On impulse she shifted, used her elbow and knocked a few items from the shelf to the floor.

"G.o.d! I'm such a klutz today." Crouching to retrieve them, she blocked his path. "Isn't it always the way when you're running behind schedule? I need to get home. My boyfriend's taking me into Boston for dinner and a suite at The Charles, and I haven't even decided what to wear."

She rose with an armload of cleaning products, sent him an apologetic smile. "And I'm still in your way. Sorry."

She stepped aside, began to shelve what she'd dropped, and resisted looking after him as she heard him walk away.

Now you know, she thought. Or you think you know. You won't miss your opportunity any more than I could miss mine.

She ordered herself to complete her list, in case he was watching her. Even stopped to chat with one of her yoga students for a moment. Everything's normal, she told herself. Just a quick stop at the market before your big night in Boston.

And because she was watching, she caught a glimpse of him sitting in a dark SUV in the lot as she put her market bags in the car. Deliberately she turned the radio up, checked her hair, dabbed on some lip gloss, then pulled out to drive home just a few miles over the speed limit.

As she turned into Bluff House, she watched in her rearview as Suskind continued on. Grabbing her bags, she dashed into the house.

"Eli!" After dumping the bags, she made the next dash up the stairs and veered toward his office.

As her shout had him up and out, they nearly ran into each other. "What? Are you all right?"

"I'm fine, I'm good. I also just earned the think-fast-and-act-your-a.s.s-off award. I literally b.u.mped into Suskind at the market."

"Did he touch you?" Instinctively, Eli grabbed her arms, searched for injuries.

"No, no. He knew who I was, but I played dumb, or rather really smart. I knocked some things off the shelf so he couldn't get by me, then babbled about being clumsy and being in a hurry because my guy was taking me to Boston for dinner and a night of whoopee at The Charles."

"You talked to him? Jesus, Abra."

"At him. He didn't say a word, but he did wait for me to check out. He sat in his car in the lot, then followed me back. Eli, he thinks we're going to be out of the house overnight. It's his big chance. We don't have to count on him watching and seeing us leave. He's planning it all right now. It fell in our lap, Eli. It's on tonight. This is it."

"Was he following you? I mean before you left the store?"

"I ... No, no, I don't think so. He had a basket. He had things in a basket, and I don't think he'd have gotten so close if he'd been watching me. It was fate, Eli. And fate's on our side."

He'd have called it chance, or maybe luck, but he wouldn't argue. "I got a report from Sherrilyn. He stopped at two different markets, miles apart, on the way to Whiskey Beach."

"Maybe he has a grocery store fetish."

"No, he's being careful, not buying his personal items from the same places he bought a pound of ground beef and a box of rat poison."

"Rat poison? I've never heard of anyone seeing rats at ... Oh G.o.d." Shock hit first, then fury. "That-that son of a b.i.t.c.h. He plans to poison Barbie? That miserable excuse for a human being. It's a good thing I didn't know. I'd've given him another shot to the b.a.l.l.s."

"Easy, tiger. What time's our reservation?"

"Our what?"

"For dinner."

"Oh. I didn't get that detailed."

Eli checked his watch. "Okay, we should leave about six. You worked it out with Maureen?"

"Yes, they'll keep Barbie. So we'll just go as we planned. Leave here with the dog, drop her off at Maureen's, then circle back on foot to the south side, then- c.r.a.p."

She put her hands to her head, did a little dance in place. "Dinner date. I have to wear heels to make it look real. Okay, okay, I'll stuff some sneakers in my bag, change shoes for the jog back. And don't give me that look. Footwear's important."

"We need to talk it all through again, and I need to fill you in on how Sherrilyn's playing into it."

"Then let's do it downstairs. I need to put away what I got at the market before my encounter. Then I need to figure out what to wear for our fake romantic evening-slash-ambush."

He went over every angle, then went over them again from a different direction. He spent time in the pa.s.sage, then behind the shelves, checking the scope of the video camera, testing it. Just a backup now, he thought.

If things went wrong, he had a secondary backup.

"You're questioning yourself," Abra said as she checked the lines and fit of the dress she'd put on over a black tank and yoga shorts.

"I used to believe in the system, absolutely. I was part of the system. Now I'm going around it."

"No, you're working through it, just in a different way. And even that's a testament, Eli, when the system failed you. You have a right to defend your home, and a right to do whatever you can to clear your name."

She added earrings not only to complete the look, but because they boosted her confidence. "You even have a right to enjoy it."

"You think so?"

"Yes, I do."

"Good because I am. And I'm going to. You look great. I'm definitely taking you to dinner in Boston and a night of whoopee when this is over."

"I'd like that, but I have an even better idea. When this is over, you need to have the first of those parties you talked about. You need to have a blowout."

"That is a better idea, but I'll need help with it."

"Fortunately I find myself not only free, but willing and able to help with it."

He took her hand. "I think there's a lot we need to talk about. After."

"We have a long and I predict happy summer to talk about everything, anything." She turned his wrist to check his watch. "It's six on the dot."

"Then we'd better get started."

He carried down the overnights while Abra gathered what they'd packed for the dog. Downstairs, Eli contacted Sherrilyn.

"We're leaving the house now."

"You're sure about this, Eli?"

"This is how I want to handle it. I'll call again when we're back in."