Nick looked down at the bag. “I’m not radioactive—that radiant glow is just good health.”

She held the bag and stared at him until he dropped the towel inside, then she sealed the bag and set it aside.

She turned to him again. “Well?”

“I wasn’t expecting you to have company,” Nick said. “If you don’t mind, I’d like to have a word with you in private.” He looked at Gunner. “Is that okay with you?”

“That’s up to Alena,” Gunner said. He reached out and took her right hand. “Are you okay with this? Do you feel safe?”

“I’m not afraid of him,” Alena said.

“I don’t think you need to be,” Gunner said. “I’ve met Dr. Polchak before, and I believe him to be an honorable man.” He looked at Nick. “Am I right?”

“I braved wild animals to get here,” Nick said. “That should tell you something.”

Gunner turned to the coffee table where there was a small mahogany box lined with maroon-colored satin; it held a glass bottle with a round lid, four small glass cups, and a pillbox-sized container made of brass. Gunner quietly closed the lid, stood, and tucked the box under his left arm. “I still owe you that beer,” he said to Nick.

“I’m looking forward to it.”

Gunner stopped in the doorway and looked back at Alena. “If you need anything else, you know how to reach me.”

“Send in Acheron when you go,” she said, then took a seat on the sofa.

A few seconds later, the huge black dog came trotting into the trailer and sat down next to Alena.

She looked up at Nick. “Just so you know: Before you could ever lay a hand on me, Acheron would tear out your throat.”

“I got a sample of what Acheron could do the other night,” Nick said. “Believe me, I’m happy right where I am.”

“Sit,” she said, pointing to the sofa.

“Is that an invitation or a command?”

She didn’t reply.

Nick looked down at the dog. “Acheron. If I remember my mythology, Acheron is one of the rivers that surround Hades—the ‘river of woe,’ isn’t it? It’s an unusual name—how did you happen to pick it?”

“He picked it,” she said.

Nick raised one eyebrow. “He picked it?”

“That’s right.”

“You were taking a big chance, weren’t you? Most dogs would have picked ‘Woof.’”

Again, no response.

Tough room, Nick thought. He turned to the bookshelves and began to examine the books. “How do you happen to know Gunner?”

“I live here, remember?”

“I thought you hated the folks down in Endor.”

“Most of them. How do you know Gunner?”

“I stopped by his church the other day. I was looking for information about a mysterious woman who lives alone up in the mountains. People say she’s a witch.”

She paused. “What did he tell you?”