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She hurried up to the two of the said

"Kelsey Donovan, Dr Lee," Liam told her "Kelsey is Avery’s business partner and best friend He was staying with her"

"He’s going to be all right? Has he come to yet?" Kelsey asked

"We’ve done scans, and we’re not seeing anything worriso well by all our standards, so we don’t believe that he was deprived of oxygen long enough to cause dae We’re concerned that he hasn’t come to yet, but such an injury to the head can, naturally, cause a co o in and sit with hio ahead and talk to him Don’t upset him, but talk to him Maybe your presence will help"

He pointed to a rooh the door

Avery looked much better than he had when she and Jonas had first fished him from the water His color was back There was an IV needle in his ar lines Kelsey had spent enough time with her dad in the hospital to knohich monitored his respiratory function and his heart, and both see at an even keel

She sat by his side and took his hand in hers "Avery, I’m here I’m so sorry! I wish I knehat happened I shouldn’t have left you out there alone I’ht that his hand twitched She could swear that there was movement behind his closed eyelids

But he re around his heart; it was horrible to watch Kelsey sit next to Avery and be powerless to lessen her worry and her pain He thought about her life, herwhen she was young as well, and then the news about Cutter Merlin

And a friend, who had nearly died, in her house, as her guest

But he couldn’t do anything except watch her sit there

He called down to the station and was glad that Ricky Long didn’t see overtime at all Apparently Ricky’s experience at the house had edly pursuing every task Liam handed to him

"The crime-scene unit combed the property They looked for prints on the beach, but by the time everyone had come and worked on the victiet anything They tried the dock, but there wasn’t really anything to dust" He was quiet for a minute "Lieutenant, I have to tell you, so They’re not sure that there was a crime They think that Kelsey’s friend just fell off the dock and bumped his head" Ricky cleared his throat "And they didn’t find a large black shadow in the water"

"Thanks, Ricky I didn’t think that they’d find anything"

"No?"

"There was no trace, no clues, no leads, after a man was murdered We know that he was oing on at the Merlin place, and I will find out what it is"

"I believe you, Lieutenant," Ricky said He was quiet again for a hosts?" he asked

"Pardon?"

"I still swear that arht I was there with you"

Liahosts? It wasn’t a matter of belief He knew that they existed But he didn’t believe that the Merlin house was cursed He believed in a very live culprit, influenced by a belief that words on a page and incantations could help hiot in the as si out there who murdered Gary White," he said at last "I believe the sa to get hiood," Ricky said "He has to be really good The Merlin house is on a little peninsula One way on, one way off"

He walked the street, aware of the people around hih Late Tuesday night

He walked, and he closed into hione by, all that he had done, how he had waited, waited and watched, believing that if he was patient, the reould be his in the end

He felt sorry for himself

He’d looked, and he’d looked, and he’d looked, but he hadn’t found it He’d been careful, then careless Then he’d tried to return everything as it had been

He’d had the house to hiain All to himself For hours He had searched, but he was back to where he had begun

The book was gone

The bastard cop must have taken it

And he couldn’t find the reliquary

He still needed Kelsey Donovan for that

He tried to tell hiht need the book to find the reliquary She didn’t knohere it was If she did, he would know it But Cutter Merlin had left her the clues She would find it He had to make sure that he was ready when she did

He looked up at the moon He had the book that would explain what had been done He had the book that had the Crowley rites in it