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18

It was Sunday evening Cindy and I were atfor Restaurant Express to deliver our food I don&039;t cook, unless you count cereal or PB&J&039;s The last hetti with toofroe disposal We considereda failure and decided that I wasnext to each other onrooood view of clear skies and open water Bob Seger crooned in the background Our knees touched When our knees touched I usually beca new Cindy had brought her orange Poer was likely to pee on ot excited every time she saw me I have learned to make it a point for her to see me first outside

"So am I still useful in other areas?" I asked Cindy now

"Are you harkening back to e have cohetti Debacle?"

"Yes"

Cindy was dressed in jean shorts and a yellow tank top Both showed off her naturally wonderful tan She had a lot of Italian in her, which accounted for the coloring Her brown hair was pulled back in a loose ponytail Her face was smooth and without make up She didn&039;t need make up, anyway But when she didLord help lass of chardonnay

"Is one of those purposes my usefulness in the bedroom?"

"I have uses for you in the bedroom"

"We have time before our dinner arrives"

She looked at her watch "Should be here in ten minutes"

"Like I said, we have tie laps around the bed, I served one of my useful purposes

Twice

We were now on the balcony The balcony was devoid of last night&039;s cigarette butts and Oreo cru cheese tortellini and drinking chardonnay

"Does Sanchez have any idea who threatened you?" asked Cindy

"He doesn&039;t recognize hi to ask his cop buddies around here"

"Who do you think this guy works for?" she asked

"I&039; to bet for someone who doesn&039;t want me to find the true killer"

"So you think the boy&039;s innocent?"

"Now more than ever"

"What do the police think?"

"They think I&039; new They think this is an open and shut case and resent the fact that I&039; them fools and liars and incompetent"

"Are you?"

"In this case, yes"

"Will you call your father?"

I felt my shoulders bunch with irritation, but let it slide She was only trying to help

"No"

She pattedme "Of course not You don&039;t need him You are your own man I&039;m sorry if I offended I just worry about you"

"I know"

We were quiet Ginger was chasing a fly that was al as her

"The man who came to your office, he was a hired killer?"

"Yes"

"You could see it in his eyes?"

"He looked like a shark Dead eyes"

"You so her plate away She had eaten most of it, but had left exactly three tortellinis I was still hopeful they would go forgotten But the worin

"Youthe final throes of passion"

"Final throes of passion?"

"Means before I climax"

"Thank you for that clarification No, I&039;oing to kill the guy But you eed from that look, sort of came back to your senses I always considered that man lucky to be alive, lucky that you found yourself before you killed hiht, nothing more The man had felt up Cindy on her way to the bathroom Bad move

She suddenly leaned over and kissedto do She tookrooether

She said, "You were a devastating football player And you ain It is a violent sport that you excel at I would not love you if you were not always able to coht and even kill"

We were silent for a few minutes

"Almost makes you think I am at the apex of evolution," I said "A handso, emotionally sophisticated brute"

She put her head on my shoulder

I was on a roll "I will even permit you to take me to your classes for show and tell, as an exa And in contrast we can take your last boyfriend and have him stand next to me"

"Are you quite done?"

"Quite"

"Will you need protection?" she asked, wrapping her ar me close to her chest

"I can take care ofup and down, doing her best to leap onto the couch, butthe mark by about a foot I reached down and picked her up and set her in my lap She turned three circles quickly, and then found a nook and buried her cold nose where our ar?" she asked

"I a"

When I looked down at her hand, I saw that she was holding soer It was a black cap The cap to , si But she didn&039;t say anything Didn&039;t have to

I held her close She quit playing with the cap and held it tight in her fist

19

I parked my car in front of the murder site The same decayed heap of flowers still ht have been a new teddy bear in the front row, but it was hard to tell Anyway, he was a cute little guy holding a red heart balloon that said: "I Miss You"

I got out and headed up the stone pathway through the grass, passing a limestone circular fountain that was currently turned off Leaves were collecting in the drain, and I suspected itexpectations, would be turned on again

When I reached the door, it swung open as if on its own volition

Actually, not on its own volition A cute little girl, perhaps eight, was standing in the doorway, staring up at e of Amanda

"Is your "