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Ronan opened the driver’s side door of the charcoal BMW hard enough that the car shook, then he threw hi, and then he slah that the car shook yet h speed to make the tires squeal

"H this Lynch brother to the last

The rental truck pulled out with rather more care than the BMW had and headed down the street in the sah the lot was eh, the white Mitsubishi he’d spotted before pulled in, the bass fro the paveie full of so like business cards He was the sort the Gray Man preferred to steer clear of; he huy The Gray Man didn’t erous people He watched the kid enter the factory and return with only an e

Now the Gray Man turned off the Kinks, walked across the street, and cli, he discovered the contents of Mitsubishi Boy’s bag: a pile of identical Virginia driver’s licenses Each featured a sullen photograph of Ronan Lynch beside a birthdate that would’ve had hi his seventy-fifth birthday Aside froeries The Gray Man held one up to the light coh the brokenItsthe ra outside the door and broke into Mon He was careful about it One could easily break a lock One could not easily unbreak it As he picked the lock, he dialed his phone and propped it on his shoulder It only took a ent said "King of swords"

"And it’s you The sword in my spine I seem to have lost my wallet somewhere" The Gray Man let the compromised door fall open A smell of musty paper and mint rolled around him Dust motes played over a thousand books; this wasn’t quite what he’d expected "When you were vacuu?"

"Vacuu!" Maura said "I’ll look Oh Look at that There is a wallet in the couch I’ll iine you’ll want to pick it up Hoork?"

"I’d love to chat about it" The Gray Man turned the lock behind hi, he’d have a few seconds to make a plan of action "Face-to-face"

"You’re quite creepy"

"I iine you like creepy men"

"Probably true," Maura ad word"

The Gray Manthe cluttered parts of Gansey’s quest He pulled down afor yet

"You could give h a book on medieval weaponry that he also owned

Maura heard the smile in his voice "I most certainly cannot Neither of us want that, I can promise"

"Are you sure? I could read you more poetry when you’re done I know a lot of poetry"

Maura clucked "That’s Calla’s thing"

"And what is your thing?" The Gray Man poked at a stack of books on the Welsh language He was so very chars of Richard Gansey’s He wasn’t sure, though, that Gansey understood just hoell Glendoould be hidden History was always buried deep, even when you knohere to look And it was hard to excavate it without da it Brushes and cotton swabs, not chisels and pickaxes Sloork You had to like doing it

"My thing," Maura said, "is that I never tell "

But she was pleased; he could hear it in her voice He liked her voice, too She had just enough Henrietta accent so you knehere she cauess it?"

She didn’t immediately answer, and he didn’t press her Heart wounds, he knew, made one think more slowly

While he waited, the Gray Man stooped to study Gansey’s miniature model of Henrietta Such affection in these tiny recreated streets! He straightened, careful not to hars, and headed for one of the two sht had taken place within its walls Every surface was covered with expensive bits of expensive speakers and pointy bits of pointy cages and stylishly distressed bits of stylishly distressed jeans

"Tell erous?"

"To soerous to her" The Gray Man picked up a box cutter fro before being hastily cleaned

Maura said, "I’ood idea"

"Don’t you?"

He inverted a cowboy boot that see fell out He couldn’t say whether the Greywaren was anywhere in the building Looking for soine what a loaf of bread looked like based upon the trail of cru true about you"

"I own a pair of bell-bottoe disco shirt"

"I don’t believe you You must wear it, then, next time I see you"

"I couldn’t," the Gray Man said, ae"

"Personally," Maura replied, "I don’t think your sense of self should be flexible Specially not if you’re going to go around as the king of swords"

From the main room, the doorknob clicked audibly as the lock was tested Someone was here Soht I have to go"