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He is going to match Jeff Hirsch claw for claw all weekend, whatever the weekend has in store for them.
    “And this is Mariko Ruchi and her husband, Hiro.”
    The other couple is Asian, and they both get up and bow. Mariko is a beautiful woman with flawless skin, and Terry wonders if she uses the cosmetics she probably markets. Fire lights up the Japanese woman’s eyes and Terry can tell that this is no stereotypical, diminutive Japanese wife. It is clear who wears the pants in their family.
    Peter claps his hands. “Now that we are all introduced, let’s eat! I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’m starving.”
    Jake and Terry take their seats. They are hemmed in by Mika, who still hasn’t looked up from her cellphone, and Ethel. Directly across the table are Jeff and Cassie and Mariko and Hiro.
    Jeff and Mariko both glower at Jake.
    This is going to be a very interesting meal, Terry thinks as she picks up her fork and knife. Now who is going to take the first stab?

7
     
    Jake’s quick mind processes what he has found on Jeff Hirsch on Google:
     
    HIRSCH, JEFF
    AGE: 34
    Major: Mass communications and Advertising.
    Former Key Accounts Exec at Newton and Young. Won the Clio Award twice.
    Wolf Shifter. Clan: Drogba (Black Wolf). Former challenger to the alpha of the clan, but defeated in the final confrontation. Left Drogba thereafter and married his mate, Cassandra.
    Fierce, independent , ambitious, brilliant.
    Won the New York State Treasure Hunt cup in 2013.
    Second place in the regional shifter triathlon in 2010 and 2011.
     
    Jake could not find anything on Mariko Ruchi on the net. But it doesn’t necessarily mean there is nothing on her, just that she guards her personal information. So she is a cypher.
    Two Mexican women come in to serve dinner in a succession of platters and bowls. Since there are so many people, there are two servings of everything. Roast lamb. Beef stew. Pumpkin bread. Vegetable soup. Salad. Roasted baby potatoes.
    Conve rsation begins in earnest again with everyone talking all at once – side by side, across the table. Jake steals a glance at Terry. So far, she has been solid throughout all this. Well, she ought to be, with what he’s paying her.
    Still, he feels on edge whenever he is with her. She is looking particularly beautiful today in her lavender sweater and her blue jeans. Very suited for a summer weekend. He is very aware of her presence next to him, and of her thigh accidentally brushing against his in their cramped confines. He can smell the sweet scent of her shampoo. She doesn’t use perfume, and he doesn’t like women or wolves who do. Perfume masks their natural scent, he believes.
    On the opposite side, Jeff studies them both intently, but does not say anything. His wife merely looks miserable. Mariko and Hiro are talking with Ethel, who apparently uses the Japanese cosmetics Mariko used to market.
    “So, Terry,” Martha says, “ how did you and Jake meet?”
    Terry says in a well-rehearsed note, “We met at the library.”
    Jake clenches his left fist in a gesture of triumph under the table while his right nonchalantly spears a baby potato with his fork. He affects a look of innocence.
    “That’s a fine meeting place,” Martha exclaims. “I met Peter at the library too!”
    “No kidding.” Terry’s smile is plastered.
    “Which library would that be?”
    Uh oh, Jake thinks.
    “ Foxhall,” he says as Terry simultaneously says, “Briggs”.
    They both stop to glare at each other.
    “Briggs,” Jake says as Terry says, “Foxhall”.
    They glare at each other again.
    “It was either one,” Jake says. “We can’t remember.”
    “Your memory is always faulty, darling.”
    “Not always, sweetie.”
    “Most of the time, darling.”
    “Libraries are such wonderful meeting places. Hardly anyone meets in libraries these days with Kindles and iPads and gyms and clubs and websites offering everything from dating services to hookups,” Peter