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Hearing the approach of the ME’s car, he returned to the door He was about to unlatch the locks when he decided that he just ate the death further He headed into the kitchen for a towel and covered his fingers to unlatch the bolts

The ME was Franklin Valaski, a veteran of many a death, natural and unnatural He was nearly Cutter Merlin’s own age, or at least he looked nearly as old Maybe his years observing death hadHe was short, stout, wrinkled and excellent at his job He was followed by an assistant, one of the dieners at the ue, who bore a stretcher

"So, old Merlin finally bit the dust, eh?" Valaski said, shaking his head "Tell you the truth, I had all but forgotten the old bastard was out here"

"Sad, huh?" Liam murmured "Looks like a heart attack"

"Lead the way," Valaski said

Lia chair, and Valaski went on over to the corpse The young diener nodded an appropriately gri to Liam, which Liam returned, and then stared around the house

The diener was gaping at what he saw

You didn’t know Merlin! Lia about Kelsey Her mother had died here He didn’t know much about it--he had been fifteen at the tiic accident, he knew, and Kelsey’s father hadn’t wanted to do anything except escape Key West--and the place where his beloved wife had perished

He had been brokenhearted to see Kelsey go But then, half his class had been in love with or in awe of Kelsey--all of the boys She had been a ind of srade school, she had been a freckled little thing with thick pigtails But inshape Unruly dark hair had become a beautiful and sleek deep brown, so shiny it see Her freckles had faded, and her eyes had become the deepest shade of blue that he had ever seen She had been friendly to everyone, kind to the kids other kids picked on, and she had eschewed as sopho to any club

Sorandfather, she had let her eyes grow big and assured thehed and told them that he was an adventurer, and, until he had turned sixty, he had traveled the globe, battling pri canificent explorer in the world He’d even been to the North Pole!

Liaht about Kelsey in years, either He’d heard about her father’s death; he had succuo

He’d sent her an e- after the funeral No flowers to send--even if he had knohere to send them

Now, of course, he’d have to find Kelsey, wherever she was Probably still in California--she had becoood artist He’d find a phone nu to send sympathy in a note after the fact; it was quite a different matter to tell her about a death that way He didn’t knohat she would feel; Liam was pretty sure that she hadn’t seen Cutter Merlin since she’d left Key West

"Odd," Valaski announced

"What’s odd?" Lia toward the ME

"Looks like a coronary, but…"

"Yeah?"

"It looks as if he were…scared to death," Valaski said

"He was an old man, and he probably wasn’t under anyfroh--a man who lived with a s Stuffed animals Bones Petrified flesh You wouldn’t think he’d scare easy"

"He was old," Liaotten

"Yes, of course But what’s really odd…"

His voice trailed off, as if he were deep in thought Or memory

"Valaski?" Liaive hi, really It’s just that… Well, he seehter’s face You reet She was such a beautiful wo stairway right there She died of a broken neck, and yet… Well, she had this exact same expression on her face I re her, tears strea down his face She had fallen…and yet her eyes were open, her lips just ajar…and she see in the universe Just like Cutter here Good God, I wonder what it was that they saw?"

1

Kelsey Donovan was at ho desk, when her phone rang She answered it distractedly

"Yes?"

"Kelsey? Is this Kelsey Donovan?"

It was odd, Kelsey thought later, that she didn’t recognize Liaain, it had been a long, long time since she had heard it, and they’d both been basically children at the time