sports, turning the page with one hand and pouring coffee with the
other.
JANE PALMER DiEs OF OVERDOSE
Jane Palmer, forty-six, ex-lover of Devastation's Brian
McAvoy, and mother of his daughter, Emma, was found
dead in her London home, apparently a victim of a drug
overdose. The body was discovered by Stanley Hitchman late
Sunday afternoon.
Michael read through the rest of the article. It contained only the
bare facts, but suicide was hinted at. Swearing, he tossed the paper
aside. He grabbed a jacket and signaled McCarthy.
"I need an hour. There's something I have to take care of."
McCarthy put a hand over the phone receiver he held at his ear. "We got
three punks in holding."
"Yeah, and they'll hold. An hour," he repeated and strode out.
HE FOUND HER AT THE BEACH. It had only been a few days since she had
come back into his life, but he knew her habits. She came there every
day, to the same spot. Not to surf. That was just an excuse. She came
to sit in the sun and watch the water, or to read in the shade of a
little blue and white cabana. Most of all she came to heal.
Always she set herself apart from the others who sunned or walked along
the beach. She wasn't seeking company but was comforted by the fact
that she wasn't alone. She wore a simple blue tank suit, no
flighty bikini or spandex one-piece cut provocatively at the thigh. Its
very modesty drew eyes toward her. More than one man had considered an
approach, but one look from her had them passing by.
To Michael it was as if she had a glass wall surrounding her, thin,
ice-cold, and impenetrable. He wondered if within it she could smell
the coconut oil or hear the jangle from the portable radios.
He went to her. Her trust in him allowed him to get closer than most.
But she'd built a second line of defense that held even friends at their
distance.
"Emma."
He hated to see her jolt, that quick, involuntary movement of panic. She
dropped the book she'd been reading. Behind her sunglasses fear darted
into her eyes, then subsided. Her lips curved, her body relaxed. He saw
it all, the change from serenity to panic to calm again, in a matter of
seconds. It made him think that she was becoming much too used to
living in fear.
"Michael, I didn't expect to see you today. Are you playing hooky?"
"No. I've only got a few minutes."
He sat beside her, in the partial shade. The breeze off the water
fluttered his jacket so that she caught a glimpse of his shoulder
holster. It was always a shock to remember what he did for a living. He
never looked like her image of a detective. Even now when she could see
the weapon snug against his USC T-shirt, she couldn't quite believe he
would ever u:we it.
"You look tired, Michael."
"Rough night." She smiled a little. He could see that she thought he
was speaking of a heavy date. There was no use telling her he'd spent