The taxi trip seemed to take an age, the anticipation of using Carmen was intoxicating and she obviously felt the same way. Finally we were there and ...e went inside. Wordlessly, Carmen led me to her bedroom, and when we went through the door, she kicked off her shoes, stared into my eyes, smiled mischievously, and said“I am your blank canvas, now create a depraved masterpiece.”“I will indeed Carmen,” was my simple response, also knowing that deep down I had to live up to the expectation. I. But Alina was ashamed her husband found pleasure with a man. As the missing amounts got bigger, she had aided Jerry and was given a cut for herself; there were tapes of Alina bargaining with Jerry about the price of her silence. That meant she had to die; the question was the manner of her death.I questioned her without revealing what I knew, to see if she could admit guilt and either offer a defense or beg for my mercy.First I asked about the oriental man and the red-haired woman. Alina seemed. "Now. Hurry... Right here." Who was your first lover, Chance?" The daughter of our cook at the ranch. She was a year younger than me, and we started making love pretty early. I found her swimming naked one day and we made love on the grass. Then we made love in the barn, and in her bed or my bed almost constantly until her mother got married to one of the hands and moved away. She was hot and eager and full of adventure. We tried everything we could think of, and then she started asking me. You were magnificent." She turned to me. "Weren't you impressed, James?" I was." And you, too, actually, James," she went on. "Maybe I was a bit hasty when I first saw you. I don't know your background but you come across as an educated man."I was beginning to realise that to call someone "educated" was the greatest compliment Laura knew how to bestow. I nodded my appreciation and, following Fran's example, gave the degree-holder's equivalent of name, rank, and serial number."Oxford,.