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and exultation, came into LaLeche's eyes.

"Why, thank you, Dr. Evans! Coming from you that is a compliment, indeed. I'm

flattered. Of course I'll accept your invitation!"

It was obvious to Zanita that the man could barely contain his excitement. Tyber

clicked his pen and began writing out a check. A very large check. Zanita's eyes

widened.

Before Tyber could cross the T in his name, LaLeche's hand stopped him.

"No need for that now, Doctor. I appreciate the gesture, but, after all, you've

just invited me to your home. Why don't we wait and see what develops?"

Tyber glanced down at him through veiled eyes. "Yes. Why don't we?" He tore off

the left-hand corner of the check with a secret smile, handing just the little

piece to LaLeche. "Here's the address. We'll expect you around seven—for

dinner."

"Thank you. I look forward to it!" He stuck out his hand. Tyber shook it briefly

before quickly ushering Zanita out into the rainy night.

They made a mad dash through the mud to the truck.

"Heeeeat!" Zanita wailed as soon as Tyber started the engine.

Tyber slammed a couple of levers to the far right and a blast of warm air began

filling the cab. They both moaned in ecstasy.

"We're getting right into a hot tub as soon as we get back to the room." Tyber

negotiated the truck onto the road heading back to the inn.

Zanita tried to talk between the chattering of her teeth. "It was nice of you to

leave those blankets behind."

"How could I not? I hope those poor bastards don't get pneumonia tonight." A

street light illuminated the set of his jaw and the disgust on his face.

"They're adults, Tyber. No one is holding them there; they can leave if they

want to."

Her words visibly relaxed him. "I suppose you're right. Although I'm not sure

that's altogether true in Elizabeth's case. She's looking for a miracle and

perhaps she thinks she's found one. In that case, wild horses wouldn't drag the

woman away from there." The palm of his hand slammed against the steering wheel.

"It's the worst sort of manipulation!"

Zanita put her hand on his thigh.

He turned briefly to meet her eyes. "Now I know why it was so important to you

to go after this guy; I imagine Mrs. Haverhill was much like Elizabeth."

She nodded. "Yes. A very nice woman in a horrible situation. I think she

probably was reaching out for help, for contact with another human being. It was

her last chance to trust someone, and along comes someone like Xavier…."

"It's disgusting," he bit out.

"Tyber… why did you write out such a large check to him? What if he had taken

it?"

"It was a calculated risk. First, I told him we couldn't attend tomorrow,

letting him think this was his last shot at us. Then I took out my checkbook to

confirm his supposition. I thought if I casually invited him to the mansion as I

wrote out a check, he would see the possibilities in a future, even larger

donation." The corners of his mouth lifted slightly in private amusement.

"Something to tide him over the long winter."

"Is that why you invited him next weekend?"

"Yes. We need more time with him. Seeing him at seminars occasionally over the

winter isn't going to cut it. We need to develop a more intimate relationship

with him. Don't forget, we don't know what we're going after to entrap him."

"Smart. But what if he had taken the check anyway? That was an awfully large

check, Tyber."

He shrugged unconcerned. "As I said—a calculated risk."

"So… what did we see?"

Tyber exhaled a long breath. "I'm not sure yet. But I promise you—I will figure

out exactly what scam he's pulling."

"You don't think he has some genuine ability and is using it to manipulate

people, do you?" Silly as it seemed, she was almost afraid to ask this question.

"Absolutely not. What we saw in there was impressive, but it was showmanship. He

did something…."

"But how? You saw yourself—his shirt was rolled up way above his elbows. He

wasn't concealing anything in his sleeves. I watched his hands closely—he didn't

palm anything. Everyone was surrounding him. There was no sleight of hand."

"I know. I observed that as well…." His words trailed off. Deep in thought, brow

furrowed, Tyber drove the rest of the way to the inn in silence.

True to his word, when Zanita came out of the tub dressed in one of the

terrycloth robes the inn provided, she spotted Tyber sitting in the large chair

in front of the fireplace, sipping a hot mulled cider.

He was wrapped in the other robe, his bare feet resting on the mantel, toes

wiggling as he tried to warm his feet. He gestured to the other mug on the tray,

then patted his lap.

Zanita gratefully took a sip of the hot drink as she curled up on his lap. "Mmm,

this is good. I wondered why you left the tub so fast."

He ran his hand lazily down her back. "Someone had to wait for the drinks. I

think I'm actually starting to feel my toes again."

"It was horrid, wasn't it? I hope my next investigation leads me someplace

warm—like the Caribbean."

Tyber gave her an indulgent look. "Uh-huh. You ought to put that imagination of

yours to work writing fiction. The Caribbean!"

Zanita sighed. "I know; more than likely my next piece will take me back into

the wet bogs of cranberry country, sloshing through a quagmire of mud in search

of beer-swilling aliens."

Not if I have anything to say about it. There was no way he was slogging through

swamps with her In Search Of. He rubbed his freshly shaven jaw. "You know, baby,

I'm serious. Why don't you think about it?"

"Maybe." She snuggled into him, yawning.

He smiled above her curly head. Here we have three factors in the Zanita

Equation: a warm drink, a warm lap, and a toasty fire. These three factors

combined could only add up to…

His blue eyes twinkled as he looked down at the woman fast asleep in his arms.

A sharp knock on the door to their room woke Zanita up the next morning. She

heard Tyber mumble something incoherent next to her ear while she tried

unsuccessfully to untangle their naked limbs.

The knock came again.

"Just a minute," she called out. "Tyber, move your leg!"

Tyber sleepily raised