'Did you?' Ann said. 'I'm sure he enjoyed that.'

'Well, not at first,' said Joan, implying that the interview had ended well. For some reason, she wanted to make Ann jealous. She couldn't decide why, but there was something about Ann she didn't like at all. And she had liked Thorn very much, until he'd become afraid and had her thrown out of his car. 'He doesn't have a very high opinion of reporters, does he?’ she went on.

'He thinks they live off other people's misfortunes,' said Ann, not bothering to disguise the fact that it was her opinion as well.

Joan's smile was, if possible, even more dazzling than before. 'Like jackals?' she asked. She was testing Ann, trying to find out how much she knew.

'What a good comparison,' said Ann with a straight face, leaving no hint as to whether she understood the allusion or not.

Warren was distinctly unsettled by this clash, which he only dimly understood, and he tried to set it right. 'Joan writes mainly about archaeology,' he offered. As soon as he'd said it, he realized how lame a comment it was.

Ann gave the remark the level of consideration it deserved. 'Does she?' she said, and smiled her killer smile.

Warren's pocket beeper beeped shrilly, a ludicrous note in the chilly atmosphere. Most of the time he resented the little device; it tied him to Thorn Industries like an umbilical cord he longed to cut. At this particular moment, however, he was grateful for the excuse it gave him to leave. 'Back in a moment,' he said, and left the ladies to settle their differences without him.

'You know,' said Joan Hart casually, 'your husband is a little unfair to the press. They were very kind to his brother.’

'What do you mean?' Ann asked sharply, beginning to wonder what the woman was after.

'Their reporting of his death was most circumspect,' said Joan Hart blandly. 'After all, the circumstances were a bit unusual.'

'Were they?' asked Ann calmly, trying to remain poised under pressure. 'I never knew Richard's brother.'

Joan looked as though a thunderbolt from heaven had just burst through the ceiling and struck her. 'That's right!' she said, 'I keep forgetting! You're Richard's second wife!’

'Miss Hart-' Ann began.

'Now let me get this straight,' Joan went on. 'Damien is his brother's son, and Mark is his son by his first wife. In fact, you're neither boy's mother!'

'You should be writing for the women's page!' Ann said sarcastically, her control beginning to collapse.

'And Damien,' Joan persisted, 'tell me about him. What kind of boy is he? Is he enjoying the military academy?'