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Elly got the feeling Jess was trying to convince himself as much as her. "I didn't see Marina outside that window. Just someone who looked like her."
    Elly licked her lower lip. She felt as if she were walking on very thin ice. Beneath the fragile surface, endless cold waited to swallow her whole. "What does Marina look like?"
    Jess rested his chin on his fist, propping his elbow on the upholstered arm of the chair. "A witch," he finally said very succinctly. "A blond-haired, green-eyed witch."
    Elly closed her eyes. "I see."
    "No, you don't. You can't possibly."
    Her lashes lifted, and she stared again at his hard fire-lit profile. She asked the next question because she had no alternative. The need to know the truth was greater than the fear and hopelessness it might bring. "Who was Marina, Jess?"
    He hesitated a moment longer and then said very softly, "My ex-wife."
    Elly had a hard time getting her next breath. When she finally got it, her voice sounded faint, even to her own ears. "I didn't realize you had been married."
    "I'm thirty-seven years old, Elly . Most men have experimented at least once with marriage by the time they reach my age."
    She sank down onto the couch, clasping her hands tightly in her lap. "Yes, I suppose they have. I just hadn't thought about it, I guess. It hadn't crossed my mind. You   never mentioned—"
    "It's not something I talk about."
    "Obviously!" A profound silence followed that remark and then Elly asked tentatively, "Children?"
    "Hell, no. I wouldn't have kept quiet about children, Elly ."
    "Just ex-wives?" A thread of anger was beginning to weave its way into her emotions.
    "There was no need to mention Marina."
    "Why not?*'
    "Because she's dead, Elly ."
    Elly closed her eyes in sudden anguish. "Oh, my God. And when you started to make love to me, really make love to me, you saw a vision of her at the window."
    The words had the unexpected effect of snapping Jess out of his brooding state. Elly was completely unprepared for the way he surged out of the chair and swept across the room in three angry strides. His face was lined with controlled fury. Halting in front of her, Jess reached down to grasp her shoulders fiercely. His gray eyes seemed to pierce her with lances of ice.
    "No," he bit out savagely, "I did not see a vision of her when I started to make love to you. I saw someone outside that window."
    "Someone who looked just like her?" Elly said in a tight voice.
    "Someone who looked a lot like her. But I sure as hell didn't see a vision. For crying out loud, Elly , what the hell do you think is going on?"
    "You tell me. I can't seem to think straight. All I know is that one minute you're making love to me as if... as if you mean it finally, and the next you're seeing your ex-wife at the window. What do you expect me to think?"
    "I expect you to be rational about it," Jess grated, hauling her to her feet in front of him. "There was someone outside that window who bore a resemblance to a woman I married and divorced a few years ago. That's all. In the morning I'll take a look around and see if I can find any signs of the prowler. Frankly, though, it's not likely."
    "No," she admitted politely, letting him put any construction on her agreement that he might wish. Lifting her chin, she made an effort to evade his hands. "Well," she tried to say in a conversational tone, " it's getting late, isn't it? And it's going to be a slow drive back to your motel in this fog. You'd probably better get started. Give me a call in the morning. I'll be at the shop, as usual."
    " Elly —"
    "Did I mention that Bill Franklin was asking about you this week?" she continued as she went over to the hall closet and began pulling out Jess's worn leather jacket. "He said he's got the estimates on the plumbing work ready for you. You might want to look him up tomorrow. I gather his schedule is fairly open, though. Shouldn't be too much trouble figuring out when he can do the job...."
    " Elly !" Jess came