There are dark whispers in oil circles that cartel members, especially Saudi Arabia, want to keep much of their new money out of American banks and markets because of "post September 11th scrutiny .Official statistics on the ownership of American Treasury bills, for example, show that OPEC countries' holdings are around $44 billion, $8 billion less than two years ago.
So passed months, then years, with leads pursued then dropped, yet with dark whispers persisting among those who knew the man: Before he was killed, they said, Mr. Gelb had scuffled with, and then arrested, a well-known gangster at a diner in Queens.
One of Dolores's sisters, 8-year-old Marina, is literally sold by their father to a sinister colleague to pay off his gambling debts; neighbors are told that she has been sent to live with relatives in Malta, but there are dark whispers of child prostitution.
Then came the dark whispers about the nature of his relationship with boys.
Scientists strain their ears for that dark matter whisper against the background roar.
"It looks so wonderful in the dark," Ms. Fleming whispered as she watched the hourglasses glow and time tick by.
The spangly sequin has long been the object of many a fashion sneer; its sartorial past is a dark one, whispering of cruise ships and holiday camps, ballroom dancing and party-going grannies.
As we descended the stairs in the pitch dark, Abu Omar whispered that the man was a taxi-driver from Baghdad and was probably from the Mukhabarat, Saddam's security apparatus.
And though Dog is around to whisper dark motivating words into their ears, it is intriguingly open to debate as to whether the Devil really made them do it.
In an era of the all-volunteer force and Thank Yous For Your Service and the post-9/11 terror wars, going after someone's military record is usually left to dark Rove-ian whisper campaigns and the bowels of the internet commentariat.
