“Can I leave you here? Can you manage on your own?”
She clutched at my arm. “What are you going to do?”
“Use your nut, baby,” I said. “I’ve got plenty to do. There’s Killeano—remember him? That fat little guy who looks like Mussolini?”
“But you’re not going back to Paradise Palms?”
“Sure I’m going back, I only came here so you could be safe.”
“Oh, you’re crazy,” she cried. “What can you do against so many?”
“You’ll be surprised,” I said, smiling at her. “There’s a murder rap hanging over us. I’m going to bust that for a start. We’re not safe until I find Herrick’s killer and persuade him to come clean.”
“But you can’t go back alone,” she said frantically.
“I’m going back alone, and I’m going in a few minutes,” I told her. “Ah I want to be sure about is that you’ll be all right while I’m away.”
“I won’t be all right,” she said quickly—too quickly.