“I sat with my feet up on my desk and started to make a mental list of the people who’d want me dead. Once I got to fifty, I decided this wasn’t helping.”

“It was the sort of day when deciding what to wear is like planning a military operation. Believe me – I have considerable experience of both.”

“I am Melody Malone, with ice in my heart and a kiss on my lips. In the city that never sleeps and should never blink, mysteries are my business.”

“Let me through – I’m a doctor.’ My heart beat a little faster, and I lingered just long enough to be sure he’d used the indefinite article. But the man was short and bald and rather ugly – not at all like any Doctor I’d consult. I hope. If ‘consult’ is the right word.”

“Everything about me is pretty and a lot of it is shrewd. So I had a pretty shrewd idea what was going on.”

“Complicated” is my middle name.’ Actually, it’s not my middle name – any more than Malone is my last name. Whether Melody is really my first name is, well, complicated.”

“I raised an alluring eyebrow. Alluringly.”