Heidi sighed, giving the ocean predators a final glance, before turning to the two detectives. Benlow had inched around, doing his best not to excite Rich, until he could slide the gaff hook out from under the lounge with his foot, and keeping his eyes locked on Heidi, he stood on it to hide it as best he could.

"Unfortunately, gentlemen, I am out of food for our friends, so we will have to improvise." She pointed the knife she was holding at the bandage on Benlow's leg. "I think if we take that off and give your leg a little squeeze we should have what we need."

"You're crazy!" Rich began to tug at his wrist, pulling Benlow off balance, and instead of fighting back he let him pull him over, and he fell, covering the hook with his body.

"Tut, tut, such a big brave man going to cry in front of a woman?"

Heidi gave Rich a swift chop to the side of the neck, felling him next to Allen, then she leaned down and slashed the bandage away from his leg. It was now or never. He rolled quickly onto his back and lashed out with the gaff. Heidi screamed in surprise, dropping the knife and staggering back against the rail, her hands grasping the hook where it was buried in her stomach.

Everything seemed to stop for a moment. Rich blinked groggily mouthing a stunned, oh. Benlow pushed himself up onto his haunches, his eyes wide at what he had done and Heidi looking at them both in disbelief. The moment passed and time sped up again. Benlow, dragging a shocked Rich, launched himself across the deck, hitting her in the midsection with his shoulder and toppling her over the side.

The two men gaped down at the water and Heidi's expression, first of astonishment then realization and then horror as she felt the huge jaws of the predator clamp down on her waist with excruciating pain. With a final glimpse of the two gob-smacked policemen, she disappeared below the surface. Rich immediately lost his stomach contents after her, and hung on the rail retching while Benlow sank to the deck, shaking uncontrollably.

ööööö

The woman turned on the recorder, announced her name, the name of the interviewee and the case number, then jotted some notes on her pad, crossed her legs the other way and pushed her glasses up on her nose as she contemplated the man across from her. A strand of the otherwise perfect hair looped low over the right side of her forehead, and the light from the window beside her made her glass lens opaque.

"Do you still have the dream?"

"Oh yes."

"So sleeping is still a problem then?"

"More often than not."

"Are you following the recommendations I made?"

"All of them."

"And does it help?"

"You have no idea." He tried a smile, but she shook a finger at him.

The woman made another note and tapped the pen against her teeth. "Allen, unless you can accept with certainty that things won't be as they were before, I'm going to have to recommend you be released from service. permanently."

"You'd do that?"

"It's my professional opinion, and it's for your own good. Your future."

He sighed and grappled with his fingers. "My future." He looked at her and smiled again. "I guess my future is in your hands then."

"Allen, I'm sorry it has to be this way, but in the end you'll see I was right. What you experienced can be damaging if it isn't treated properly. You should consider going away somewhere completely different from your usual environment. Maybe Greece or Italy or even Germany."

"You can convince them I need this?"

"It's not a matter of convincing them, Allen, it's my professional recommendation for your health."

"What about compensation, I'm not Trump here? What do I live on without my career?"

"Somehow I think you will manage very well, but I'll see what I can do."

Benlow gave a huge sigh and blew out a stream of air as he rose from his chair. The woman rose to meet him and they shook hands formally.

"Thanks, doc. I know you tried hard."

"Then help me out, Allen, and you keep trying just as hard."

"Oh I will. I promise."

She snapped off the recorder and they walked together to the door, and she watched him leave through the outer office before closing her door.

"Yes, yes, yes." Benlow muttered to himself, careful not to look too gleeful. He skipped down the steps to the street, grabbed a cab back to his apartment for some things and then enjoyed a light lunch before heading back to headquarters, and immediately making an appointment with his superior.

His chief had all the papers and the police psychiatrist's recommendation on his desk when Allen entered and took a seat in front of the wide desk.

"You must be special, Benlow. The doc had this stuff faxed over before your feet hit the street."

"I'm pleased at her attention to my well-being, sir."

