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"I doubt it They hardly ever hang woht shoulder made me adjust the drape of my arms round the back of the chair The five-link chain between led "You’ve no body, no credible witnesses How could I have done hi, helpless female and all?"

"I’ve better" He bent to one side, took so from his case, and placed it on the table between us A small, flat square, carefully swaddled in soft black cloth He didn’t have to unwrap it to shohat it was

I stared at it, fascinated "You’ve glass"

"Aye, I’ve glass" He braced his hands on the table and leaned over it "Why did you kill hilass blank, the threat empty Unless--"Show it to me"

Tom unwrapped the cloth to expose the plate inside

Silverblack mottled the slick surface with splotches and lines They for dock, a tall wo This tint showed the finer details The tears in her bodice The blood on her mouth The iron spike she was just about to thrust into the lass "That’s not what it looks like"

He picked up the a Lucien Dredh the man’s chest, then" Hot blue eyes shifted to the remains of my bodice "And I suppose that’s not Dredmore’s blood all over your tits"

"No" Well, most of it wasn’t his blood

"You’ve a horimaced "Only child"

Tom checked his pocket watch "After you didn’t kill Dredmore, did someone else kick him over the side of the dock and send him for a bathe?"

"I don’t recall" I wished I could explain, but he’d never believe it "Tommy--"

"Inspector Doyle to the likes of you"

"Inspector Doyle" So much for the tender bud of that relationship "I did not stab Lucien Dredmore in the heart or pitch his ass in the bay I may have wanted to--I may have even dreaes being filed against lanced down No wonder the floor and the seat felt tacky; the chap they’d brought in before raced himself Maybe the Yard hadn’t cleaned it up very well in order to break down the resistance of subsequent suspects The stench was certainly working wonders onhere?" No, he couldn’t, thatbastard Everyone knows that They wanted hied to make it look like I killed him, and we’re both done for Oldest trick in the book"

"So you’re being fraht face "Yes"

"There’s just one problem with that"

"What?"

"I’lass across the table at me "I was there at the docks the entire time, Kit I watched you kill him I arrested you at the scene" His blond brows forht blue eyes "And I will testify"

So he would, because that was the sort of ht have been h to keepo when Zarath had shoved that spirit stone down my throat

I had to finish this

"I’ll say that we’ve slept together," I said "My barrister will use it to destroy your credibility--"

Pain exploded acrosshand connected with my cheek I spat some blood-streaked saliva on the floor and rolled the bottoain Use your fist this ti bitch that I aoad hi my neck

"So you can use the bruises to discredit me?" He shook his head "What happened, Kit? What did he do to you? How in God’s nahed "I’d rather bed a jackal"

Doyle took so from his pocket and tossed it down in front of me The last time I’d seen the old chain, Dred at it and the crystal-encrusted stone pendant hanging froh air to foret this?"