Sibs

Kara's phone kept on ringing. And ringing.

Tiny pulses of apprehension scattered through him. He knew she was taking sleeping pills, but the phone was right next to the bed. And he knew she was there— he'd spoken to her around midnight.

Something was wrong.

He made a quick call to Doyle, told him to pull the personal effects bag on Kelly Wade and have it ready, then he ran for his car.

▼

The Warwick bar was almost empty by the time Ed finished telling Kara of his evening's exploits. He searched her face for some sign of approval. It was slow coming, but finally a warm smile lit her features.

"You did all that for me?"

"Well, yes. I felt I owed it to you… and Kelly."

"But what if you'd been caught?"

"That's a risk I was willing to take. You've got to be ready to take a few risks or else life isn't worth much."

Ed drained his third double vodka. He was feeling pretty good. Damn good—about the night, about himself, about being here in this almost deserted bar with Kara.

"What do you think I should do, Ed? I'm so confused."

He looked at her. She was beautiful. In the dim light, despite the jeans and loose sweater she was wearing, she reminded him more of her sister than ever. But she was obviously tense. She sat across the tiny circular table, nervously twirling a key ring on her index finger. And she was asking him for advice. He tried to organize his vodka-muddled thoughts.

"As I see it, you've got two choices. You can get out of the city and put as much distance as you can between this guy and yourself." For selfish reasons, Ed didn't like that idea. It meant he wouldn't get to see her anymore. "Or… you could take the bull by the horns and go to the State Board of Medical Examiners and demand a complete investigation of this man's record keeping and practice methods."

She was staring at him with those big blue eyes. They were hypnotizing.

"What do you think I should do?"

"I think you've got the courage and integrity to take this to the State and protect others as well as yourself. That's what I think you should do."

She put her hand on his and squeezed as the last call came from the bar.

"Thanks for your confidence, but I'm still not sure. Is there someplace we can talk about this some more?"

"There's my place." The words just popped out, but Ed was glad they did. "We can talk there as long as you want."

"That sounds perfect. Let's go."

With that she was up and heading toward the door. With an excited, anticipatory tingle in his groin, Ed dropped some money on the table and hurried after her.

▼

Rob had stopped off at Midtown North, grabbed the effects bag from Doyle, and run out. As he raced east to First Avenue and then uptown, he shook Kelly's apartment keys free of the tangle within and had them ready when he slammed to a halt in front of her building.

Out of instinctive courtesy, he rapped on the door and waited a couple of seconds before unlocking it and rushing inside. Main room, kitchen, bedroom, bathroom—all empty. No sign of struggle, just empty.

Where the hell could Kara be?

A chilling thought struck him: What if it wasn't Kara out there roaming the city? What if it was Janine?

Or worse yet: What if this Ed Ba

Rob had to find Ba

Rob grabbed Kelly's Manhattan white pages thumbed them open to the B's. He found Ba

Ba

He sat down by the phone and began calling.

▼

As you inspect Ed Ba

The first shock was the early morning phone call at Kara's apartment from someone called Ed who said he had startling information about Dr. Gates. That simple statement forced you to cancel all your plans for returning to the Helmsley tonight. You've been playing the rest by ear.

The second shock came when you recognized Ed Ba

You masked your surprise then, but you nearly gave yourself away when Ed Ba

You wander the bleached hardwood floors of Ba

Times, An empty man living an empty life in an apartment filled with things, whose only passion has been the job which obviously bores him to tears now. Else why would he have tried the hair-brained stunt of breaking and entering tonight?

Taking over Kara Wade has engendered a Gordian knot of complications, but you aren't ready to surrender this wonderful body yet. You eye a set of carving knives jutting from a block of teak on the kitchen counter. Alexander the Great's abrupt and efficient method for unsnarling stubborn knots comes to mind.

You examine the knives, and choose the one with the longest, thi

"Do you really think you should have another, Ed?" you say, kicking off Kara's shoes and moving languidly across the room.

You're thinking that if Ba

"I'm celebrating."

Gently, you take the bottle from Ba

"You don't need to get drunk to celebrate. As a matter of fact, that could interfere with the kind of celebration I have pla

You watch a flush creep up Ba

"Wh—what kind of celebration is that?"

"The kind of celebration that happens when a very grateful girl is alone with a brave man she admires very much and finds very attractive."

"This isn't necessary."

"Yes it is."

You back up a step and pull off the sweater to reveal Kara's breasts.

"Do you like them? Touch them."

Ba

"That feels good, Ed. Rub them."

Ba

"What do you think of this body, Ed? Isn't it glorious?"

"It's fabulous!"

"Yes, it is. And now I want to see your body, Ed. But only a little bit at a time." You kneel before him and unzip his fly. "We'll start with this area here."