Bill had arranged for their car to meet them inside the hospital gates. He had hoped that by now the press would have lost interest in Laura's condition and moved onto a new story, but a couple of newsmen were still prowling around.

"This is nice, darling," she purred, running her hand along the car's elongated hood. "A Lincoln. I expected something much less pretentious from you."

Bill grunted. There hadn't been many choices to hire, and he had vehemently resisted anything with an open top. He wouldn't want Laura to get too much sun, or catch a chill. He had also had to take into consideration their new driver's physique.

Laura strode around to the driver's side. "Let's see if this girl can outrun those reporters, shall we?"

The driver's door opened, and one of the strapping lads Bill had found at the dock jumped out with remarkable grace considering his size.

"Oh!" Laura cried, twisting her head back as far as it could go to look up at the tall, wide-shouldered Hawaiian.

He grinned down at her broadly, his bright teeth flashing from his dark face. He was dressed rather unconventionally, with a proper chauffeur's cap on his long, curly hair, and a black jacket over a straining white shirt, but he wore a colorfully patterned sarong on his lower body and sandals on his feet.

"Teddy will be driving, dearest," Bill drawled, firmly catching her arm before she could protest and bundling her into the back seat.

"Bill," she stuttered eventually as she righted herself on the wide backseat. "I'm quite capable of driving."

Jake hopped over her and laid his head on the front seat, looking expectantly out the windshield. He was ready to go.

"I'm sure you are," said Bill crisply as he slid in beside her. "But we're going to relax and recuperate."

Laura crossed her arms and pouted out at the view from her window. She wasn't here to recuperate! She was here for her honeymoon!

Teddy slowly and steadily pulled the car out of the hospital grounds and onto the main road. She noticed two men leaning on their cars sharing a cigarette glance tiredly in the Lincoln's direction. Their bored expressions immediately brightened as they registered her as a passenger.

"Press, darling," she commented casually as the men threw their stubs onto the ground and fumbled for their cameras.

Bill didn't react.

She leaned forward. "Teddy, perhaps you could speed it up a touch."

"This is Hawai'i, ma'am," he replied, continuing on at his snail's pace. "No hurries; no worries."

Laura raised her eyebrow in Bill's direction.

"I can see why you hired Teddy," she murmured.

Bill's expression remained passive.

She turned in her seat and looked out the back window. The cars were still parked in the same spot. One reporter was slamming his hands down on the car's steering wheel, while the other was leaning under his popped hood.

"Teddy has many talents," Bill told her, smug.

"Hmph."

She would have much preferred the thrill of outrunning those cars. She was out of that hospital now, and she simply wanted to enjoy being alive.

She glanced back over at Bill. She wanted him to enjoy life too. After their horror journey, they both deserved it.

She shuffled closer and palmed his thigh, smiling as she felt his muscles bunch beneath her touch.

"Bill..."

"Mmm?" He straightened his tie.

She propped her chin on his shoulder and murmured in his ear as her hand continued its caresses. "You do see the problem with insisting I don't drive? It leaves my hands free to do other things."

His cheek twitched, but his eyes remained firmly ahead. "Other things?"

"Yes." She nipped his earlobe.

"Dear, the driver," he muttered.

"Remember, you hired a very conscientious driver," she pointed out. "His eyes are on the road, and the road only." Her hand moved a bit higher, and he started to breathe more quickly.

"Laura," he said, trying to sound firm, even as he opened his legs wider. "You've been ill-"

"The doctor gave me a full clearance." She lifted his hand and slid it under her skirt.

"I think I'll know when you're ready-"

"Oh, trust me, Bill. I'm ready." She crossed her legs, trapping his hand between her thighs.

His face flushed, Bill spotted their rental house's gates ahead. "We're here!" he announced, grateful.

Seeing that two guards were on the gate as Teddy slowed the car to a crawl, Laura moved her hand up to Bill's chest. He managed to pry his hand free from her legs.

More to himself, he mused, "We'll get you inside the house, cool you off-"

"But I'm pleasantly warm," she assured him.

"You can lie down and get some rest."

"A nap?" she said, incredulous.

He gave her a quick peck on the cheek. "Yes, dear. A nice long nap after this drive. I'm sure you're exhausted."

"Only if you lie down with me," Laura said, her voice suddenly weak as she leaned heavily on his shoulder.

