dining room where several other guests were having breakfast.
Karyn chose a table apart from the others and looked over the menu. She passed up huevos rancheros and anything else that sounded Mexican, and ordered straight-up fried eggs. The eggs were not bad, but the toast was dry and the potatoes were fried to crisp brown cubes. The coffee was no better than usual, but Karyn was determined to drink it every chance she got, just to spite Audrey Vance.
After breakfast she went back to her cabana and put on a pair of shorts and a light blouse. She had not thought to pack a swimming suit, considering the nature of her business here. She walked out onto the beach, and young Roberto came running up to provide her with a folding chair down by the tideline.
Karyn adjusted the chair so she could see the row of cabanas and the front of the hotel. Shortly before noon Chris came out, blinking at the sunlight. He started for the surf, then saw Karyn and veered over toward her. He wore brief white swim trunks, and Karyn could not help noticing the smooth tan on his well-muscled body.
'Good morning,' he said.
'Hi. I hope you didn't interrupt anything important just to come out and talk to me.'
'Don't you start now. I'm getting enough static from Audrey. She thinks the only reason you came down here was for my body.'
'Oh? What did you tell her?'
'Nothing. It's easier to let her believe that than to try to explain the real reason.'
'I see what you mean.'
Both of them were silent for a moment, looking out to sea.
'Did you come up with any ideas?' Karyn said.
Chris sat down on the sand next to her chair. He continued to look out over the water as he spoke. 'The way I see it, there isn't much we can do until they make a move.'
Karyn whirled on him. 'Make a move? You mean until they attack someone else?'
He faced her soberly. ''Have you got a better idea?'
'I — oh, I don't know. I guess I expected you to magically solve all my problems. I'm sorry, Chris. I shouldn't have come here. It's not fair to drag you into this again.'
'Cut it out,' he said. 'You came to me because there is no one else. It was the right thing to do. Now settle down and we'll try to approach this logically.' After a moment he added, 'If it's possible to be logical about werewolves.'
Karyn drew a deep breath and gave him a small smile. 'All right, let's be logical. Where do we start?'
'Do you expect them to follow you down here?' Chris said. 'Marcia and Roy?'
'I'm positive they will. It took them no time at all to find me in Los Angeles. I don't know how, but they seem to know my movements. I wouldn't be surprised if they were here already.'
'Okay, let's assume the worst. They're in Mazatlan, and they know where you are. Our best chance is to find them in the daytime. They have no special powers then. Once the sun goes down and they can take on the wolf shape, no man is a match for them. Nothing can stop them in that form except fire and silver.'
'So if we don't want to meet them at night, how do we go about finding them in the daylight?'
'We don't,' Chris said. 'They find us. Find you, rather. You're the one they're after. Even with all the power the night gives them, they can't move around freely as wolves without attracting a lot of attention. As you saw up in Seattle, they found you in their human shape first, then when they were ready to attack they came as wolves. It's up to us to be alert, always watching, during the day.'
'And at night?' Karyn said.
'At night we are careful as hell.'
'Do you think they'll be clumsy enough to let us see them in the daytime?'
'I don't think clumsy has anything to do with it,' Chris said. 'I think letting you see them was all part of their plan. It was meant to frighten you before they attacked.'
'Well, they sure succeeded,' Karyn said.
A slim shadow fell across the sand at their feet.
'Hey, how cozy.'
Karyn looked up and saw Audrey Vance standing behind her chair. The girl smiled tightly and let her eyes flick back and forth between Karyn and Chris. There was no doubt about it, Karyn thought. The girl did have a body. Her pink one-piece swim suit was thin enough and tight enough to emphasize her nipples and the bush of pubic hair.
'Hi,' Chris said. 'Ready for lunch?'
'Yes, if you haven't already had yours.'
Chris ignored the sarcasm. He stood up and brushed the sand from his trunks. 'I'll go get wet and be with you in a minute.' To Karyn he said, 'Damned if the girl isn't making a swimmer out of me.'
He loped down to the water and splashed into the surf while the women watched. He dived into an incoming wave and disappeared from sight momentarily, bobbing up again as the wave rolled over him and broke on the shore.
'Have you known Chris a long time?' Audrey asked.
'Yes. He was a friend of my first husband.'
'No kidding.'
There could not have been, Karyn figured, more than seven or eight years' difference between her own and Audrey's ages, yet Audrey Vance made her feel positively middle-aged. She was acutely aware of her awkward position, sitting in the low folding chair while Audrey stood, straight and slim, a little behind her. Karyn stood up and faced the younger woman and felt better.
'Let's get something straight here,' she said. 'Whatever you and Chris are to each other makes no difference to me. I wish you both good luck or happiness, or anything else you're after. Chris is a friend of mine, and I'm here to see him as a friend. That's all.'
'Sure you are.' Audrey made her eyes wide and childlike. 'What else could it be?'
Karyn met Audrey's baby stare for a moment, then turned away.
'Shit,' she said.
If Audrey heard, she gave no sign.
Chris came jogging back from the surf scrubbing the salt water out of his hair.
'Let's go,' he said to Audrey. Then to Karyn: 'Want to have lunch with us?'
Karyn hesitated for a moment, just to give the girl something to think about. Then she said, 'No, thanks. I had a big breakfast.'
Chris and Audrey walked off toward their cabana. Audrey tucked her hand possessively under his arm. Karyn turned back to the beach and saw the young Roberto raking the sand smooth. She beckoned to him and he came running to her, his smile dazzling in the sunlight.
'Si, senora?'
'Could you get me an umbrella, Roberto? I think I've had enough sun for today.'
The boy nodded eagerly and took off at a run toward the rear of the hotel. In a few minutes he came back carrying a huge beach umbrella which had alternating panels of orange and green. He planted it in the sand next to Karyn's chair and opened it, taking care to adjust it so she was properly shaded.
Karyn reached into her bag, then looked up apologetically. 'I'm afraid I left my money in the room.'
'Is no problem, senora,' said Roberto. 'If you want to give me a tip, is plenty of time when you check out.' Still smiling, he trotted off to attend to another guest who was holding up an empty highball glass.
Left alone, Karyn settled back with the umbrella shading her from the glare of the sun. She closed her eyes, lulled by the susurration of the surf, and dozed in the gentle breeze. Some time later she awoke with a start. The sun had moved to the west and the shadow of the umbrella had crept up to expose her feet and ankles. She decided to see if she could get a sandwich in the dining room.
Karyn picked up her bag and walked through the sand back toward the hotel. As she reached the main building she saw a small crowd at the far side gathered around the badminton court. Karyn strolled over to see what the attraction was. On the grassy court, under the approving eyes of the mostly middle-aged guests, Chris and Audrey were playing an energetic, laughing game of badminton. Chris wore his white trunks and a striped rugby shirt. Audrey had changed into a pale blue shorts-and-halter outfit. They were a fine-looking couple, Karyn thought unhappily. Like a travel ad in a magazine.
