‘Not really.’

Halo heard dismissal in his tone and shut up about the candle. ‘So, what’s next?’

‘You get cheap flights, right?’

‘Cheap enough.’

‘Want to get me one to Texas?’

‘What’s in Texas?’ Halo asked suspiciously.

‘Oil. Beef. WAE.’

‘The engine plant?’

‘Thought I’d see them about the batch number. Take a look at their papering systems.’

Halo nodded and sipped and Tom enjoyed the fact that he had a proper whipped-cream Fu Manchu going. How could he not feel that?

‘Okay,’ said Halo. ‘Just let me know when. You may have to be on standby, though.’

Tom shrugged. South Africa had almost wiped him out in more ways than one. Standby was a small price to pay for a small price.

‘You going through their paperwork on the fan discs?’

‘I’ll do what they let me. I can’t specify the Pride of Maine or it’ll get back to Munro and then I’m flipping burgers.’

‘So you gotta be discreet?’

Tom inclined his head and Halo grinned.

‘I bet you never done discreet before, right?’

‘You bet right.’ Tom yawned. ‘Any news on your friend?’

‘Niño?’ Halo shook his head. ‘Sylvia’s going nuts.’

Tom couldn’t muster any empathy for Sylvia. His thumbnail was still black.

‘Cops don’t give a shit. Thought the union here might help but they’re assholes too. Shit.’

Silence stretched between them.

‘So,’ Tom started haltingly, ‘you okay?’

Halo was surprised.

‘Yeah. Good. I guess. Vee and Katy are great.’

Tom didn’t know where to go from this point. He hadn’t with Pete and he didn’t with Halo. Getting to the question alone had sapped his meagre stock of etiquette.

‘How about you?’

Tom shrugged.

‘Still getting some?’ said Halo, teasingly.

Tom shrugged again, but this time with a small smile on his lips that made Halo laugh as he got up.

‘Give me a call when you know you’re going to Texas. Or anything I can do in the meantime.’

They stood up to leave.

‘Hey, Ole Man River …’ Tom tapped his own upper lip.

Halo touched his and felt the cream moustache. He wiped it off on the sleeve of his coveralls and grinned his thanks then walked away.

Ness was waiting for Tom when he got home. She was asleep in her little Lotus, despite the cramped cockpit. He’d hoped but hadn’t expected that she would be there. There had been no declarations during or after the mind-blowing sex they’d had in Cape Town. No unwise endearments on his part; no wistful longing on hers. They’d parted with a hot kiss at LAX the day before, and he’d stayed to catch the next flight to DC. His track record meant that every time he kissed a woman goodbye, odds were that it was for the last time.

But the fact that she was here now meant she was prepared to ride along with him a little longer, even in the absence of words of love, promises of commitment or even an acknowledgement of continuing interest.

He liked her more and more.

A wrinkle of worry between her eyes made her look very young. He tapped on the window and she opened her eyes, unfocused and wary until she found his face and smiled. She opened the door.

‘Bad dream?’

‘Huh?’

‘You looked a little worried there.’

‘Oh. That. Nothing.’

‘You coming in?’

‘Actually I came to ask you if you could play a game.’

‘You could have called me for that.’

She didn’t answer.

‘You coming in?’

She gazed at him challengingly, her chin lifted defiantly. ‘You gonna play?’

‘After you come in.’

She struggled. ‘I shouldn’t.’