Why?
About four months after she was married, she got real sick. The records just said
something about a fever of unknown origin. They came within an ace of losing her, first to
fever and then to bleeding. Shes A positive, by the way.
Did she have one of those hemorrhagic fevers?
No. She miscarried a seven-month fetus. Stillbirth. A boy. Hard to believe we had a little
nephew and never knew it.
Archer didnt answer. He couldnt. He could barely breathe around the vise gripping his gut.
Len had never mentioned Hannahs near-fatal illness or the loss of their child.
Did you know about that? Kyle asked after a minute.
No.
Though Archer said nothing more, Kyle knew his brother too well to be fooled by silence.
It got to me, too, Kyle said simply. I went and found Lianne and held her, just held her.
When I felt our babies move, I didnt know whether to laugh or cry.
The uncertainty of life and the finality of death haunted Kyles voice as surely as it
haunted Archers mind. He forced himself to breathe, to talk, to reassure his youngest
brother that their twins would be the lucky ones, the ones who not only survived but
thrived.
Dont worry about Lianne and your twins, Archer said. Len dragged Hannah through some of
earth s deepest hellholes. He didnt live fancy, either. What the natives ate, he ate. What
they drank, he drank. That didnt change after he got married.
I know. I rechecked the passport stamps after I found the hospital records. A week here.
Two weeks there. Two days at the next place. Sometimes only a few hours. Flying all over
the South Pacific with side trips to Japan or Jakarta just for variety. Was it a
coincidence that every place Len went grew, traded, or smuggled pearls?
No.
Kyle waited, but his brother didnt say anything more. He started to snap at the lack of
response; then he remembered that his brother had been up for more than twenty-four hours,
had seen his half brothers corpse, and had just found out about the baby nephew they would
never get to nuzzle and tease and love.
I gotta say, Kyle muttered, our half brother had shitty taste in friends. I ran the names
of some of the people he met with. Bad cess. Really bad. Right down there in the toilet
with the Red Phoenix Triad. Different names, of course. Same slime.
When you go looking for secrets, you make your bargains where you have to.
Was he a spook?
Archer didnt want to answer, but he did. Len had been Kyles brother, too. He began as an
officer in a U.S. foreign intelligence agency. He finished as a mercenary. Sometimes he
worked for us. Sometimes for them. And always he worked for himself.
Im not sure I like the sound of that.
You have good instincts. But remember Len didnt start out where he ended up. What else
did you find out about Hannah?
She keeps the books for Pearl Cove. She orders equipment locally and electronically. If
she shops locally for clothes or cosmetics, she pays cash. The farm has open accounts at
several places in Broome.
What kind of payment record?
Pretty good. Not great. Just okay. The last year must have been hard. Some of the accounts
started dunning.
How serious is it?
Pearl Cove is on a cash-only basis with an outfit called Smithe and Sons Equipment. The
Broome Green Grocer is a little more flexible, up to one hundred dollars Australian. She
orders mens and women s clothes by credit card at a virtual store that specializes in
casual tropical gear. She orders books at several virtual used-book stores and book
exchanges. Reads everything from science fiction to philosophy, with stops in between for
Chinese poetry and girl fiction.
Girl fiction?
Yeah, stories about family and marriage and love, that sort of stuff.
Archer grunted and drank more coffee. The breeze through the verandahs screen door was
heavy with brine. The temperature was as close to cool as it got in Broome in late
November. Anything else?
If she
About four months after she was married, she got real sick. The records just said
something about a fever of unknown origin. They came within an ace of losing her, first to
fever and then to bleeding. Shes A positive, by the way.
Did she have one of those hemorrhagic fevers?
No. She miscarried a seven-month fetus. Stillbirth. A boy. Hard to believe we had a little
nephew and never knew it.
Archer didnt answer. He couldnt. He could barely breathe around the vise gripping his gut.
Len had never mentioned Hannahs near-fatal illness or the loss of their child.
Did you know about that? Kyle asked after a minute.
No.
Though Archer said nothing more, Kyle knew his brother too well to be fooled by silence.
It got to me, too, Kyle said simply. I went and found Lianne and held her, just held her.
When I felt our babies move, I didnt know whether to laugh or cry.
The uncertainty of life and the finality of death haunted Kyles voice as surely as it
haunted Archers mind. He forced himself to breathe, to talk, to reassure his youngest
brother that their twins would be the lucky ones, the ones who not only survived but
thrived.
Dont worry about Lianne and your twins, Archer said. Len dragged Hannah through some of
earth s deepest hellholes. He didnt live fancy, either. What the natives ate, he ate. What
they drank, he drank. That didnt change after he got married.
I know. I rechecked the passport stamps after I found the hospital records. A week here.
Two weeks there. Two days at the next place. Sometimes only a few hours. Flying all over
the South Pacific with side trips to Japan or Jakarta just for variety. Was it a
coincidence that every place Len went grew, traded, or smuggled pearls?
No.
Kyle waited, but his brother didnt say anything more. He started to snap at the lack of
response; then he remembered that his brother had been up for more than twenty-four hours,
had seen his half brothers corpse, and had just found out about the baby nephew they would
never get to nuzzle and tease and love.
I gotta say, Kyle muttered, our half brother had shitty taste in friends. I ran the names
of some of the people he met with. Bad cess. Really bad. Right down there in the toilet
with the Red Phoenix Triad. Different names, of course. Same slime.
When you go looking for secrets, you make your bargains where you have to.
Was he a spook?
Archer didnt want to answer, but he did. Len had been Kyles brother, too. He began as an
officer in a U.S. foreign intelligence agency. He finished as a mercenary. Sometimes he
worked for us. Sometimes for them. And always he worked for himself.
Im not sure I like the sound of that.
You have good instincts. But remember Len didnt start out where he ended up. What else
did you find out about Hannah?
She keeps the books for Pearl Cove. She orders equipment locally and electronically. If
she shops locally for clothes or cosmetics, she pays cash. The farm has open accounts at
several places in Broome.
What kind of payment record?
Pretty good. Not great. Just okay. The last year must have been hard. Some of the accounts
started dunning.
How serious is it?
Pearl Cove is on a cash-only basis with an outfit called Smithe and Sons Equipment. The
Broome Green Grocer is a little more flexible, up to one hundred dollars Australian. She
orders mens and women s clothes by credit card at a virtual store that specializes in
casual tropical gear. She orders books at several virtual used-book stores and book
exchanges. Reads everything from science fiction to philosophy, with stops in between for
Chinese poetry and girl fiction.
Girl fiction?
Yeah, stories about family and marriage and love, that sort of stuff.
Archer grunted and drank more coffee. The breeze through the verandahs screen door was
heavy with brine. The temperature was as close to cool as it got in Broome in late
November. Anything else?
If she
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