59

Gala sat up, leaving him with a wet shoulder. “There are some things I have to tell you,” she said.

“Perhaps it would be better if you wait until morning. We still have the police to deal with.”

“No, I have to say it now, while I have my courage up.”

“What could you possibly say to me that requires courage? You know you can tell me anything.”

“It’s about Boris.”

“I don’t see any need to discuss him ever again.”

“I have a need. Please listen to me.”

Stone sighed. “All right, you have my undivided attention.” That was, perhaps, an overstatement, given that there were two corpses, a man and a bear, in the room.

“Boris and I had a difficult marriage, and an even more difficult divorce.”

“I think I’m already aware of that.”

“Still, there was some part of me that still wanted him.”

Stone moved over on the sofa so that he could face her. “Which part of you was that?”

“Part of my heart, I guess you’d say.”

Stone stared at her, and a couple of things tucked away in the back of his mind suddenly came to the forefront. “Are you sure that’s the right body part?”

“All right, that part of me, too. Especially that part.”

Stone was thinking about the screen of his iPhone, and the merging of a green dot with a yellow dot. Twice. “Let me guess—the day you went riding and encountered Tirov in the wood?”

Gala nodded. “Yes.”

“And when you went to London and had lunch at Claridge’s?”

“Yes. On my way out, I ran into Boris in the lobby and went with him to his suite.”

“I see.”

“I know I was unfaithful, and I’m sorry.”

“You never pledged your faith to me, we never got that far.”

“Nevertheless, I felt unfaithful.”

“And yet you fucked him. Twice.”

She nodded. “Again, I’m sorry. I don’t expect you to forgive me.”

“I’m glad. I wouldn’t want to disappoint you.”

She started to speak again, but she was interrupted by the doorbell. “We’ll talk more later.”

“I’d rather not. I’ve heard enough,” Stone said. He got up and went to the front door.