And he’d better get a clean bill of health before he does it. I don’t know where he’s been—and I wouldn’t even take Mooncrow’s word on the subject of HIV without a test. So there.

And she would want to be certain that he understood all the rules as clearly as she did before anything got any further than “colleague.”

Still. …

David—my equal? In Medicine matters, he isn’t even in the running! she scolded herself. He hasn’t even got both feet on the path yet! Oh no, if I get involved with him again, he had better have it clear that in Medicine, if I say something, I’m the expert. And in P.I. work, too. Maybe he knows the legal system better than I do, but I have my own areas of expertise. He has got to understand that and accept it.

And all the veiled compliments and broad shoulders in the world weren’t going to change that.

Still. …

Finally her libido decided it wasn’t going to win the argument with her brain and gave up, and she got to sleep.

Calligan had hoped to be called to the mall site by the police some time during the night. He was certain his trap would be sprung, and the explosion would wake up everyone within a mile of the river. When the alarm went off without an emergency call, he woke feeling vaguely disappointed.

He’d been so positive that the Talldeer girl would take the bait. He’d never been so certain of anything in his life.

Well, if not tonight, then maybe tomorrow, he told himself. She can’t stay away forever, and she can’t resist an artifact. I left the thing right where anyone prowling would be certain to see it—and she would have been looking for exactly that kind of object. She just didn’t show up, that’s all. No big problem; she won’t stay away forever. Probably she’s making certain I don’t have a night guard on the site. I’ll get her when she finally does show.

So even though his wife seemed a bit jumpy this morning, he ignored her nerves. She hadn’t slept well for the past several nights, and he couldn’t get her to take a pill. Maybe he ought to tell her to go to the doctor … except that her restlessness hadn’t disturbed his sleep any.

No, no point in making her see a doctor. Doctor visits were expensive, especially for things as intangible as “nerves.” It was probably just hormones anyway. Women were slaves to their bodies, and half the time he thought they enjoyed it that way. It gave them excuses to become hysterical.