Satisfied that he'd read her condition properly, Bill wrapped his arm around her. "I'll take good care of you."

Watching the car ease through the wrought iron gates, Bill missed her sly expression.

Their temporary staff were lined up under the shade of the large house's sprawling veranda when they emerged from the Lincoln. Built of dark, tropical wood, the former whaling captain's home, with its deep porches, elaborately carved gingerbread trim and louvered windows, entranced Laura, almost diverting her from her mission.

Jake jumped from the car and started sniffing around excitedly. He'd been cooped up for too long and was taking it nearly as badly as Laura.

Teddy's mother had been installed as housekeeper, and his sister as cook. Laura climbed the stairs and greeted them warmly, telling them both how eager she was to taste their local fare.

"Aloha," said the mother, handing Laura a thick, fragrant lei of pink blossoms to place around her neck. Her daughter bowed and held up a strand of yellow blooms and deep green ferns for Bill, smiling shyly.

Laura choked back tears. They had missed this traditional greeting when they'd disembarked from the Monterey in such an unceremonious fashion.

Next, she was introduced to the other young man who Bill had hired as a bodyguard, who was, if possible, larger than Teddy. A elderly Japanese gardener and round-faced Filipino houseboy rounded out their small household staff.

"I'll be getting Mrs Adams straight to the bedroom," Bill effectively dismissed them, solicitously holding Laura's arm. "She will still need a lot of rest for the next few weeks," he added. They all murmured sympathetically and Laura remembered to droop against Bill.

But she took a moment to turn back and look at the uninterrupted view of the deep azure water and sickle of white sand of their private cove.

"Come, darling," murmured Bill. "You need to go to bed. We can visit the beach in a few days."

"Yes, dear." She managed to make her voice sound wan.

"I will take the dog for a walk," the houseboy Juan announced, obviously excited by this new duty. Laura smiled in thanks over her shoulder.

The house's rooms all opened off the deep veranda. Bill ushered her along the cool space. She craned her neck to check out the rooms filled with comfortable, white cotton-covered furnishings on dark teak floors. Low glass vases filled with pink and yellow frangipanis were used as splashes of color throughout.

Ignoring Bill's fussing, she broke from his hold to glide to the nearest vase, and breathed in the flowers' heady scent.

Undeterred, he snagged her arm again. "Here we go," he said, leading her into a large, cool bedroom. She kicked off her shoes and spun around, completely exhilarated from the tropical, airy feel of the beachside house-so different from their mansion in San Francisco. This truly was a retreat from their lives.

He placed her suitcase by the door and tied back the mosquito netting draped around the brass frame of a large canopy bed. "Come on, Laura. I want you to lie down," he ordered, pulling the covers down.

"Gosh, yes, put me to bed, Bill," she agreed readily, wiggling out of her dress and sliding onto the cool crisp sheets. "I can't believe what a lovely house you found us. Thank you, darling," she said sincerely, reaching up to squeeze his hand.

"It's not too plain?" Bill asked. He had been unsure the simple decor was going to fully please his wife. Even though her new decorating choices in their San Francisco house had proved to fit in with his tastes, he still was anxious to make the resumption of their honeymoon as perfect as possible.

"No, not at all, darling." She squirmed on the bed. "This is very comfortable. Are you going to stay with me until I fall asleep?" she asked, looking up at him beseechingly.

Not able to refuse her anything when he had come so close to losing her, he took off his shoes and threw his jacket over a white wicker chair.

When he turned back, Laura had removed her slip and was now lying on the white sheets of the bed in only her new brassiere and underpants. He'd chosen plain white ones instead of some garish color, and he immediately felt his groin tighten at the sight. He found it remarkable that a woman with such pale skin could look so good with the stark color surrounding her.

He took a moment to hang up her dress in the closet, composing himself. He would need to repeat to himself over and over that she had just been released from hospital. Even though she never wanted to admit her weaknesses, she was tired. She needed rest. He had to remember that they would resume their normal bedroom activities soon enough. He just needed to be patient.

"Bill...Would you help me with this clip?"

He turned. Laura was lying on her stomach, looking over her shoulder.

"I can't quite get the hang of it yet." Laura ineffectually flapped her hand at the bra's clasp. She knew he would never ignore any request for assistance. She adored how easily she could take advantage of Bill's gentleman-like instincts.

Bill took a deep fortifying breath. Her words were innocent enough, but her tone was deep and memories of times she had used it when whispering her needs in his ear in the middle of the night flooded him.

