Her head was spinning. Even after he’d called her pretty, even after his drugged confession, that kiss seemed to come out of nowhere. Yet it also fe...t inevitable. When he’d appeared in the kitchen, her first thought had been worry for his pain, then unease at his distant and uncomfortable demeanor. She had meant her touch to be a simple, concerned gesture. But his gaze dropped to her hand and her eyes unwittingly followed, needing a few seconds to focus on his large arm, its muscles hard under. As a total atheist I deplore the whole idea of religion but funeral services are the worst. Stephanie was gone, not to somewhere greater, just gone; not because it was a god's wish but because I was jealous and petty. In many respects I should not have attended but knew that had I not my mother would have been very disappointed. I also needed some sort of closure and hoped that this could help provide it. Another attack of anger surged through me for entirely different reasons, when I saw Susan. ”“So, what do you suggest, Jake? Do you have any contacts that can help me find the right palms to grease?”“‘Fraid not, Jack. I don’t do any business there. I have oil wells south of there, and north of there, but never in Panama. They will get another Noriega and try to nationalize them again, sure as shit.”There was some discussion, too low for Jake’s phone to pick up, and a new voice was heard.“Jack, I hope that’s okay to call you Jack, my name is William Sandoval. Bill, please. I am in. She's such a wholesome girl next door type, but she's so much more," Barbara said. There were times when Lucy looked at her with such an innocent expression that she wanted to hug her and protect her from the rest of the world. Other times, Lucy could look at William with such wanton lust that all Barbara wanted to do was ravish her. She just wished that Lucy would look at her with that kind of desire."She's brilliant," Ed said knowing that William valued Lucy's mind far beyond her physical.