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"It’s just--it doesn’t ator It doesn’t help ed "It helped you convince that school’s security man to be ood that did us" I rubbed my temples, and we fell into silence for several ot nearly too uncomfortable for me to stand, the waitress stopped by our table with our drinks and food

"Look," I said, after she left "I’ to be nice"

His eyes widened slightly "Sure Don’t worry about it"

We ate in silence I scarfed down er disappeared quickly as well

I briefly conte to convince Costa to checkin the s stoppeddrink

"You should go hoet some rest"

I nodded, giving hiet so the hard ti him lately about honesty, it was best not to lie

The station wasn’t silent or unmanned, but the paranorot Two detectives sat at their desks, their frowning faces turned toward their co like they’d rather be anywhere else

I wasn’t any happier to be at the station at night I should have been safely at horuossiped with a new friend on the phone

But that wasn’t happening, and the station offered more access to data systems than my laptop would allow from my house, so I was stuck

I docked ernails on the desk while it loaded I pondered the coffee congealing in the corner coffeeainst it Gross after-hours coffee was ed into the Illinois State Police Criminal Records Database first There were several entries for cases that involved fire, but none of the descriptions see for They’d involved accelerants, and none seeree

The fact that Costa was a salaarnered him some trust I didn’t consider him a suspect--well, not really Oh, his job let him travel a lot, but unless his partner and boss were in on it, he’d hardly have ti in his spare tient Lieutenant Vasquez took no chances after Mac’s last ent, and while he turned out to be one, for a while there it looked like he wasn’t Besides, Vasquez had checked his alibi And Vasquez didn’t do anything halfway

I shot a quick glance at the lieutenant’s office, but it was dark Vasquez didn’t like questions like that co up about his depart with other agencies without running it by hi out any information

Besides, salamanders were relatively common--not everywhere you looked, but I’d bet I could find a couple on the Freak Squad roster

A uniforuely familiar walked up to the desk Clark, that was it He’d asked raduated from the academy An otherworlder, but I couldn’t remember what kind

"Hey, Marisol," he said "Just wanted to say that I was sorry to hear about you sister"

Tears pressed againstClark h

"Let nored uy Too young forforout toofficer back to what I was doing The federal database would take longer to load I decided to start with the syste to otherworlders only first The data set was sine how et from the full records

Time ticked away on the clock above the coffeemaker as I waited for the information to load The fed’s database was always so dah the case as I sat there, but it was difficult to focus Instead I pulled out a legal pad and started to write dohat I knew in short notes Writing things out always made it easier forthe last two years, a lot of succubi had disappeared all over the country, froht about that, and then wrote, "Kidnapper ularly" next to hest bidders, no doubt accu a lot of cash Would they travel in style? Probably I made a note What else?

I tapped the pen on the counter and then wrote, "Connected to vaister, Luc Chevalier, had been telling the truth That he had no idea who rented the space from him previously

But it was possible he’d lied