He knelt down on the bed behind her and carefully undid the brassiere's fastening. He couldn't help but run his fingers across the soft skin of her back while he was there.

"Thank you," she said with a sigh, lifting and wriggling completely out of the garment before relaxing back down on the mattress, her head cradled in her folded arms.

"You want me to help you off with this?" he asked, fingering the garland of flowers at her neck.

"No. It smells delicious."

He bent his head and nuzzled beneath her hair, breathing in deeply. She was right, delicious, although he thought it was her and not the flowers.

"Could you give my shoulders a rub,darling? Please?"

Shuffling up the bed higher until he straddled her hips, he pushed the lei aside and began to gently massage her neck and shoulders.

Laura smothered her smile against her arm. Bill's big hands smoothed slow circles down her back, working their way to the waistband of her panties and up again. When they fanned out and stroked down her sides, she temporarily forgot her seduction plans and let out a contented hum.

"How's that?" he asked, the husky register of his voice alone was enough to cause an ache between her thighs.

"Good," she managed to rasp out.

His hands suddenly stilled.

"Do you need a drink of water? Your throat-"

"I'm fine. Please," she groaned out the word, "don't stop."

After a moment's hesitation, Bill thankfully returned to his task. This time his thumbs pressed against her spine, kneading slowly down, all the way to her tailbone. She knew it was time to up the ante when she felt Bill's knuckles brush across her buttocks. He was made of stern stuff, but he was weakening.

Rolling over, she stretched her arms up above her head slowly. Concentrating on keeping up her act, she ensured she altered her grin to a yawn. Her breasts rose, the lei rolling across her chest distractingly.

Her nipples pebbled when she saw Bill's intense gaze was indeed focused on the part of her body she'd been intending to highlight with this action. He was so good at...

Bill couldn't control himself. He suddenly latched onto one of Laura's nipples, his tongue lapping against its hardened nub. He softly squeezed the pale flesh of her breast as he tugged the nipple deep, deeper, into his mouth. She began to make that noise in the back of her throat, something between a whimper and a hum, that always made him lightheaded.

Reluctantly he let go, but only managed to move to her opposite breast, lavishing it with attention also. The sweet smell of flowers filled his senses, mingling with scent of her skin.

He was momentarily diverted from his assault when he realized that his shirt was hanging loose and open. He didn't know how and when it had been unbuttoned. But he knew Laura had something to do with it when he felt her squeezing his chest muscles.

He rocked back on his haunches, trying to catch his breath.

"You're supposed to be going to sleep," he admonished.

"I will," she agreed, too readily. "After we make love," she added, her finger reaching out and tracing his scar.

His mind told him he should protest, but his body had other ideas. He was already uncomfortably aroused, pressing against his pants' fly. Laura was staring with rapt attention. Perhaps they could take it slow...

Still sitting back, ready to escape if he was forced to, he slipped a hand beneath her panties, wanting to check just how ready she really was. Her bravado might be just that.

He recognized that he'd made a fatal error in judgement immediately. How could he even think of stopping after touching her so intimately? Especially when she reacted so eagerly, moaning and arching up off the mattress to press against his hand.

He was still telling himself she could be too fragile to take too much when her hands undid his belt buckle and pushed down his trousers. Immediately, her hands were stroking his hardening length through the material of his underpants.

He suddenly chuckled.

Laura raised an eyebrow. "What's so funny?"

He hooked his thumbs onto the waistband of her panties and dragged them down, ensuring he managed to glide his hands along her long legs in the process. "I was just reminded of our first time, and showing you how to touch me."

She hummed happily, eyeing him almost intently as he struggled to remove the remainder of his clothing.

"Leave it," she ordered emphatically when he made to take off his lei.

"You want me naked except for a floral arrangement?" he drawled.

Laura laughed merrily. She had to admit he did look quite silly, but as he'd bent over her breasts, it had tickled, scratched and stimulated her skin further. And it also symbolized love, and she knew that she loved Bill so much...

"Yes I do," she said, certain.

His hands were making circles on her thighs, just like they had on her back.

"Would it be more comfortable if you were on top, darling?" He pressed down on her clitoris with the heel of his hand.

She caught her breath and clutched the lei hanging askew around his neck. She gave it a yank and he follow it until their lips were almost touching.

