” “Tell you what, Rhoda. It will be my treat for you as a Happy New gift!”“No way, Cin; It will be my pleasure as a New Years gift for you. If...you liked today’s massage, I was going to ask you if you would like another before you went back to New Jersey, anyway. After all I hardly get to see you very much.”Discussion over, they returned to the kitchen.“Pete, can you make it back here next Saturday? Cindy just has to have another massage before she goes home. And could you also find the time to. I’ve got news for them. When we kill someone, they die, and stay dead! There is nobody in the world who knows how to dispense death like we do. You know, those religious leaders are some of the most corrupt people I’ve had to work with. They put on pious faces in the presence of their countrymen, and then they cheat them in their temple market and then cut deals with us for political advantage. They’re trying to work both ends against the middle, and the poor people are in the middle. The. .. Shit ... Calm down..." They were all talking at once, but Bucky sat real quiet and there was a thin red line on his throat now. The Virgin was sharp as sin and she liked to bleed."Uh..." Tex moved slowly, he knew what I was asking for and if I was wrong there'd be hell to pay, but there wasn't no way in God's creation little Bucky had pulled four sevens out of that deck."Shoot..." Tex pulled a six of diamonds and then a three of spades out of Bucky's shirt, down low by his belt. He'd palmed. “Your drink, Madam,” I said as professionally as I could then gasped and jumped as I felt her hand touch the back of my knee. “Jemima,” she said. “Jemima,” I repeated. “Is there anything else?” I felt the pressure increase on my leg as she smiled but shook her head gently. “I will be just behind you if you want anything,” I replied and after a moments pause as she held my gaze once more. I tore myself away and returned to my duties in the galley. From time to time I looked down the cabin to.