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"So
"How few?"
"Three is all. I'm hardly an expert, Sachs."
"How'd you do?"
The criminalist said defensively, "It takes a while to get the feel for a game."
"You lost," she said. "All of them."
"But the last one was close."
She looked over the board. "What'll we play for?"
With a cryptic smile Rhyme replied, "We'll think of something." Then he explained the rules and she leaned forward, raptly taking in his words. Finally he said, "That's it… Now, you've never played so you get an advantage. You can make the first move."
"No," Sachs answered. "No advantages. We'll flip a coin."
"It's customary," Rhyme assured her.
"No advantage," Sachs repeated. Then dug a quarter out of her pocket. "Call it," she said.
And tossed the coin into the air.
Acknowledgments
My thanks to Kim Arthur and the folks at Invacare and to Cheryl Lehman for their extremely helpful insights on care of and equipment available for spinal cord injury patients. And, as always, to Madelyn.
About the Author
Former journalist, folksinger and attorney Jeffery Deaver's novels have appeared on a number of bestseller lists around the world, including The New York Times, The Times of London and the Los Angeles Times. The author of seventeen novels, he's been nominated for four Edgar Awards from the Mystery Writers of America and an Anthony Award, is a two-time recipient of the Ellery Queen Readers' Award for Best Short Story of the Year, and won last year's W. H. Smith Thumping Good Read Award in the United Kingdom. His book A Maiden's Grave was made into an HBO movie starring James Garner and Marlee Matlin, and his novel The Bone Collector was a feature release from Universal Pictures starring Denzel Washington and Angelina Jolie. Turner Broadcasting is currently making a TV movie of his novel Praying for Sleep. His most recent novels are The Blue Nowhere, The Empty Chair and Speaking in Tongues. He lives in Virginia and California. Readers can visit his website at www.jefferydeaver.com or the website for The Blue Nowhere at www.thebluenowhere.com.