"This is just fine," she murmured, tugging the flowers that extra inch to kiss him passionately.

Their lips and tongues played together happily for a long time until her need became too great. She dug her nails into his buttocks, urging him to let his weight settle over her. She loved the feeling of his bulk heavy upon her.

"Something else reminded me of that first time," he said, spreading her legs and positioning himself between them.

"Mmm?"

"You seduced me," he accused, giving her a mock glare. "You were always planning on making love this afternoon, weren't you? You were never sleepy."

She giggled. "Yes, and no, darling. I definitely planned this all along, and no, I was never sleepy."

"Hmph," he grumbled.

His indignant grunt was perfectly synchronized with him entering her and she gasped in reaction, widening her legs even further to accommodate him.

But now that he was joined with her, it seemed he was content just to lay quietly, except for the occasional kiss or light touch.

"I'm just happy you can now remember our first time," she whispered, stroking her nails lightly down his back.

"I can't believe how close I came to losing you." His kisses became more fervent, covering her face. "I don't want to even think about your lovely skin being burnt."

"Now you know how I felt," she replied, reaching between their bodies to touch his scar.

They both fell silent, except for her occasional soft cry of pleasure as he began to gently rock inside of her. She moved with him, so slowly that she wondered if the world had stopped. If it had, this was a perfect moment for it, she thought.

Then, the only thing she could think about was how good it felt. She would never get tired of this feeling that only Bill could create deep within her.

His face buried in the crook of her neck, Bill allowed his tears to flow. It was joy, it was his fear, it was his near loss-it had felt so real for too many terrifying moments. Yes, he'd cried when Carolanne died, but it had not felt like this.

She crooned comfort in his ear, not understanding what he was feeling, but wanting to share it.

He smiled down at her through his tears. "This was a great idea, darling." He kissed away the tears that were sparkling on her cheeks.

Her fingers twined through his lei. "I always have great ideas," she boasted, but then her mocking expression melted away as she arched off the mattress, and it was his turn to comfort her as his lei broke in her fist, the petals raining down as he followed her, not with one of his bellows of triumph, but both of them voicing their culmination with a series of quiet sighs. He sank to the mattress, rolling Laura on her side, not wanting to leave her quite yet, his nose buried in her curls and the pink blooms.

They lay, still joined, still silent, for a long time afterwards.

Eventually Bill rose and fetched a cloth from the bathroom that adjoined their bedroom. He returned and gently wiped her clean. He also finally removed her lei and the tattered strand of ferns from his neck, and took them to the doorway.

"Where're you going?" Laura asked sleepily.

"Gotta return these to the earth so our love remains," he said looking both ways up and down the veranda. "You can't just throw a lei away."

"Silly, someone will see you."

"Not if I'm fast." Bill darted across the deck, huffing from the effort on his sex-weakened legs. Quickly, he tossed them under the closest hibiscus bush and made it back to the bed unseen.

Laura pulled him into her embrace, wrapping her legs around him to keep him close, laughing at his foolishness. "How did you know that?" she asked affectionately.

"I've been to the islands."

"Some pretty Polynesian girl told you?" she said archly.

He just grinned. "The past is the past," he said mysteriously.

She frowned for a moment, then her face smoothed. She kissed the end of his nose. "I love you, Mr Adams."

He nestled in between her breasts. "I love you, Mrs Adams."

~~AV~~

Old Jaffee showed Giles Tyrol into Laura's office and announced him to the Roslin Industries business manager. Tom Zarek rose from behind his desk, offering his hand. "You've brought word from our honeymooners?" he asked jovially.

"They haven't answered any of my wires since I returned a week ago," Tyrol said unhappily.

Tom chuckled. "Mr and Mrs Adams aren't to return for another two weeks, but I wouldn't be surprised if they remain longer." His smile was oily. "Mr Adams enjoys spending Mrs Adams' money."

The detective was surprised to hear that. Bill Adams had always come across as a straight Joe, but all that dough would be hard to ignore. Tossing his hat on an empty desk, he looked around. "Is the secretary here?"

Zarek affected a concerned look. "I believe she's away, again, offering comfort to one of your own, Detective."

"I see." Tyrol's hound dog expression became sadder. "Maybe you can help me with a question." He pulled a folded check from his pocket. "Can you tell me anything about this payment?"

Tom quickly scanned it. "Made out to cash. That's unusual, particularly for that large of amount."

