“I did it! He’s agreed to sell me everything!” she said breathlessly. “But that’s not the half of it I’ve got one helluva surprise for the art world and for you.”

Then she pulled out the Greek manuscript.

He didn’t care about the manuscript now or the art world or any other surprises either one of them might have. Having her back was the only thing that mattered now. The nightmare raced past the manuscript.

“Say, maybe you’d like to take a shower so I could get really close to you.” Her words sped up and raced by as she kissed him on the lips and stood back and looked at him lasciviously. He felt the way she ran her hands over his shoulders and down his belly, brushing over the front of his running shorts with a light fluttering of fingers. The dream accelerated. Seth Ridgeway watched himself in the dream turn slowly toward the shower. No! He wanted to shout Don’t let her go. Don’t let her out of your sight But the dream slammed downhill out of his control, a nightmare luge racing to the end.

“First the shower.” He heard her voice racing along with the dream.

“Then you’d better be prepared, mister. You’dbetterbepreparedmister. You’dbetterbeprepared.”

But when he was done with his shower she was gone.

Seth Ridgeway woke up to realize he was crying.

He cursed as he slammed his fist into the pillow. He felt like a sucker for not waking himself. But somewhere in the back of his mind he always clung to the hope that the dream would turn out differently and he’d wake up beside her again and they’d make love like they had that morning in Zurich five months before.

He lay there for a moment, emotionally sucker-punched, breathing heavily into his knotted-up pillow, tasting the saltiness of his sorrow.

“Damn you, God,” he whispered. “Damn you, damn you!” He slammed his fist against the mattress, then instantly regretted his words as guilt settled heavily on his chest.

“Please forgive me for that, God,” he said. “I didn’t mean that Help me find her, help me, please. Oh, please.” He fought against the rising tears that had filled his eyes every morning for almost half a year. My faith has been tested enough, God, he thought Haven’t I passed the test? Can’t you bring us together again? And again he apologized. I’m sorry, God I know you have your own plans; please bring Zoe back, but if that is not your will, then give me the strength to cope with that.

Slowly he turned, unwinding the sheets that had wrapped themselves around his legs. He tore them away from his sweaty body and lay on top, listening to the rain thudding against the deck above him. It was a sad, soothing sound and he let it wash over him as he thought about Zoe and ran over in his mind what he could have overlooked back in Switzerland.

While he waited for the police to arrive, he ran down the steps to the front lobby. He checked the hotel’s restaurants and shops, and finally her rental car. It rested in the same spot the valet had put it when Zoe had turned it over to him. The engine was still warm from her trip to Kreuzlingen.