Grant watched her throw the needle up to a hundred. ‘And Miss Sidders?’
‘I’m also a one-woman woman and Miss Sidders looks like being the woman from all that I’ve ever heard. In spite of trying to be a square she’s as switched on as you or I. So! I’ll be nice to her as well. Just for your sake.’
‘For our sakes, honey chile,’ said Grant. ‘From now on we’re a team. An official team!’
Thought of the tapestry and Petra’s jewels made Krystelle heave a sigh of deep way-down satisfaction. ‘From now on, man,’ she said, ‘we’re loaded. Loaded and respectable! Who could want for more?’
Grant eased back in his seat as Krystelle swung past a gendarme and pointed for the hotel. ‘I could,’ he said. ‘I could ask for a lot more.’
Krystelle wriggled slightly and eased down her skirt. ‘Then wait for it, man. Paradise is only ten kilometres down the road. And there’s a long time till morning.’ She paused as she saw Grant’s, eyes wander along the line of her long slender limbs. ‘And the next ocelot I buy is going to be a maxi,’ she said. ‘Minis upset you.’
Grant laughed aloud. ‘I’ve just remembered. Miss Sidders was sporting a maxi. Down to the ankles. And the Admiral’s eyes were popping every time he looked at the floor.’
‘Which just shows you that a girl can’t win.’ Krystelle’s voice became very soft. ‘Which is how it ought to be, David. So tonight, to celebrate, we’ll have a Moët at Chandon and I’ll wear my maxiest mini just for kicks.’
There was a long silence until she drew up beside the out-of-town chalet-hotel which had become their local favourite. Grant had filled the room with flowers, and a medley of Caribbean folksongs was being piped into the bedroom. ‘Mary Ann!’ said Krystelle. ‘Man, yo’ chose dat cos yo’ know how it switches me on.’ And then for a brief moment she became serious. ‘We don’t talk much about work, David. But I didn’t like that lot. Psychos worry me. And maybe we were just lucky.’
Grant held her in his arms and saw the memory of fear which had flashed across her eyes. ‘We are lucky,’ he whispered. ‘And now we won’t think of it any more.’
She slowly relaxed and then began to smile. It was the first time Grant had ever seen her show one flicker of reaction. ‘We won’t think of it, honey,’ he said softly. ‘Not ever again. We’ll just remember that we were lucky. But do me one favour. Get rid of the jade. There’s too much blood tied to how it was got, and crimson jade is a kind of psycho thing, if you get me.’
Her arms folded round his neck and she drew him close towards her. ‘I get you, David. I’ve got you.’
* * *
[*] A gusty seasonal wind typical of the Aegean Sea and islands.
[*] The Peyote cactus, normally found in Mexico, yields a hallucinogenic drug which is used by certain Indians and is comparatively harmless. But a second cactus yields a much more dangerous hallucinogenic drug which was used against Grant. This extract is potentiated by alcohol, and in addition to creating pleasant light or sound effects can disturb areas of the brain which produce other fantasies. Some of these may be horrific and cause violence. Others may be enjoyable. Grant seems to have had a blend of each, but the reader must remember that although blamed upon peyote, the drug which actually produced these effects comes from a different source.
[*] Grant’s conversation has been translated into English (with slight Caribbean overtones from Krystelle).
[*] This type of social history is not uncommon in the Argentine, and many Argentines do use more than one passport because of mixed nationalities.
[*] A fertility emblem or sign using a thumb and clenched fist.
Crimson Jade Page 18
