He went into his private office, settled at his desk, and wearily rubbed his head. Athena Popolous had been in the Bull and Bear on the night she disappeared. Did she write in the matchbook that night, or had it been in her pocket for months? Were the letters someone’s initials and a meeting time? Was it part of a license plate?

Somehow Livingston felt that this information was related to her disappearance and death.

Chapter 25

AT SEA

VERONICA SCOOPED UP the Daily Program from the dresser and sat down on her bed. “Regan, we must hurry and decide what activities we will join today. It’s five before eleven, and there are several here that start at eleven o’clock.”

“What are the choices, Veronica?” Regan asked as she thought longingly of relaxing downstairs in a deck chair by the pool, reading a book and observing the activities of her fellow inhabitants of this microcosm known as the Queen Guinevere.

“Well, let’s see. There’s a bridge lecture which doesn’t interest me, a computer lecture which would do me no good . . . how to detect the early stages of plantar’s warts as taught by a podiatrist . . . certainly not before lunch. Aha! Here we go. A financial planning seminar about the different styles of money management. As Sir Gilbert used to say, money can’t buy you happiness, but at least it pays for everything else.” Veronica laughed and jumped up, reaching for her hair spray.

“I really don’t know that much about money matters. Philip has hired an accountant for me who balances my checkbook. But it’s high time I learned a bit more. Besides, this is probably one of the few lectures that will attract more men than women.”

“The truth comes out, Veronica,” Regan teased as she opened the terrace door and squinted at the brilliant sunlight.

“Ah, yes, well . . . afterward we can have lunch out on the Lido Deck and then proceed to the psychic’s session,” Veronica continued. “I’ve had my chart done several times by various astrologers and I always welcome a new voice to predict my future. And then of course there’s a bingo game at four-thirty in the Knights Lounge.”