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that moment Frank appeared at the door, looking right with the world. “Ready to go, m’dear?”
    Nessa glanced at me. “I am. Just let me get a sweater.”
    Frank turned to me. “Want to go check out the fun, when we get back?”
    “You mean the Gem Show?” I thought for a moment. As I had told Nessa, I was superstitious enough to believe that I shouldn’t push my luck. I had turned out one good (I hoped) glass piece, and no doubt jet lag would sandbag me later in the day, so I might as well get this gem thing over with. “Sounds good to me, Frank. But you don’t need to hurry back from lunch. I think I can handle the crowds.”
    He grinned at my joke. “Right, then. Nessa?” He offered a courtly arm, and Nessa took it gracefully. They made their way out of the building arm in arm. Nice.

Chapter 4
    Ancient Egyptians called peridot “the gem of the sun” because they believed it could not be seen in the desert by daylight.
    Nessa and Frank were back in under two hours, looking no less happy than when they had left. At least there was no trouble in their little paradise. Frank relinquished Nessa’s hand grudgingly before turning to me. “Ready to go?”
    “I guess.” I had mixed feelings about our planned excursion, although that had nothing to do with Frank. “What do you want to see? There’s a lot going on, both big and small events. You have friends here?”
    “Friends might be a bit strong. Plenty of colleagues, acquaintances.”
    “Are you selling this time around?”
    He shook his head. “Thought I’d get my feet wet first, although if the right deal came along . . . I’ll introduce you to some of my pals, but maybe you should see the biggest gathering first—at the convention center, isn’t it?”
    “There and about a million other places. But if you want big, that’s the place to start. You want to walk?” I asked. “It’s only a few blocks.”
    “Sure. Clear the head, stretch the legs.” Frank looked ready to take on tigers. Didn’t anything slow him down? I wasn’t so sure about my own stamina, but a brisk walk sounded like a good idea.
    One of the plusses of having a shop in the Warehouse District was that it was downtown, which made many things easy to get to, including the convention center. I liked to walk, and I drove only when I had to. With the seemingly endless reconstruction of the major highway through the center of town, which had shut down not a select few but all of the exits, there were far too many lost and/or frustrated drivers on the streets. Walking was much simpler and often faster.
    We had covered a few blocks before we spoke. “Not quite like Ireland, is it, Frank? How does Arizona compare to Australia?”
    “Not too far different, although we don’t have the cactus—at least, not the tall ones. We’ve got succulents, and there’s a lot of prickly pear, but that was introduced, not native. We call it a weed.” I could hear the grin in his voice. “Depends on where you are. It’s a big place.”
    “But you do have kangaroos, right? That’s not just an advertising gimmick?”
    “That we do, more than enough. And the same goes for koalas. Come visit.”
    “I’d love to, but I’ve got a business to run.” And I didn’t want to guess what a plane ticket to Australia might cost. We walked another block.
    “Heard from Cam?” Frank said, his eyes on the streetscape.
    “Not since he stalked off in a huff. He knows you were coming, and he said he wants to see you. I hope it will work out. I left him a message on his cell phone that you were here.”
    “No worries. He’s tough.”
    “I hope you’re right.”
    I took us maybe fifteen minutes to make our way to the sprawling Tucson Convention Center, the biggest venue for the many gem-related events. Frank looked like a kid waiting in line to see Santa Claus, bouncing on his feet, his eyes lit up. Me, I was less enthusiastic: I don’t like crowds, and I don’t particularly care for expensive,