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“Positive.”

He was enormously relieved, Mrs. Craig saw, and was glad that she had insisted that he stay, even though it would delay the morning’s schedule by fifteen minutes or more. Fifteen minutes, plus however long the colonel and Mr. Payne were in the colonel’s office.

****

Louise Dutton came out of the bathroom wearing Peter’s bathrobe. It hung loosely on her but even in the dim light, he could see the imprint of her nipples. He thought she looked incredibly appealing.

She walked across the bedroom to the bed, looked down at Peter a moment, and then sat down on the bed.

“Well,” she said. “Look who woke up.”

“I wasn’t asleep, Delilah,” he said. “I watched you get out of bed.”

“Delilah?”

“I never really thought she rendered Samson helpless by giving him a haircut,” Peter said. “That was the edited-for-children version.”

“You Samson”—she chuckled—”me Delilah?”

“And as soon as I get my strength back, I’ll tear the temple down,” Peter said. “Actually, what I have to do is face the dragon in his lair.”

“Now I’m the dragon? The dragon lady?”

“I was referring to Chief Inspector Matt Lowenstein, our beloved chief of detectives,” Wohl said. He reached to his right, away from her, and took his wristwatch from the bedside table. He glanced at it, strapped it on, and said, “I’ve got to see how the Nelson investigation is going, and then go see Arthur J. Nelson. I’m late now.”

“Then why aren’t you out of bed, getting dressed?” she asked.

He held his arms out, and she came into them. He kissed the top of her head.

She purred, “Nice.”

“I wasn’t sure you would like me to do that,” he said, her face against his chest.

“Why not?”

“It’s after, “ Peter said. “Women have been known to regret a moment of passion.”

“I was afraid when I came back in here, you would be all dressed and ready to leave,” she said. “Because it’s after.”

He laughed, and pulled his head back so that he could look at her face.

“Wham, bam, thank you, ma’am?” he asked.

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“You’re the type, Peter,” she said.

“You like this better?”

“Much better,” she said.

“Blow in my ear, and the world is yours,” he said.

She giggled and kissed his chest.

“There’s no small voice of reason in the back of your mind sending up an alarm?” she asked. “ ‘What am I getting myself into with this crazy lady ?’ “

“What the small voice of reason is asking is, ‘What happens when she realizes what she’s done? The TV Lady and the Cop?’ “