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He held her with strength and war her hair back

"Don’t patronize me?" she pleaded

"I swear, I’m not I don’t knohat I believe…but…"

She looked up at hiain

16

Sean ake, back out at Katie’s desk, working at her co He had showered and dressed quietly, not wanting to wake her, although a glance at the bedside clock had informed him that they’d slept until well past two in the afternoon

That happened, he decided, when you finally had so," Sean said, hearing David come down and head over to him He looked up at David "Or afternoon," he said dryly

"Yeah, it’s late Have you been up long?"

"Only half an hour," Sean said "Did you put the coffee on a tiht?" he asked "If you were the one who did it, your tied to start in the "

"Just to be brewed fresh when the first person makes it down the stairs And I sure didn’t wake up in theOdd," Sean mused

"She must have set it Great plan, in reat dealto ler had three books on his table hen I checked out his place I had Katie gettoher over?"

Sean nodded at hi him "Sure I won’t let her come alone I promise you that!"

David thanked him Sean locked him out of the house

The newspaper lay on the front lawn The headline blazed, Local Found Murdered and Deco in Festivity Decoration

David read the article quickly There was nothing there, except for the facts he already knew Danny Zigler had been found, his body in a bad state of decomposition The body had been removed to the Monroe County Medical Examiner’s office for autopsy

He started to leave with the newspaper, but then decided not to do so Danny had beenthe story wasn’t going to change what had taken place They’d both see the bloated reler in their minds for years to come, he was certain

He reached his house and opened the door right when he heard wheels in the drive He turned around to see that Lia into the driveway

David walked to the driver’s side of the car "Anything?" he asked

"No answers," Lia help The streets will be filled with our own force tonight, and with officers down fro a lot of the events, the co the streets"

"It’s a good force Your chief is a good guy-he’s been up the ladder, he’s local and he intends to make it the best force in the world, as he says," David said

"He put through a call to the FBI We’re supposed to have a teaents and profilers down here by the start of next week," Liam said He winced "Some folks aren’t happy about that We were the Conch Republic, briefly Souys are convinced we could have solved it all ourselves, but the chief says that pride isn’t worth a life Anyway, I was actually headed to Katie’s place, looking for you I’ up to the ME’s office Danny’s autopsy is scheduled"

"Is that an invitation?"

"You hitchhiking?" Liaot into the car "Thanks"

Katie ith a start She had been deeply asleep, but when she woke, she rehosts came to her

He hadn’t believed her Neither had he walked away She had told hiherself as the corpse of Elena de Hoyos

Maybe itNo, it meant that tomen had already been left that way!

They always ca tree

That as iht

When she came downstairs, she didn’t see David, but Sean was at the co up sites on the Internet Sites that had to do with Key West

"Hey Where’s David?" she asked

"He went to his place He wanted to read through the books that Danny Zigler had apparently been reading," Sean told her He rose and stretched, pushing away froo, they dug up seven bodies fro persons cases"

"I reations into unnatural deaths are centered?"

"Accident victi coffee

Sean said, "No Drowning and diving and snorkeling accidents"

"I suppose thatto do?"

He shook his head with disgust "Find anything that we don’t know about Tanya’sencyclopedia of trivia onwe learn can ever hurt," she told hi, Katie," he said