he found out where she is.'
    'The Internet, maybe,' Mario suggested. 'She has a website, doesn't she, with her design business, and she has an unusual name. That would do it.'
    'Maybe. Anyway, she's scared and she wrote to me to warn me.'
    'And are you worried?'
    She snorted. The? Just let him come near me.' She stopped. 'Now, please; I've told you; can we talk about something else, at least till we get home.'
    Mario nodded. 'Sure What did that lad want this morning anyway?'
    'Nothing. He brought me Manny English's night-shift reports, that was all.'
    'What the hell for?'
    'You know Manny. He was away, and he's so bloody rank-conscious that only the next senior officer would do to check them over.'
    'A load of crap, were they?'
    'Yup. There was a funny one where someone had died in a doctor's surgery, but that was all.'
    'Death happens, wherever. There more than in most places, I guess.'
    'Yes, but not . . . Ach, let's forget it. Enough shop. Have you had many "well done" calls since the press notice went out?'
    Mario nodded. 'A few . . . and one that took my breath away. My Uncle Beppe phoned me. He and my mother want to have a family party to celebrate.'
    'Jesus. Your godfather cal ed you? What did you say?'
    'What could I say? I said okay. I had to; my mum and my nana might have been upset otherwise.'
    'Am I invited?'
    'Course you are.'
    'Wil I have to learn Italian songs and dances and such?'
    'Hardly,' he laughed. 'However he acts, my Uncle Beppe was born in Newhaven, not Napoli.'

    32

    8
    This time, Sarah was awake when the phone rang. 'How're you doing?'
    he asked.
    'Better,' she answered, not because she was, but because it was what he wanted to hear. In reality she felt cold and shivery, slightly out of touch with the planet. The initial shock had worn off, to be replaced by a stunned disbelief that what had happened actually involved her, and a feeling that instead she was a spectator looking in on someone else's nightmare.
    'That's good,' said Bob, knowing that she was putting on a front, but going along with it. 'You were zonked when I called earlier. Lou said you'd taken a couple of pil s.'
    'Yes, on top of a couple of brandies; not such a good idea.'
    'It was if it did the job.' He hesitated, and background noise flooded into her ear. 'My love, I'm so sorry,' he blurted out. 'I wish I was there with you. Maybe that's where I should be. I'm at KL airport, but I haven't picked up my tickets for the States yet. If you want, I'll cancel them and come home instead. I sort of went off at half-cock earlier, when Andy cal ed and told me what had happened.'
    'No,' she said, quickly, almost sharply. 'You go to New York. I might want you here, but I need you there. I'll come over as soon as I can, once I've had a chance to make arrangements for the kids. Meantime, please, you take care of everything that needs doing . . . and make damn sure that the police throw everything into the investigation.'
    A quiet chuckle sounded down the line. 'Hey, this isn't just someone else's force, it's someone else's country. I'll need to tread softly there.'
    'You don't know how to do that,' she exclaimed. 'I mean it, Bob; keep them on their toes.'
    'I'll do what I can,' he promised. 'Do you know this man Dekker?'
    'The county sheriff? No, I don't; I've heard my dad mention his name, though. He's been