I entered the room and placed my key on the table along with the message card, which I couldn't help reading again. “Dinner at 8. Rita.” My chest...began to feel light and hollow and my heart started to gather speed. I was determined to get this fucking whore out of my head and climbed into the shower to wash any trace of her from my body. As I was rinsing the shampoo from my hair I could hear the phone ringing and clumsily stumbled from the bathroom to answer it, desperate to hear my Victoria's. But if you do that, then we’ll be obliged to step in and I don’t think you’d want to take on the two of us!’ ‘You mean the THREE of us, don’t you, Tom?’ Jon added from behind the man. The redneck lost his temper as he realized he was outnumbered. He did something extremely foolish. He drew back his right arm, aiming to smash his fist into Charles’ face. But Charles sidestepped the punch, grabbed the redneck’s arm and twisted it up behind his back as he swung the man around and slammed his head. Pay your employees well and keep your books clean. Do nothing to draw the attention of the authorities.’ ‘Why should I just hand my business over to you on a plate?’ ‘Philip, you are so transparent. I knew as soon as I saw you today that you have heard something about me that frightens you. You do well to be frightened. People who turn down my offers of partnership do not thrive. You are the researcher. Take a look at what happened to these people, and then come back to me – but don’t take too. “He calls them, ‘accidents,’ but once in awhile, a concubine dies prematurely, and he is always the one who got threatened last time by Mr. Wilde. This time ... it was Daddy. And I just saw Daddy slip and fall. They recycle the bodies afterward, and it’s always just one more than the ones scheduled for it. Always men, too. Never women,” the girl wept.A light dawned on me, and I gave her a quick kiss before heading toward the recycler. I was too late, though. Three bodies, not two, were dumped.