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"Of course, thank you, that must be it"

He nodded, pleased that he had been of help

She rose

"Buona notte, signorina," he told her

"Grazie, buona notte," she told him, and headed up the stairs Once inside her roo her door

She walked across the rooh they had been closed, the shutters opening to the walk and canal below had been left open She opened the , reaching for the shutters, but paused

By day, she could look out and see the bustle of human traffic on the broad walk before the hotel; she could see the sweep of the canal and thefar out, she could see the pillars before the Doge’s Palace and the Piazza San Marco

Nowthe night was quiet

It seeone to bed

About to close the shutters, she hesitated, and took a seat in front of the

She loved her room here The bed was set back in a section of the roo area by draperies held with gold cords There was ain the area with the bed, and thehere A picture-perfect vieas offered from eitherThe rooht when she came in, there was a tray of fresh fruit andfor her

She opened the water and walked back to theShe sat in the chair there again and stared out, listening to the lulling lap of water against the docks beyond

The tea had tasted good; the water was better

She had drunk far tooback, she closed her eyes and let the cool breeze waft over her Ragnor’s suggestion as they danced passed through her o home

Steven Moore had joined the police force as a ho countryside had been plagued by a series of bizarre cult murders The people of Charleston had been deeply concerned?it wasn’t so , but Charlestonians tended to be both old guard, as well as concerned with being progressive The city was beautiful: the Battery area had its antebellum houses and courtyards, the public parks offeredAtlantic The city was rich with history, from Revolutionary to Civil War times, and yet it strove tointo the future wasn’t easy The Deep South carried a great deal of baggage, as well as the traditional chars

The countryside surrounding the city was also rich in ruins andwoman were found in the basement of a condemned manor by the river; littlewas discovered near the ren of cause of death The medical examiner’s office eventually sent the rehteen to twenty-four, white She’d had no dental work done whatsoever and had died with perfect teeth

Later, rumor started about Latour House, an abandoned Colonial efar The house was investigated; people had indeed been living in it Re with bottles, blankets, and cooking paraphernalia?including a George Forerille The homeless had taken up residence, so it appeared But then another body was found This one had not decayed quite so thoroughly, and there were strange irl’s teeth had been riddled with cavities; her re persons report filed in Columbia six months earlier Steven had just taken his position with the ho the officers to find the remains

The next body was found in an abandoned erprints on a beer bottle were traced to a local high school tough guy who beca child in the hands of juvenile authorities He told bizarre stories of a devil-worshiping cult, of a grandwonated places

The boy swore he had no hand in the nize the leaders of the cult When talking to the police, though, he suddenly claet him to talk

He was found dead in his cell at the juvenile detention hall He’d gotten hold of a straight razor, and slit his own throat Jordan had ht her attention with his deep concern for the young man who’d had such a checkered past, but was still a child She’d started talking to hireed to a date His dedication to his as admirable; his ability to keep his work and the rest of his life balanced was more so He was often on call, but Jordan didn’t mind She always had work to do, a book to read, and Charleston was her city?she had friends, and loved theelse the city offered Her parents had left her a house near the Battery where she kept a canvas ha and waiting for hiate would open and he would slip into the garden, touch her hair, her cheek, and lie beside her He’d asked her to marry hi, not even sixhis other attributes, he had been an incredible lover, and it had never occurred to her to refuse hih the speed of his question somewhat aeht before Christ, hed as they talked about names, from the traditional to the odd They teased one another about rethinking it all if they should have two boys, or two girls If they couldn’t use a naet another pet

Then, after Christmas, another body was found In the ly fast; a body could be reduced to little more than bone in a few days Animals and insects could see to that This time, the medical examiners found slash marks on the vertebrae of the neck, and the police knew that the cult had not died away, but had just been lying low The FBI was called in to assist in the continuing investigation