“I thought you would be working today,” she said. I answered her, “I decided to take the afternoon off. Part of the perks of owning your own bu...siness.” Then she said, “Well, that is part of the reason I came over. “ I asked, “What reason would that be?” She replied, “Jane, was going to help me with my resume. I need to find a job.” Then I said, “I’m looking for a new secretary. Do you think you would be interested?” She smiled and said, “Wow, that sounds great. What do I need to do?” I. It's just so pretty out there, and this is the kind of conversation it's easier for me to have with my sister if I'm not looking at her."The occupants of the blue Econoline van spotted Harry's car once again. Fearing they'd been made, they parked their vehicle at the far end of the lot and watched, waiting for Harry to show.Harry smiled; a tight, grim, bitter smile. He turned from the window."But you're right, it's a conversation best had face to face," he said, gazing into Nicki's eyes.. Claire and I didn’t want to rush into anything – our love, marriage and family were too important for that – and so we decided to do nothing for a month and see if we still felt the same after a month, or we’d changed our minds or felt different about things.But after the month of our self-imposed waiting period, Claire and I both agreed that this was something we wanted to try.I know we both felt nervous and excited as we took this decision.The wording of that fateful ad we placed read:. There won’t be a ransom demand.’ ‘Oh, good,’ her smile turned wry. ‘I doubt my husband would pay a dime for me.’ ‘Then he is a bigger fool than I thought.’ His comment barely registered as she was busy looking around, and was startled to see the few small windows in the room had been blacked out. The door to the small bathroom had been removed from its hinges, and a heavy door had been installed at the foot of the stairs that led up to the kitchen. ‘You’re admiring my handiwork? You can’t see.