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Page 177
about it. I must have put a foot wrong and slipped."
His eyes shifted as Linda simply stared. She had been frightened; now she was angry. "I don't mind covering for your family when someone does a peeping-tom act, especially when there wasn't anything to see, but attempted murder is a little different."
Peter's eyes came back, challenging, and he said harshly, "There wasn't anyone here with me. When I slipped, I must have felt as if there had been a blow on my backor maybe I'm sensitive about being so clumsy. I was alone. Who could have pushed me?"
"You weren't alone. I saw someone moving in the shadows. And when I ran over to you, whoever it was slipped into the passage. I didn't see the person, but I saw the door close."
Peter continued to stare down at her, but Linda knew he couldn't see the expression on her face because her back was to the light, and she had deliberately kept her voice flat. After a moment he turned his head and looked out at the quiet sea.
"The ship's movement might have shut the door, and the way the light shifts might have made you think you saw someone. I say there was no one here. What could you prove? Let it be, Linda. I'll be careful. Nothing will come of it."
He spoke so quietly, with such sad resignation, that Linda found herself repressing tears. Peter was too, she thought, although his voice

 
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