Colin Cotterill - Curse of the Pogo Stick

Siri blushed. “What girl?”

“The one you avoid mentioning. The one who gave you the tapestry.”

“Well, why…? There’s no reason why she…”

“It’s all right, my husband. She only stole a little part of your heart. There’s plenty left for me. More than I deserve. All I’m saying is that if something did happen to your friends, if they were killed, I believe you’d have some confirmation of it by now.”

“But what about the pogo stick?”

“I think you should assume they discarded it on the journey. I can’t imagine why they’d want to take a curse with them in the first place. It wouldn’t surprise me if they deliberately left it where the PL soldiers would find it. I bet they wanted to pass on the curse to the other side.”

Siri thought about the commander and the trappings of his new corrupt life. Of all the people who deserved a curse…

“You might be right,” he said.

Madame Daeng got to her feet and undid another button.

“I’m always right. Now, where were we?”

Siri smiled. “I’m not sure I’m in the mood anymore.”

“Oh, Dr. Siri Paiboun, sweet, sexy Dr. Siri. We’ll see about that.”

And one more button eased its way from its slit.