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The inn was lavished with spindle-work, didn’t make sense, and was too elaborate, but it wasn’t a monstrosity

I walked up the porch stairs and petted the pale column "He’s a rude idiot Don’t pay hi"

The house didn’t answer

I stepped inside and my heart raph ofin the front room Every time I went out, some small part of ht there in the hallaiting for me

I sed, turned left, climbed up the spacious staircase to the second floor, and came out onto the north balcony where Her Grace Caldenia ka ret Magren was taking her tea She looked to be in her mid-sixties, but it was the kind of sixties one achieved after living for years in the lap of luxury Her platinuray hair was pulled back fro profile with a classic Greek nose, pronounced cheekbones, and blue eyes that usually had a slightly forlorn look unless she found soazing down at the street with a slightly sardonic, melancholy demeanor

I hid a smile Caldenia orldly, wise, and fashionably weary of life Despite her detached air, she had no intentions of going gently into that good night and had gone to a great length to make sure she wouldn’t pass on any ti and pulled out a yellow plastic package and a yellow can "Your Funyuns and Mello Yello, Your Grace"

"Ah!" Caldenia ca with a flick of her fingers and shook a few Funyun rings onto a plate Her long fingers plucked one up, and she bit into it and cheith obvious pleasure

"How did it go with the olf?" she asked

I sat in the chair "He’s pretending I’ about"

"Perhaps he’s repressed"

I raised my eyebrows

Caldenia delicately chewed another Funyun "Some of them do , religious oes Genetic memory does have its lies"

Yes, and several million people had paid the price

Caldenia placed her thuainst the rim of the Mello Yello can and turned it The metal squeaked She popped the tab and neatly lifted the top off of the can The edge of the cut was razor-sharp She poured the contents into her teacup and drank, s

"He’s not repressed," I said "He’s spent the last twoevery inch of what he considers his territory"

Caldenia raised her eyebrows "You saw him?"

I nodded Even in the dark Sean Evans was difficult to mistake for anyone else It was the way he et a glied "I just want to know if it’s ample A natural curiosity"

Sure, curiosity "I have no idea He was relatively er"

"There is your mistake" Caldenia sipped her tea "Carpe diem quam minimum credula postero,any of Sean Evans’ days I just want hi murderer"

"None of this is your problem, you know The inn hasn’t been threatened"

"These people are hbors" Yours, too "They have no idea what they’re dealing with The killer is getting bolder What if it kills a child next?"

Caldenia rolled her eyes "Then whatever passes for law enforcement in this corner of the universe will deal with it They will likely spectacularly fail, but the perpetrator either will stop to avoid attracting any more attention or perhaps the Senate will send someone to deal with it Either way, my dear, not your problem"

I looked down the street From the balcony I could see nearly three hundred yards down to the first bend of the ridiculously nah the subdivision People hurried to work To the right a couple of toddlers rode their tricycles up and down the concrete driveway in front of their house To the left Margaret was refilling her bird feeder while a small, fluffy ball of reddish fur that was supposedly a Pohbors They had their normal lives and ordinary probleled with debt and a faltering econoe Most of thes that had sharp teeth and a predatory intelligence stalking thes like that existed

My i fro up a toddler The rules and laws by which I lived said I shouldn’t get involved I was neutral by definition, which gave me certain protections, and once I coaaret called

The Porass

"Misha! Come here, you little brat!"

Misha dashed the other way, thoroughly enjoying the gaaret would lose her patience and chase her

You’d have to be a heartless snake to leave them to deal with a monster on their own Caldenia, despite her twin hearts, was quite heartless, but it didn’t mean I had to be