"Yeah, well. I'm going to agree with the recommendation, Detective." Warjowski sneered gleefully. "As of today you are off the force. Permanently retired at one quarter pay." He held up a meaty hand. "Before you say anything, it is the very best I can do, trust me."

"Well it's certainly better than nothing, sir." Said Allen, coldly.

"It is. Listen, Benlow. Do as the doc says, get far away for a while and shove that crap out your head. How's the leg anyway?"

"Healing fine, sir."

"Good. Take care of it." The chief stood and held out his hand, pumping Allen's insincerely.

"Your concern is touching, sir." Benlow strode quickly from the office, went directly to payroll and signed all the necessary papers, cleaned out his desk and hit the street running.

ööööö

A hazy sun filtered through the mottled clouds and shadows danced on the marble balcony of the Adonis Palace Arms Hotel. A youthful waiter, formally attired in a white jacket and bow tie, canted his head in appreciation of the tip signed for on the bill and slipped deftly away. A solo violin strain faded in and out on the light sea breeze, and the filmy, white lace curtains covering the opening to the inside of the villa presented a slow, graceful ballet to the balcony occupants.

"The best advice I ever took. Alla nostra, baby."

"The best imbursement I ever received. Alla nostra, yourself."

A musical clink of crystal sounded almost like a gunshot in the peace and quiet of the mountainside villa. Allen Benlow drank happily and smiled at the sky in total exultation. He set the glass down and tilted his head toward his partner.

"I'm trying to keep my promise, doc. You know, the one about helping you with trying hard."

Doctor of Psychiatry, Rita Davenport, smirked at the remark and subconsciously ran a slow hand down her thigh. "You're coming along, Allen. A number of sessions are still required though I think."

"Do I need an appointment, or can I just dump some more of the contents from that briefcase at your gorgeous feet?"

"Appointments are so stuffy, don't you think? I like the other approach. I've always liked the other approach." Rita Davenport sat up and then stood casting her shadow across his face. "How did you manage to get that off the boat while you were handcuffed to the other poor policeman?"

"Rich had the key in his uniform pocket." He laughed. "Dumb, eh? We all overlooked that little titbit. When we got hold of ourselves, we unlocked them and I sent him below to search while I said I'd try and radio from the boat for help. Told him I couldn't walk."

"So then how-"

"I told him I couldn't walk. Didn't mean I couldn't. When he came back all excited with the briefcase that she was carrying when she pulled the gun on me, we stood on the deck and opened it together. Rich got all hot and bothered about how Uplander was going to tear his hair out when they showed up with the loot.

While he was carrying on, I just gave him a quick push and over he went. I grabbed the money, slipped it into one of the waterproof bags she used for storing lounge cushions, lowered it over the side, and clipped it to the bottom of the sea ladder. The suitcase went into the water with Rich. He was trying to climb onto it as I drove the boat away, when the shark came back. Swallowed the whole shebang.

"That all sounds so very cold, Allen." She stood over him, swaying.

"Yeah, well when you spend your life in a thankless job and an opportunity comes along to get out wealthy, it's easy to be cold."

"That easy?"

"Some things are. When I finally got out of the hospital I went back to the boat, waited my chance and retrieved the bag, transferred the contents to my own bag and flew home."

She turned and stood hip shot, looking over the railing to the sea below. Some things are. How perfectly true. She turned back, smiling behind the rim of her wine glass, and casually stepped one leg over his lounge, leaning down over him.

"Any questions?"

He grinned, adjusting himself beneath her. "It just strikes me funny."

"What's that?"

"That I did what Heidi was going to do, for the same prize."

"Yes." She smirked, resting warmly on his chest. "Only it was the woman that died in that case."

The sun suddenly popped out from behind the clouds and an intense heat covered the marble balcony, adding to the fire in Allen as, Rita stretched out on top of him, her words echoing in his head with a frighteningly disconcerting ring.

THE END

Once again, many thanks to those who persevered through this and left generous votes.