Pearl Cove Read Online Free PDF

angered Hannah, though it didnt show in her
     body, her eyes, her voice. Business, Ian. Thats all. Just business.
    Chang said something rude in Chinese, then leaned over and pushed the passenger door open.
     Get in, Sister McGarry.
    Ill get the leather wet. Theres not enough cloth on your butt to make a difference. After
     a long, level look, Hannah slid in and closed the car door. There, that didnt hurt, did
     it? he asked curtly. I wont jump you, if thats what youre afraid of. Youre married.
     Hannahs voice was flat. My wife lives in Kuala Lumpur.
    I dont care if she lives on Jupiter. Im not in the market for a married lover. Nothing
     personal, Ian. It s just the way I am. It wont change. I value your friendship, but not
     enough to have this conversation every time we talk. Change the subject.
    Bloody nun, Chang muttered under his breath.
    Yes.
    Neither said another word until they were in the shade of the verandah. The storm had done
     little damage to the house: broken windows, ripped screens, one corner of the roof torn
     away, plants snapped off or whipped to rags by the wind. Small things, compared with death.
    Who replaced the windows? Chang asked.
    Christians brother-in-law is a glazier. Christian did all the screens. The verandah was a
     mess.
    Changs full mouth thinned. He didnt like the thought of the sexy, shrewd, young Aussie
     hanging around Pearl Cove, even if he was living with the type of blonde most men only
     dreamed of getting their hands on. Why didnt you call me? Chang asked. I would have sent
     workmen over.
    Thanks, but Christian was here when the storm hit.
    I suppose he fixed the roof, too.
    Tom did. Since he stopped diving, hes made himself invaluable as a handyman.
    Chang tried to imagine the bent old Japanese man scrambling up a ladder and nailing tin
     sheeting in place. He shook his head. Nakamori is too old for that kind of work.
    Hes only sixty. What Hannah didnt say was that Chang was fifty-three. And Len had been
    forty-five. Too young to die.
    A sixty-year-old former diver is an old man. Chang looked at his watch. I have ten
     minutes. Fifteen at most.
    Tea? Beer? Water?
    Nothing.
    Hannah rinsed off her dive gear, dumped it in a basket on the verandah, and waved Chang
     toward the wicker chairs. She went to her favorite place, a hammock chair suspended from a
     bolt in the slanting roof. The airy netting of the sling let a breeze swirl around her
     with every gentle push of her foot against the wooden floor. The verandahs new screening
     shimmered and rippled in the sun, making the world beyond look dreamy, unreal.
    All right, Ian. What does the Chang family want from me? Were willing to assume Pearl
     Coves debts. Any particular reason? The usual.
    Which is?
    Business, Chang said curtly.
    I see. What do I get out of this business?
    A partner who can rebuild Pearl Cove.
    Partner. Hannah toed the floor and swung gently. If Chang knew she had a partner already,
     he wasn t letting on. She wondered if that made him more or less likely to be Lens killer.
    I give you fifty percent of Pearl Cove and you assume all debts, is that it? she asked.
     Seventy-five percent. The hammock chair paused in its swing. We give up seventy-five
     percent? Theres no we about it. Len is dead. Pearl Cove is just you, Sister McGarry.
    Ill think about your familys offer.
    Dont think too long.
    Is there a time limit?
    Abruptly Chang stood up. Mother of God, you cant be that naive!
    For a time there was only the soft squeak of the hammock chair against the ceiling bolt as
     Hannah swung back and forth, back and forth.
    I guess I am that naive, she said finally. Explain it to me.
    Do you really think Len died because of that cyclone?
    Every muscle tensed. She wanted to get up, to scream, to run Since it would be stupid to
     do any of those things, she did nothing at all.
    I could list Lens friends on one finger, Chang said bluntly.
    I dont have enough hands to list his enemies. Its not only