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Thus far, Frik had called several times, but he had not yet made an appearance Peta was hardly impressed by his lack of compassion and admitted to herself yet oneher favorite people

Two days later, by which time McKendry&039;s condition had been stabilized, Frikkie showed up at the hospital He was not a pretty sight His one eye hadn&039;t yet fully healed from the explosion that had killed Paul Trujold, and his hand looked as if it had a long way to go before it was good for ross manipulation His visit was short, their conversation brief and more about Simon than Terris; in neither case were his emotions involved

"Sione down - in the water - again yet The weather&039;s not been conducive Too s around"

"You shouldn&039;t let hiain that he&039;s an adult What he chooses to do is his own business"

There was obviously no point in arguing with the man None at all "I&039;d like to see him," Peta said "I think I&039;ll head out to San Gabriel for a day or two I could use the rest"

"What about McKendry?"

"Terris is a long way fro unforeseen coe fine without me When they think he&039;s ready, they&039;ll send him on to rehab He won&039;t need me for that, either If they have to reachin Frik&039;s expression told her that this was the last thing he wanted her to do For whatever reason, Simon&039;s dive was of enormous iht It was not only aFrik at McKendry&039;s bedside, she went outside for a sht from New York From now on, it was back to the local 555s, which were ain soon, she told herself, lighting up After having given theht Arthur was killed

"Got another one?" Saaliim asked

Peta jumped "Didn&039;t know you were here, and no, this is my last one"

She handed it to him and they shared it the way they would have shared a joint

"I&039;d like to go to San Gabriel this afternoon" She waved away the end of the smoke "Think you can take me there?"

He drew on the butt, then crunched it underfoot "I have to take Mr Frik to theAssegai, " he said "After that we o to the site Mr Frik say maybe Mr Brousseau come dive today Maybe not" He looked up at the sky "Maybe later it storrees Huhed, she thought "Is Manny on island?"

"I think so"

"Good" Peta glanced at the Hu lot, unsurprised that Frik would feel it his right to park there "I&039;ll get e nurse Don&039;t leave without me"

When she was ready to leave the hospital, Saaliim was half asleep behind the wheel of the car Frik paced impatiently back and forth next to it

"One more minute and we&039;d have been out of here," he said

Peta didn&039;t answer; in fact, she said little en route to Frikkie&039;s dock, and only waved a passing good- bye as Saaliiht, the first person Peta saw at the dock was Manny Sheppard, inevitable Carib in hand He was clearly happy to see her

"Hey, beautiful What&039;s up?"

She hugged him "You first, Manny What&039;s up with you? Which way you headed?"

"Which way you want et to San Gabriel"

He hter "Coot a load of supplies headed for Grenada San Gabby&039;s a quick stop on the way"

She had known Manny since childhood, as well as anyone could ever know him He was the sort of person hom you could never quite tell as real and what he wasboats up and down the Caribbean since he left the OECS Security Forces What was in the boats he sailed around was always an open question, though no customs officials had ever found any evidence to back up their suspicions

"So what you want in San Gabby?"

"I&039; for Simon Brousseau" She felt a sudden stab of anxiety "He hasn&039;t gone diving today, has he?"

"Not so far as I know Si the lovely ladies happy," he said

Peta had no idea how e close to the drill site, nor did she care If the choice was diving or diddling, sex was certainly the less life-threatening option for Sih a seascape dotted with rock outcroppings and headed toward the Dragon&039;s Mouth - the narrow channel separating Trinidad from the Venezuelan mainland San Gabriel was actually a suara Peninsula, the northern spit of land pointing from Trinidad toward the body of South America It was one of a half dozen towns thatfrom not-so-rich A and sport fishing, but couldn&039;t afford the big resorts and charters

As on&039;s Mouth by sea before, she was still taken by its jagged beauty Distracted, wanting some escape froh her

"So Paul Trujold, heYou listening to me, Peta?"

"I&039;m sorry, Manny I didn&039;t ht," he said "But you need to hear this"

Manny repeated what he had been saying When he had finished telling her about Paul Trujold, about the real purpose of Simon&039;s dive - to retrieve a piece of the artifact that edged in an underwater cave - she thought of the pendant that Arthur had given her and started to put the facts together If there was any real basis for what Manny had told her, she could come to only one possible conclusion