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"Coun in thea client" Bert's voice held that patronizing tone that people use on children Now, little girl, you know this is for your own good

Bert didn't care aboutHe just didn't want to spook Gaynor The iven us a check for five thousand dollars And that was just to drive out and talk to hireed to take his case A lot of money Bert was all excited about that part I was skeptical After all, Bert didn't have to raise the corpse I did

The trouble was, Bert was probably right I wouldn't need the gun in broad daylight Probably "All right, open the trunk"

Bert opened the trunk of his nearly brand-new Volvo I was already taking off the jacket He stood in front ofa gun in the trunk What would they do, lock the doors and scream for help?

I folded the holster straps around the gun and laid it in the clean trunk It smelled like new car, plastic and faintly unreal Bert shut the trunk, and I stared at it as if I could still see the gun

"Are you co?" he asked

"Yeah," I said I didn't like leaving n? Bert motioned for me to come on

I did, walking carefully over the gravel in et to wear lots of pretty colors, but et the comfortable shoes

Bert was staring at the door, smile already set on his face It was his best professional srey eyes sparkled with good cheer It was a ht switch He'd wear the sa as you wanted to pay to have her raised from the dead

The door opened, and I knew Bert had been wrong about ht, but the orange polo shirt he wore strained over his chest The black sport jacket seemed too small, as if when he moved the searown Black acid-washed jeans showed off a small waist, so he looked like someone had pinched him in the middle while the clay was still wet His hair was very blond He looked at us silently His eyes were elimpse of shoulder holster under the sport jacket and resisted an urge to kick Bert in the shins

Either nored it "Hello, I'hn and this isus" Bert sly

The bodyguard--what else could he be--moved away from the door Bert took that for an invitation and walked inside I followed, not at all sure I wanted to Harold Gaynor was a very rich uard Maybe people had threatened hih money to keep hired muscle around whether they need it or not

Or uns and muscle, and ht

The air-conditioning was on too high and the sweat gelled instantly We followed the bodyguard down a long central hall that was paneled in dark, expensive-looking wood The hall runner looked oriental and was probably handmade

Heavy wooden doors were set in the right-hand wall The bodyguard opened the doors and again stood to one side while alked through The roo no one ever read any of the books The place was ceiling to floor in dark wood bookcases There was even a second level of books and shelves reached by an elegant sweep of narrow staircase All the books were hardcover, all the sae The furniture was, of course, red leather with brass buttons worked into it

A man sat near the far wall He sein an electric wheelchair, with a ss

"Mr Vaughn and Ms Blake, how nice of you to drive out" His voice ith his face, pleasant, damn near amiable

A slender black man sat in one of the leather chairs He was over six feet tall, exactly how s stretched out in front of his were taller than I was His brown eyes watched raded later

The blond bodyguard went to lean against the bookcases He couldn't quite cross his ar You really shouldn't lean against a wall and try to look tough unless you can cross your arms Ruins the effect

Mr Gaynor said, "You've uard "That's Bruno"