Chapter 411

• It was the expression in the woman’s eyes and the total silence in the room that alerted Claude.
• The young man moved with the swiftness of the boxer he was and was across the room even as the woman turned and lunged at him, a deadly-looking knife in her hand. She swung her arm and caught him in the shoulder, for he was encumbered with the sling on his right arm but he still struck out, his left fist connecting with her chin and then, to his shock, the woman sprang across the room, brandishing her knife, her eyes flashing with rage and hate as he spun around. She raised her hand and made to fling something at the motionless frame of his brother who lay, forlorn and unaware of the commotion between them. Claude leapt forward and kicked out , his booted foot connecting with the woman’s wrist, catching her unawares and she let out a muffled oath as she spun away again.
• She was quick, he thought in some amazement, for someone who looked overweight she moved swiftly, precisely.