Below the yellow fruit,
Lies the screaming root.
Close your ears, tear it from the ground,
Dry it out and start to pound,
And when you start your endless sleep,
Beside your casket, none will weep.
‘I don’t understand,’ Morgan said after she’d finished. ‘Why do you think this is a death threat?’
‘Are you saying it isn’t? It mentions a casket.’
‘It’s a pretty flower tucked inside some bad poetry. I don’t think we need to bother the SAS just yet.’
Hunt said nothing. The sweat on his brow was rolling down hisface now. Morgan hoped Yosef was picking it up. She was scheduled to go to a commercial break, but she decided to press ahead. ‘Although, I’m not surprised you feel you need protection,’ she continued.
‘I’m not sure I follow.’
‘Does the name Anita Fowles mean anything to you?’
‘I don’t recollect—’
‘She’s the law student who unsuccessfully sued you after a picture of her naked found its way on to your website.’
Hunt shrugged. Smirked a little. ‘The courts have already ruled on that matter.’
‘Yes, they have,’ Morgan confirmed. She paused a beat then added, ‘Are you scared of women, Kane?’
Hunt laughed. A bead of sweat dropped off his nose and he hacked out a cough. ‘Of course not. What’s there to be scared of?’
‘You tell me?’
‘Women aren’t scary, Morgan. Not even you. But not everyone’s in as fortunate a position as me; some mendofeel intimidated. It’s why I wroteThe Chad Manifesto.’
‘But my understanding is whenever you think of women your little thing shrivels in on itself. It doesn’t matter that you’re popping Viagra like they’re chocolate-coated peanuts, your soldier no longer stands to attention.’
‘Oh my giddy aunt,’ Justine said. ‘Camera one on Hunt’s face. Now, Yosef!’
‘On it.’
Even the glare of the quartz lamps couldn’t hide the flush that started at Hunt’s neck then quickly ran up his face. He clenched his jaw. A vein on his forehead began ticking.
‘Beautiful,’ Justine said.
‘What the hell are you talking about?’ Hunt cried. ‘I’ve never used Viagra! Every woman I hook up with, and there have been hundreds, has an evening they never forget. And it’s one hundred per cent natural.’
‘I think that’s the first truthful thing you’ve said all night,’ Morgan said, her voice dangerously sweet. ‘The women you take homedohave an evening they can never forget. Even after professional therapy.’
‘I really don’t know where you got that from, but if I were you I’d sack your researchers. You might find yourself in serious legal …’
He trailed off when Morgan revealed the prop she’d been holding back from everyone, even Justine. She upended a tote bag and something fell on the glass table.
It was penis-shaped, made of black silicone and attached to a harness. It looked both sleazy and pitiful in equal measure.
‘What the hell is that?’ Allan asked, his eyes glued to the monitor.