CHAPTER ONE
in the poolroom of a bar
JANE FOUND CODY SINCLAIR she wasn t surprised.
in New Orleans. To tell the truth，
She hovered in the doorway of the tavern for a min-
i ute， surveying the front room， which was filled with
rough-hewn tables and chairs， secluded booths and a
bar that mn the length of one wall. The air was thick
with smoke， chatter from the television above the bar，
i: and the scent of stale beer and male sweat. Squinting in
the murky light， she realized that she was the only
[.~ woman in the #ace.
No， she wasn t. Closer inspection informed her that
the beefy， broad-shouldered bartender pulling levers
and filling pitchers with sudsy beer was a woman. A
~ largo， tattooed woman with thick hands， a c~w cut and
a chtzty baritone laugh. Chatting it up with the two
iongshoteman types perched on stools across the bar
from he~， she seemed to be in high spirits.
Jane was not in high spirits. She didn t want to be
here. She should have resolved the matter by mail--or
: hettet yet， had someone else handle it for her.
But despite the nerves twisting her innards into mac-
ram6， despite the clammy dampness slicking her palms，
she knew there was no other way but to deal with Cody
in person. She d had to reconcile her innate cowardli-
ness with her understanding of right and wrong， and
meeting Cody face-to4ace was the right thing to do. She
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