anything. You going to be long, Paul?"

anything. You going to be long, Paul?"

bedroom. He's sorta cute."

"Very funny."

She came up to Paul, stood on tiptoe, and kissed him on the lips. "You know you've got nothing to

worry about," she said, then licked his earlobe. "Don't work too hard. I'll see you in the morning." She

glanced at Ginny and smiled. "Nice meeting you."

Ginny watched her as she went back up the stairs, adding a provocative little wiggle to her walk. "One

of your students?" she asked Paul archly.

"Uh . . . no," said Paul. "Not really."

"Bit young for you, isn't she?" Ginny said with a wry smile.

"She says she prefers older men."

"Mmm. Don't we all?" Ginny cast an appraising glance at her surroundings. "Very nice. I like what

you've done here."

"Thank you."

"Did you do it all yourself or did you hire a decorator?" She moved around the living room, glancing at

his bookshelves, the tapestries, the handwoven Navajo rugs, and the bronze sculptures.

"I did it myself, over a period of years," said Paul. He tensed as he saw her approach the coffee table,

where Ramses stood, totally immobile, as if he were a perfectly ordinary piece of sculpture. Except he

was an extremely well-known piece of sculpture made of solid gold and silver set with precious stones

that just happened to be alive, thought Paul. And belonged to one of the wealthiest and most influential

adepts in Santa Fe.

"You've got some lovely pieces," Ginny said, looking over some of the bronzes.

"Just a few things I've picked up here and there over the years," said Paul, watching. He cleared his

throat. "Would you care for a drink?"

She turned toward him. "I wouldn't mind. Got any Scotch?"

At that moment Loomis came lumbering back down the stairs. "That young woman doesn't seem to have

a whole lot of respect for the law," he said wryly.

"What did you expect?" Paul asked with a note of irritation. "You show up at three o'clock in the

morning and want to search our bedroom for a man who's supposedly impersonating a British police

officer. Someone who also happens to be a very old friend of mine. Did you expect her to be thrilled?"