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"You'll never find her, you can't bring her back"

It was too late or too early, there was no one I could call The only person I kneho ht be aas Mickey Ballou, and he'd be too drunk by now, and I didn't have a nuet about the girl"

Was it Paula I'd been drea about? I closed my eyes and tried to picture her

When I awoke a second ti I was up and half-dressed before I remembered the phone call, and at first I wasn't entirely certain if it had actually happened My towel, tossed over a chair and still damp from my shower, provided physical evidence I hadn't drea me off a case I had already prettyuarded "Hello," and Willa said, "Matt?"

"Oh, hi," I said

"Did I wake you? You didn't sound like yourself"

"I was being cagey"

"I beg your pardon?"

"I woke up to an anonyjust now I thought I ht be in for more of the same"

"It wasn't h I'll adht see you last night"

"I was tied up until late I spent half the night at an AA inmill"

"That's a nice balanced existence"

"Isn't it? By the time I was done, it was too late to call"

"Did you find out anything about as bothering Eddie?"

"No But all of a sudden the other case is alive again"

"The other case? You ht"

"Just because soiven you a reason to pick it up again?"

"That's just part of it"

Durkin said, "Christ, Mickey Ballou The Butcher Boy How does he fit into it?"

"I don't know I spent a couple of hours with hi up in class these days, aren't you? Wha'd you do, take him out to dinner, watch hian's"

"A few blocks froht? I know the joint It's a dive They say he owns it"

"So I understand"

"Except of course he can't, since the SLA doesn't like to let convicted felons put their na it for hi canasta?"

"Drinking and telling lies He was drinking Irish whiskey"

"You were drinking coffee"

"Coke They didn't have coffee"

"You're lucky they had Coke, a pigpen like that What the hell has he got to do with Pauline? Not Pauline, Paula What's he got to do with her?"

"I'm not sure," I said, "but the machine went tilt when he saw her picture, and a couple of hours later somebody woke me up to tell me to drop the case"

"Ballou?"

"No, it wasn't his voice I don't knoho it was I have so solid Tell me about Ballou, Joe"

"Tell you what?"

"What do you know about hi cage"

"Then why isn't he in one?"

"The worst ones never are Nothing sticks to theets amnesia Or he disappears It's funny the way they disappear You ever hear the story, Ballou's running all over town showing people a guy's head?"