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"I think we have a lot of questions," Bill said "Now let’s go find out some answers"

Our first stop was my house, where I left Jannalynn’s jacket and opened the bag Bill had brought

"Good God," I said in disgust "I got to wear that?"

"Part of the plan," Bill said, though he was s

I stomped into an well below my navel and ended about two inches below my happy place The "blouse"-and it was a blouse in name only-hite with red trim and tied between my breasts It was just like a bra with sleeves I put on white Nikes with red trim, which was the best match I had on my shoe rack There sure wasn’t any pocket in this outfit, so I stuck the cluviel dor infor this secretat an aard moment I looked in the bathroom mirror I was as ready as I’d ever be

I felt ridiculously self-conscious when I ca the abbreviated outfit

"You look just right," Bill said soberly, and I caught the corner of his h

"I hope Saht to dress this way at Merlotte’s," I said

"You would have a full house every night," Bill said

"Not unless I lost solance in the mirror had reminded me that ," Bill said, and to s came down He tactfully closed his mouth

"Oh, well" I tried to accept this as an ih I don’t think any wo as the admiration isn’t expressed in an offensive way and doesn’t co"

The Trifecta, a hotel/casino on the east side of Shreveport, was the closest thing the town had to "glahts I was sure you could see it from the moon Since the lot was full, ere forced to park outside the fenced euarded at the ht up to the very prosaic beige metal door that was the eh I felt dismayed, Bill didn’t seem worried He looked down at his watch and then knocked on the door There were so the door open She was balancing a room service tray on one hand Laden as it was, that was an i the sa in it But at theon her y back corridor If you got to enter the Trifecta as a guest, it was glittery and glea and full of the constantfor pleasure that fills all casinos But that wasn’t for us, not tonight

Wordlessly, Palomino set off at a fast clip I noticed that she was able to balance the tray perfectly, no matter how much her speed picked up I scurried after the two vae-painted corridors, marred with scratches and chips Everyone back here was in a hurry to get where they needed to be, either at a work station or out the back door to go so their smiles for people they cared about I saw a half-rerim horde, and after I passed I recalled that she was one of the Long Tooth pack She didn’t let on by a twitch or a smile that she kneho I was

Palo warh she’d been dead for years, her pale hair bouncing over a depressingly tight butt We hustled onto a huge elevator Instead of being lined with mirrors and shiny rails, this one was padded The staff elevator was obviously used for bringing up palettes of food and other heavy ite job," Palolared at Bill

"It’s only for a little while," he said, and frothe Were, too"

She was ed to smile "He’s on the fifth floor, in 507," she said "I walked all over this dauards outside the rooht when I took in the roorateful," Bill said

Her s! Now Rubio and Parker et a chance to show their skills" The two vahters I hoped they did have other skills

"I’ll present that to Eric in the ent terms," Bill promised

The staff elevator stopped, and Palomino handed the tray to me I had to use both hed it down She pressed the Doors Closed button and began to talk very quickly

"Keep your head turned away, and they’ll think you’re me," she said

"No one would think that," I said, but after a second I could sort of see it

Palomino was naturally brown, and I was very tan Palomino’s hair was paler thanWe wereidentical outfits

"I’o be conspicuous out front," she said "Give ht of the security cameras I’ll et off the elevator so I can go"

We got off Bill held the tray for me while I took my hair out of its ponytail and shook my head from side to side to increaseas you had her here, why couldn’t she have done this?" I hissed

"This way she can be visibly elsewhere," Bill said "If Felipe suspected her complicity, he could have her killed He can’t do that to you You’re Eric’s wife But that’s a worst-case scenario We’ll pull the trick off" He pulled a khaki fishing hat out of his back pocket and pulled it over his head I forbore to comment on the way he looked