"Let's get something straight here," she said. "Whatever you and Chris are to each other makes no difference to me. I wish you both good luck or happiness, or anything else you're after. Chris is a friend of mine, and I'm here to see him as a friend. That's all."
"Sure you are." Audrey made her eyes wide and childlike. "What else could it be?"
Karyn met Audrey's baby stare for a moment, then turned away.
"Shit," she said.
If Audrey heard, she gave no sign.
Chris came jogging back from the surf scrubbing the salt water out of his hair.
"Let's go," he said to Audrey. Then to Karyn "Want to have lunch with us?"
Karyn hesitated for a moment, just to give the girl something to think about. Then she said, "No, thanks. I had a big breakfast."
Chris and Audrey walked off toward their cabana. Audrey tucked her hand possessively under his arm. Karyn turned back to the beach and saw the young Roberto raking the sand smooth. She beckoned to him and he came running to her, his smile dazzling in the sunlight.
"Si, Senora?"
"Could you get me an umbrella, Roberto? I think I've had enough sun for today."
The boy nodded eagerly and took off at a run toward the rear of the hotel. In a few minutes he came back carrying a huge beach umbrella, which had alternating panels of orange and green. He planted it in the sand next to Karyn's chair and opened it, taking care to adjust it so she was properly shaded.
Karyn reached into her bag, then looked up apologetically. "I'm afraid I left my money in the room."
"Is no problem, Senora," said Roberto. "If you want to give me a tip, is plenty of time when you check out." Still smiling, he trotted off to attend to another guest who was holding up an empty highball glass.
Left alone, Karyn settled back with the umbrella shading her from the glare of the sun. She closed her eyes, lulled by the susurration of the surf, and dozed in the gentle breeze. Some time later she awoke with a start. The sun had moved to the west and the shadow of the umbrella had crept up to expose her feet and ankles. She decided to see if she could get a sandwich in the dining room.
Karyn picked up her bag and walked through the sand, back toward the hotel. As she reached the main building she saw a small crowd at the far side gathered around the badminton court; Karyn strolled over to see what the attraction was. On the grassy court, under the approving eyes of the mostly middle-aged guests, Chris and Audrey were playing an energetic, laughing game of badminton. Chris wore his white trunks and a striped rugby shirt. Audrey had changed into a pale blue shorts and halter outfit. They were a fine-looking couple, Karyn thought unhappily. Like a travel ad in a magazine.
At that moment Audrey looked over at her. There was an unmistakable glint of triumph in her clear young eyes.
I could really learn to dislike that girl, Karyn thought, giving Audrey a bland smile in return. She left the badminton game and crossed the patch of lawn to the main building of the hotel.
From his position behind the desk in the lobby, Senor Davila, the manager, gave her a welcoming smile.
"Is it too late for me to get some lunch?" Karyn asked.
"Not at all, Senora Richter. Please go right in."
"Thank you." Karyn started for the dining room.
"Did your friend find you on the beach all right?" the manager asked.
"Mr. Halloran? Yes, he did."
Senor Davila looked puzzled. "Oh, no, senora, I mean the lady."
Karyn felt a chill. "Miss Vance?"
"No, it was your other friend. The dark lady. She asked for you and I told her you were on the beach. Is anything wrong?"
Karyn stared at him. "There was a dark woman here? Asking for me?"
The manager began to look worried. "Si, Senora. Dark, with a mark of white in her hair. The lady said she was your friend. I hope I did not speak out of place."
"No... it's all right," Karyn said vaguely. She turned and started out of the building.
"Your lunch, Senora?" Davila called after her.
"I've lost my appetite," Karyn said, without looking back.
Back at the badminton court, she edged past the people who were watching, and stepped out to where Chris was preparing to serve.
"Can I talk to you?" she said.
He caught the note of urgency in her voice, "What's happened?"
"They're here. Marcia was at the desk asking for me."
Chris frowned. "When we went into lunch there was a woman who came in a cab. She said a few words to the manager then went away."
"What did she look like?"
"Tall. Slender. Wore sunglasses. Long, black hair."
"With a streak of silver?"
Chris nodded.
"That was her. I forgot that you never saw Marcia Lura. At least not as a woman."
"Damn," he said. "I was almost close enough to grab her."
The people alongside the court were watching them curiously. Across the net Audry stood with her fists planted on her hips.
"Can we go somewhere?" Karyn said.
"Yeah." Chris handed his racket to a paunchy man in a flowered shirt. "Here, you take over for me." He called across to Audrey, "I'll be back in a little while."
They walked away from the court together. Before she turned, Karyn caught the flash of pure female hatred in Audrey's eyes.
In a nameless cantina in the old Mexican section of Mazatlan, Roy Beatty sat listlessly at a table in the rear. It was dark in the cantina. Roy stared down at his hands, spread out flat on the sticky tabletop. He looked up at the sound of Marcia Lura's footsteps.
Marcia pulled out the chair next to him and sat down. She leaned close and spoke in an excited whisper.
"She's here."
Roy looked at her with dulled eyes, but said nothing.
"Did you hear me? I said she's here. I found her."
"I heard you."
"By now she will have been told that I asked for her at the desk. She will realize now that there is no escape for her."
Roy did not answer.
Marcia reached around behind his chair. She slipped her long fingers under the hair at the back of his neck and rubbed him there. "Don't you feel it?" she said. "This is the end of the chase."
He rolled his head around as Marcia's fingers worked on his tense trapezius muscles. "I'm glad it's almost over," he said. "That's all."
She brushed his ear with her lips. "Maybe you will feel something more when I tell you who she is with."
"Karyn is here with someone? I thought you said she came down alone."
"She did. But she met someone here."
Marcia's tongue probed at his ear, sliding in and out sensually.
Roy pushed his chair away and turned to face her. "Who? Who did she meet?"
"Your old friend, Roy, and her old lover."
"Chris Halloran? Chris is in Mazatlan?"
"You didn't think she chose this place by chance?"
"And you say they're together?"
"Oh, very much together. They're staying at the Palacio del Mar Hotel north of the city. It's very quiet there. Isolated. Perfect for lovers. And perfect for us."
Roy Beatty's lips drew back from his teeth, and for a moment the image of the wolf overlaid the man. He seemed to look out through the walls and across the city to the bed where his imagination put the naked bodies of his wife and his friend.
Marcia watched him. The corners of her wide, pale mouth lifted in a smile.
"Tonight, my Roy, we will pay them back for everything."
CHAPTER
TWENTY
That evening Chris insisted that Karyn share a table with him and Audrey for dinner. Karyn was reluctant, but decided that any company, even Audrey's, was better than being alone. Her nerves had been ragged since she heard about Marcia coming to the hotel earlier in the day.