When the Devil Drives

CHAPTER THREEDOWN by the reservoir, there was a breeze blowing off the water.Joanna lifted her face to it gratefully as she strolled along the pathtowards the dam. The car journey had seemed stifling, but that mighthave been because she was so nervous.She took a deep breath, then stood for a moment, watching themanoeuvres of the solitary sailing dinghy using the sparkling expanseof water. At the weekends, the water was alive with multi-colouredsails, but on a mid-week afternoon privacy was almost guaranteed.She glanced edgily at her watch. She'd arrived early, and there wasstill a short while to go before their meeting.Cal Blackstone had raised no objection, the previous evening, whenshe had haltingly suggested the reservoir as a rendezvous. Shecouldn't explain even now why she'd felt so desperate to face him onneutral territory, in the open air, away from the confines of ChalfontHouse.She'd tried to work out in advance what she was going to say. In factshe'd spent an entire sleepless night trying and discarding variousapproaches to the subject. But nothing seemed right.But then how could it? Joanna could almost believe, even now, thatthis was simply a particularly vivid nightmare from which she wouldsoon thankfully waken. Maybe she should just raise her hands insurrender and say, 'You win,' she thought, grimacing.She retied the sleeves of the turquoise sweater she was wearing slungacross her shoulders more securely, and resumed her walk.She'd spent the morning with her father, who was having whatGresham called 'one of his far-off days'. He'd been sitting in hiswheelchair beside the open window, with an old photograph album