He found Laura's executive checkbook and opened it the right page of checks. "No note on the stub," he said, flipping up the short end. "But Mrs Adams signed it herself, not Mr Adams." A mean smirk flitted across his lips briefly.

"It was written the day the Adamses left on their cruise. Are you sure that's Mrs Adams' signature?"

Tom looked at the check closely and nodded. He thought for a moment. "It's the last check...I remember now. We were going over last minute business details-it's a great inconvenience for Mrs Adams to be away, you see." His smile to the detective was now pained.

He continued to remember. "Emily brought in the checkbook and asked Mrs Adams to sign a check." He looked at the check again. "That's her handwriting requesting 'cash'."

"Mrs Adams didn't ask anything about the check?"

"Not at all. She trusts Emily implicitly."

Tyrol took back the check and slipped it in his pocket. "Any reason she shouldn't?"

Lifting his shoulders in a shrug, Tom shifted his eyes, acting as though what he was about to say pained him. "She's been behaving so secretive lately...Not herself."

"I see. Well, thank you, Mr Zarek." Tyrol snatched up his hat.

"Any time, Detective, any time."

After showing Tyrol out, Zarek hurried back to his phone. "Yes, Meier? It's me. Listen, get those bolt cutters you used on the Laird car. I have just the place to hide them."

This time, his smile was wide and sincere.

~~AV~~

Floating on her back in the small bay before their house, Laura blinked up into the sun.

Bill paddled beside her. "Just a few more minutes, and then you must get out of the sun," he fussed.

She hummed in the back of her throat. He watched her skin carefully, only allowing her to be in the sun for short stretches at a time. He'd set up a cabana on the beach with sheer curtains so that she may enjoy the warm breezes off the ocean, but was sheltered from the strong rays.

Still, her skin had turned a light golden color, her freckles standing out, even across her nose, much to his delight. His new game was connect the dots with kisses all over her body.

Lolling her head, she smiled at him. Bill, on the other hand, was as dark as a native Hawaiian by now. He hadn't had his weekly haircut since they'd arrived in Hawaii, and his longer hair curled wildly from all the water and wind. Watching him stride across the white sand, his bronzed limbs strong and muscular, his hair stirred by the breeze, his snug white trunks standing out in stark relief, Laura would be stimulated before he even touched her.

His finger stroked down her swimsuit's strap.

"Bill..."

"There's no one out here." His lips captured her bobbing bare breast.

This was true. Their few servants melted away whenever the Adams wandered into a room. Normally, Laura would try to ingratiate herself with them more, but not on their honeymoon. She just wanted to concentrate on her husband.

She clung to his shoulders, turning in the water to enter his embrace. Between nibbles and strokes on her chest, Bill turned a critical eye to her pinkening shoulders.

"Better get you in," he said definitely.

"I feel like a roasting chicken you're watching," she chided.

"Don't want crispy skin on you for sure," he said as he put her swimsuit back up.

She swam away from him confidently, and he grinned, his teeth flashing white on his dark face.

She wasn't afraid of the water anymore. Between the salt water buoyancy and Bill's patient lessons, she'd become a decent swimmer, even body surfing with him.

He came up beside her, and watching over his shoulder, said, "A nice one's coming in."

She readied herself, and felt his arm slip around her waist. They rose on the swell of water and kicked their legs to catch the wave. Exhilarated, Laura felt safe in his hold as they rode the wave closer and closer to shore. Before she could be pulled under, Bill stood, bringing her up with him.

Tugging off her swim cap, she wrapped her arms around his neck as her hair cascaded down to her shoulders. "My lifesaver," she said breathlessly.

He was sweeping her swimsuit down again, his seeking lips moving from one breast to the other that he cradled in his large palms.

Glancing up at the large house nestled in the palm grove, Laura didn't see anyone watching, but she still felt exposed. Covering her chest with her arm, she led him to their shielded large lounge under the cabana.

"Silly," she scolded, but as soon as they were inside, she reached for his trunks.

He wiggled out of them before his arousal made that impossible. "Need to check you for burn," he rumbled, sliding her own swimsuit off. "Lie down," he ordered, helping her to recline on the lounge.

But his inspection was with his mouth and hands, not by sight. Her equilibrium still unsettled by being in the water, Laura bobbed along, breathing deeply, taking in the scent of tropical blossoms, salt, and her own desire.

