This story started here.

Stu pressed a button and said, "Inspector, we've been eagerly awaiting your call. We're on speaker again, with the same cast as Act One."

"Miss Sleet," Ibarra said, "you said you were making the assumption that I'm an honorable man."

"I am, for the moment at least. Why?"

"Then I suppose I will have to make the same assumption about you, that you are also honorable. Because otherwise I will have to wonder whether you dropped me in this on purpose."

"Inspector, you have my word that I had no idea what you would encounter. Please tell me what's happened."

He sighed. I could not tell how much of his annoyance was assumed and how much, if any, was sincere. "I will preface this by saying that my opinion is that, by the time this is over, we will not be square. You will owe me."

"We'll see."

"Fair enough. Here it is. Hazel's father... Does it offend you if I call her Hazel?"

"Not at all. I know you're talking about Ron. It would offend her, but she's not in the room."

previous || about || home || next