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Sean rose and Katie followed suit The aunts stood as well, ready to walk their guests to the door

"David, darling, you ain, too-anytime You’re family, and we do love you so!" Esther told him

"Of course But I want to take you out"

"I’m afraid it will have to be somewhere quiet these days," Esther said "We’ll talk!"

They both stood on tiptoe to kiss David then Sean goodbye When they ca Katie, she asked, "Would you two trust er for a few days? I would absolutely love to read it I’ll be very careful with it"

"Well, of course!" Ester said "We’ll be delighted for you to read it"

"And we know you’ll take care with it," Alice said

She thanked the his head "I’ to be careful!" she whispered to hi a fa at the two of theood care of it," Alice said "We’re not worried in the least"

"I’ll defend it with my life," Katie promised

"Good Lord, don’t do that, child," Alice said, s "Your life is worth farback One of the streets was blocked for construction; Katie hadn’t intended on cos of tourists, but she did so

"Good God, what is that?" Sean demanded from the backseat

"What?" she asked Her eyes were on the road Tourists didn’t have the sense to look before they stepped off the sidewalk

A red light allowed her the chance to look One of the shops had a Robert the Doll mannequin out in front, except it was oversize

"A balloon?" Sean asked, puzzled

David was looking out the , as well "No, I think it ot soly"

Katie kept driving She could see that there was a line to get into the museum where Stella Martin had been killed and laid out

Stella was still at thein to see where she had lain

"Capitalism at its best," Sean murmured

"We do need to survive as a city," Katie said

She drove on, turning down her street and bringing the car into the drive "Sean, should I back out and park in the street so that you can reach your car?"

"No I’o to sleep now, I ain by toot out Sean headed toward the house and then looked back He strode over to theht, so off with a bang, but there is a killer on the loose Katie, if you two don’t coht, youout"

He stared at David

"Of course," David told hiht, it’s a little bit weird, but I actually prefer it if you stay here at night," he said

Neither of them moved

Sean waved a hand in the air and walked on into the house

"I’o in for a while and promise me that you’ll stay there?" David asked her

She lifted the journal "Sure But you knoork to to just love karaoke," he assured her

She kissed his cheek and headed into the house "Lock it!" he called to her, and then started walking

Katie went on in and set the ledger on the dining-room table She wished that she had the books from the library as well, but they were at David’s house

She couldn’t read more than one at a time anyway, she told herself

It had been hot outside She ran upstairs, jumped into the shower and afterward slid into the coolest cotton dress she could find The shower refreshed her, and she went back downstairs She set the kettle on the range top to boil Now that she was cooled down, she was in the mood for a cup of hot tea

She turned away froainst her chest, and seeler was here

She looked to the door, and saw that it reht have been a drea like a dreaht that he was dead

But now she knew

How she had ever iht have broken into the house, she didn’t know