He followed that scent, his impossibly soft lips for such a strong mouth, worked down her belly and thighs, to nudge her legs open wordlessly. She let them fall open, her head dropping off the side. It wasn't shame that made her do this every time; it was the wonder of it all, that he was going to make her feel this way, again.

He knelt in the sand and draped her legs over his shoulders. Her fingers curled through his thick hair, coarsening from the salt and wind. She guided his mouth, urging him to do that harder, there, yes, right there. His hand joined in and she tensed for a moment before listening to the waves' calming rhythm-this was her breathing, the motion of his fingers inside her.

Now the tension was in her lower belly, hardening and getting ready to crackle through her limbs. Her hips rose off the cushion to grind unashamedly on his face. Even though she didn't need to, she still urged him on. "Bill-there...I want-"

His tongue, which had been just giving her clitoris the lightest of flicks, encircled the swollen nub, and he sucked it in.

Gripping the lounge's arms, she clung on for dear life. This time the wave was going to carry her too high-pulling her under, tossing her over and over...

Gasping for air, she lay back, her limbs completely boneless. Chuckling, Bill rose, cradling his erection tightly-he'd been holding himself back. She managed to find the energy to grasp her thighs and hold them open in an unspoken invitation.

"God, Laura," he rasped, and was atop her in a smooth motion, just as he surfed down the wave's curl. He was too aroused; he only managed a few thrusts before he was growling her name and his love into her neck. She clutched his hair with one hand, and held his hips tightly to hers with the other, demanding he leave his mark deep inside.

While their breathing returned to normal, they lay tangled together, watching the sheer curtains flutter. Finally, Bill reached for the plate of fruit that Juan had brought down earlier.

"You can eat?" she challenged him sleepily.

"You make me hungry." He took a great bite of pineapple and the juice ran down his chin to land on her breast.

"Sorry," he said, not sounding the least bit apologetic. Naturally, he had to lick it off, sweet and sea salty. "You're delicious," he said approvingly.

She lightly bit his shoulder. "You are too."

"I could eat a whole bushel of fruit off your body."

"Maybe we should buy a pineapple plantation," she suggested.

He raised himself on his elbow. His face turned serious. "I'd like that, Laura. Get away from all the silliness of being Laura Roslin, San Francisco socialite."

"You're not Laura Roslin."

"I'm Mr Laura Roslin," he pointed out.

"Bill-" She lay a hand over his scarred chest.

He stared out across the ocean. "There's cattle ranches on these islands. I've got some knowledge of ranching." He grinned down at her. "How'd you like to have your own cowboy?"

"Where ever you want to be, whatever you want to do, I'll be there," she promised.

He lay back down and pulled her close. "Let's just stay here for now, for as long as we can. Nothing can pull us back to that life yet."

~~AV~~

Emily hurried into the Roslin mansion, tossing her hat and coat on a chair beside her desk. "I'm so sorry I'm late, Mr Zarek," she called over to Tom at his desk. "But Patty simply didn't want to leave for school."

"Children can be such a trial," Zarek said, rolling his eyes behind her back.

Emily had just taken off her typewriter's cover when Old Jaffee appeared in the doorway. "Detective Tyrol is here," he announced.

"Well show him right in," said Tom, rising. "Perhaps he has more questions."

Confused, Emily looked at the business manager. "He's had questions? But the Adams aren't here."

Tom smiled at her. "It wasn't about the murders."

Tyrol and a heavy-set uniformed policeman with droopy jowls appeared in the doorway.

"They have a search warrant," Jaffee said with a doomsday voice.

"Search warrant?" Emily was even more confused. She stood.

Tyrol didn't look at her. He offered the warrant to Zarek. "Yes, ma'am. We're going to search this office. We've already searched your apartment."

"My apartment!" she cried. "Whatever do you mean?"

"Please step back from your desk, Mrs Kowalski," the uniformed policeman said. Her legs shaking, she complied. Grunting, he bent over to begin going through the desk's drawers.

"Detective, what's this about?" Tom asked in a manly voice.

"Nothin', hopefully," Tyrol said, unhappy.

But then Figurski pulled out a large, heavy pair of nippers and laid them on the desktop.

"What on earth are those?" asked Emily, her voice quavering. "How did they get in there?"

Tyrol stepped toward her and took a deep breath. "Emily Kowalski, you are under arrest for for the murder of Marie Laird."

~~THE END~~

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