There was another pause, and then he said, "Always knew that I'd die in India, you know. Always knew it."
Catriona said, "I'm sorry."
"Don't have to be. Luck of the game. And you are Stanley's daughter, after all. Good old Stanley. Straight as a die, old Stanley."
Catriona touched his shoulder. "I'm going now," she said. "Mark's waiting for me downstairs."
"Yes, well, good luck," said Edgar. "And by the way there's a little place on 26th Street, between Madison and Third, if I remember. They sell lead soldiers, there; specialise in them. Don't forget to take one back for the Colebill boy."
"No," said Catriona. "No, I won't."
He hesitated, and then, one by one, she threw the orchids that George Welterman had given her into the river, until they were all scattered over the oily surface.
The flowers turned, and whirled, and crowded together when the wash from a passing boat flowed between the Arcadia and the next pier. Catriona watched them for a while, and then went to find Mark.
About the Author
Writer Graham Masterton was born in Edinburgh, Scotland on January 16, 1946. He received training as a newspaper reporter and edited the British men's magazine Mayfair. At the age of 24, he was the executive editor of Penthouse and Penthouse Forum. During this time, he started writing sex how-to books. In 1976, he published his first horror novel The Manitou and has written over thirty-five more over the years. He has received numerous awards including a Special Edgar by the Mystery Writers of America for Charnel House, a Silver Medal by the West Coast Review of Books for Mirror, and the Prix Julia Verlanger for Family Portrait. He has also written four collections of short stories and is the author of the Rook series. He currently lives with his wife in Cork, Ireland.
