The Devil's Shadow by Hugh Holton

Author:Hugh Holton
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Tom Doherty Associates
Published: 2011-03-01T00:00:00+00:00

Cal Ferris was at the top of his game tonight. He would remain at his villa on Saint Martin until early April. Then he would start a six-week engagement at the Luxor Hotel in Las Vegas. In late June he would begin filming a western in Los Angeles, and in the fall fly to New York to tape his own network television special. His time in the Caribbean would be profitably spent, as besides lying around the pool with the bevy of young things who gravitated to him wherever he went, he would also work on the new comedy routine he would stage in Las Vegas.

Ferris had been regaling his guests with one of his comedic anecdotes when he saw the tall black man in the white dinner jacket enter the courtyard. This had to be Mike Holt, and Ferris was forced to admit that the author was an impressive-looking dude. The comedian was about to disengage himself from his other guests to go over and welcome the author when Julianna Saint came in.

As always, Cal’s neighbor from the top of the mountain looked like she’d just stepped off the cover of a slick fashion magazine. She was wearing a low-cut, full-length, off-white gown that adhered to every curve of her spectacular body like a second skin. Her black hair was worn up on top of her head, and the diamonds adorning her ears, throat, wrists, and hands sparkled brilliantly in the patio lights. Her simple act of walking into the courtyard imbued his party with an added dimension of charm and class.

Cal was on his way over to greet the author and his neighbor when Holt turned around to face Julianna. The two people stood less than a foot apart, and the comedian detected something quite dramatic taking place between them. The only way that Ferris could characterize what was happening was that a bolt of emotional electricity had passed between them. They seemed frozen in place until Cal reached them and said, “Good evening, folks, and welcome to the party.”

Neither of his guests acknowledged him or moved for almost thirty seconds. Then Julianna smiled and extended her hand to the man in the white tuxedo. “Good evening, sir. My name is Julianna Saint.”

The man bowed at the waist and gently kissed the back of her hand. Straightening up, he said, “How do you do, Ms. Saint? My name is Michael Holt.”

“The famous author?”

“I don’t know about famous, but I am an author.”

“I have all your books. If you’ll be staying on the island for a few days, it would be a great favor to me if you would autograph them.”

“It would be my pleasure, Julianna.”

Cal Ferris decided that it was time to interrupt this budding mutual admiration society. “Welcome to my party, Julianna. Mike, we spoke on the phone earlier. I’m Cal Ferris.”

The introductions out of the way, Ferris decided to play Cupid. “Julianna, you’re no stranger to my house. Why don’t you show Mike around?”

Without hesitation she stepped forward and took Holt’s arm.

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