Well, he could at least talk to them, as mates, about this thing he had been reading about. Get their take on it–Christopher from a medical point of view and Tiger? Well, he could pretend to talk to Tiger about transport arrangements. How would they get the organs from one place to another? He could stop them from talking to anyone else and, equally important, he could make sure that he wound up their ‘involvement’ before they appeared to get anywhere. And at least it would give him a chance to talk things over with someone other than Sarah. Both Tiger and Christopher were bright. They might even add their own bit of knowledge.

Oh it was ludicrous all right, but every now and again, the ludicrous yielded results. Put like that, he had nothing to lose.

Chapter 18

A kiss can be a comma, a question mark or an exclamation point.

That’s basic spelling that every woman ought to know.

Mistinguette, 1875–1956

After a short burst of frenetic activity, the Adventure Bookshop had calmed down. Now it was more like the usual Wednesday morning. Erica could have done with a game of tennis to get her endorphins going, but Brian’s mother in Bournemouth had had a funny turn and he said he’d have to stay with her for a few days if that was all right. How could she refuse?

The shop was empty now, with only the soft sounds of a Mozart tape to break the silence. Erica wandered through to the back to make herself a coffee. At least she had a few minutes to herself. Not that she felt very comfortable about it. She didn’t much relish being alone on the premises after the events of the previous few days, and aside from her worries about security, she was unsettled in her mind about other things.

Something wasn’t right. She could not define it, and Tiger certainly never said anything, but he remained withdrawn. Disconnected from her. She could have a conversation with him and he’d give her his full attention, but then he’d drift off again.

He didn’t spend much time in the same room as her, and in bed he seldom came over to her side; spent most of the time facing in the opposite direction. She tried to tell herself it was just a passing phase, and yet sadness gnawed at her. There were moments when she felt she could take it up with him, but they seemed to slip through her fingers before she could properly grasp them, leaving her once more in a vacuum of emotion. She seemed almost marooned by her feelings.

Her train of thought was broken by the sound of the shop bell. She took a deep breath and came out of the back room to find Kate Devon standing in front of the counter.