“And if he couldn’t open that little safe, he certainly couldn’t have opened the terrace door,” Holly said.

“Then he must have used a key,” Stone replied.

“Does anybody else have a key?” She asked.

“Not as far as I know. Caleb Stone had one, but he returned it to me.”

“And he couldn’t have had it duplicated,” Holly said, “since only the manufacturer has the special key blanks required.”

“Right,” Stone said.

35

STONE WOKE SLOWLY the following morning.

Holly was lying naked next to him on her belly, and his hand rested on her ass. He found it companionable to wake up with her next to him, warm and bare.

He ran a finger up her ass, between the cheeks.

“Hmmmmm,” she muttered. “More.”

“More what?”

“Just more.”

He rolled over and lay on top of her.

“You’re nicely heavy,” she said.

He was growing in size, and in response she opened her legs wider. “More,” she said.

“Where?”

“Anywhere you like.”

She was wet, and he slipped inside her.

“Good choice,” she said.

Stone moved slowly in and out.

“That’s so good,” she breathed, pushing back against his belly.

“It’s better than that,” Stone said, close to her ear. “You’re in wonderful shape.”

Holly continued pushing rhythmically against him. “They toned us up at the Farm.”

“Thank you, Farm.”

Holly rolled over. “I want to be able to get my hands on you,” she said, taking him in her hand and reinserting him. She pulled her knees up and rested her ankles on his shoulders. “There,” she said. “Now.”

Within a minute they had come noisily and lay sweating and panting in each other’s arms.

“What a wonderful way to start the day,” Holly said.

“It makes me want to go right back to sleep,” Stone said.

“Sex renders men unconscious,” she laughed. “I’m quoting you.”

THEY WERE AT BREAKFAST, eating without much conversation. Holly spoke up. “I want to meet this burglar of yours,” she said.

“What, you want a date?”

“Thanks, but I’m all booked up,” she said, kicking him under the table. “No, I’m just surprised you aren’t paying more attention to him.”

“Dino and I eliminated him as a suspect.”

“On what grounds?”

“Since his father’s death and his own release from prison, he’s become a valued member of the community; he’s married with a child; he earns a very good living making very expensive cabinets; and he’s too smart to foul his own nest, especially such a small nest. He also has nothing in his record to indicate that he’s interested in committing crimes of a sexual nature, raping and murdering teenaged girls.”

“Still, he has a lot of skills that make him a suspect.”

“I actually had him go over this house and give me his opinion on the security features. He was impressed.”