Page 277 of Edge of Eternity (The Century 3)

They drove to Chelsea in Evie's Sunbeam Alpine. Dave chewed his lip. Batchelor had done him the favor of being brutally honest. But Batchelor did not believe in Plum Nellie's talent--just Hank Remington's. All the same, if Dave could get just one more good song from Hank, the group would be back on course.

What was he going to say?

Hi, Hank, got any more ballads? That was too casual.

Hank, I'm in a fix. Too needy.

Our record company made a real mistake releasing 'Shake, Rattle and Roll.' But we could rescue the situation--with a little help from you. Dave did not like any of these approaches, mainly because he hated to beg.

But he would do it.

Hank had an apartment by the river. Evie led the way into a big old house and up in a creaking elevator. She spent most nights here now. She opened the apartment door with her own key. "Hank!" she called out. "It's only me."

Dave walked in behind her. There was a hallway with a splashy modern painting. They passed a gleaming kitchen and looked into a living room with a grand piano. No one was there.

"He's out," Dave said despondently.

Evie said: "He might be taking an afternoon nap."

Another door opened, and Hank emerged from what was obviously the bedroom, pulling his jeans on. He closed the door behind him. "Hello, love," he said. "I was in bed. Hello, Dave, what are you doing here?"

"Evie brought me to ask you a really big favor," said Dave.

"Yeah," said Hank, looking at Evie. "I was expecting you later."

"Dave couldn't wait."

Dave said: "We need a new song."

"It's not a good time, Dave," said Hank. Dave expected him to explain, but he did not.

Evie said: "Hank, is something wrong?"

"Yeah, actually," said Hank.

Dave was startled. No one ever answered yes to that question.

Evie's feminine intuition was far ahead of Dave. "Is there someone in the bedroom?"

"I'm sorry, love," said Hank. "I wasn't expecting you back."

At that point the bedroom door opened and Anna Murray came out.

Dave's mouth fell open in shock. Jasper's sister had been in bed with Evie's boyfriend!

Anna was fully dressed in business clothes, including stockings and high heels, but her hair was mussed and her jacket buttons were misaligned. She did not speak and avoided meeting anyone's eye. She went into the living room and came back out carrying a briefcase. She went to the apartment door, lifted a coat off the hook, and went out without speaking a word.

Hank said: "She came round to talk about my autobiography, and one thing led to another . . ."

Evie was crying. "Hank, how could you?"

"I didn't plan it," he said. "It just happened."

"I thought you loved me."

"I did. I do. This was just . . ."

"Just what?"

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