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At 5:35 thatI was tucked in bed with the file folder My favorite stuffed toy penguin, Sig to killwith hih year

The Browning Hi-Poas in its second home, a holster on the headboard of the bed I soun

The folder consisted of a half dozen sheets of paper All neatly typed, double spaced The first was a list of eight naes were an explanation of the na Vanished No bodies, no signs of violence Nothing Their fa

I went back over the nanation wolf Could it be George Saret Don&039;t ask aret, but you do

The last few pages were suggestions about who Marcus thought I should talk to Controlling little bastard He did offer an explanation for why he asked ht that the other shapeshifters would talk more freely to me than to him or any of his wolves No joke I was sort of a compromise They didn&039;t trust the police And who else do the lunarly disadvantaged go to for help? Why, your friendly neighborhood animator

I wasn&039;t sure what I could do for thee Smitz to Ronnie for a reason I was not a detective I&039;d never handled a -person case in my life When I , I&039;d fill her in George&039;s wifewas a pattern They needed to go to the police But they didn&039;t trust hu mobbed and burned at the stake Couldn&039;t bla leery

I put the folder in the drawer of the nightstand I got a plain white business card out of the drawer The only thing on it was a phone nuo It was the first time I&039;d ever been able to contact him Before he&039;d just shown up Usually when I didn&039;t want him to

The nue service A e" A long, low beep sounded "This is Anita What the hell are you doing in town? Call e, but hey, it was Edward He knew me Besides, he didn&039;t appreciate social niceties

I set the alarht, and cuddled into the blankets,before I&039;d gotten war I gave up I&039;d forgotten to turn on the machine Great

"This better be important," I said

"You said to call soon" It was Edward

I pulled the receiver under the blankets with me "Hi, Edward"

"Hi"

"Why are you in town? And ere you at the Lunatic Cafe?"

"Why were you?"

"It is nearly six in the freaking , I haven&039;t been to sleep yet I don&039;t have tiames"

"What was in the folder you had? There was fresh blood on it Whose blood was it?"

I sighed I wasn&039;t sure what to tell hireat deal of help, or he could kill people that I was supposed to be helping Choices, choices

"I can&039;t tell you shit until I know if I&039; people"

"I never hunt people, you know that"

"So you are on a hunt"

"Yes"

"What this tiures "Who?"

"I don&039;t have any names yet"

"Then how do you knoho to kill?"

"I&039;ve got film"

"Film?"

"Come to my hotel room tomorrow and I&039;ll show you the fil I know"

"You&039;re not usually this obliging What&039;s the catch?"

"No catch You ht be able to identify them, that&039;s all"

"I don&039;t know a lot of shapeshifters," I said

"Fine, just come, see what I have"

He sounded so sure of hi?"

"Adaet there When?"

"Do you work tomorrow?"

"Yeah"

"Then at your convenience, of course"

He was being too da will your little presentation take?"

"Two hours, maybe less"

I shook my head, realized he couldn&039;t see it, and said, "It&039;ll have to be after my last zombie appointment I&039;m booked until then"

"Name the time"

"I can be there between twelve-thirty and one" Even saying it ain

"I&039;ll be waiting"

"Wait What naistered under?"

"Room 212, just knock"

"You do have a last naht, Anita" The phone line went dead, buzzing in my hand like an unquiet spirit I fumbled the receiver into its cradle and switched on the answering o and snuggled back under the covers

Edward never shared infor was up Knowing Edward, it was so without a trace It sounded like a game that Edould enjoy But so credit for his kills as long as the police couldn&039;t tie hi it There were bounty hunters who specialized in rogue lycanthropes Edward ht knoho they were and if they&039;d condone ht were dead, then it was murder None of them anted, as far as I knew The police would know, but I wasn&039;t going to involve the police Dolph should know if lycanthropes were disappearing in his territory

I felt sleep sucking at the edges of the world I flashed on the murder victim I saw his face frozen in the snow, one eye ripped open like a grape The crushed jaw tried to move, to speak One word hissed out of his ruined h to roll over, and sleep washed over ain, I never remembered

14

Every year I wondered what to buy Judith, my stepmother, for Christet better Of course, you&039;d think she&039;d get better at buying forat each other across this chas She wants hter, and I want her to be my dead mother Since I can&039;t have what I want, I&039;ve et her wish, either Besides, she&039;s got Andria, who is perfect One perfect kid in the fah

Ronnie and I were Christed on the slick wintery streets at nine that ed about three hours of sleep The running helped The freezing wind slapping my face helped even ized e hit the mall, hair still damp from the shower

Ronnie is five foot nine Her short blond hair is cut in a sort of pageboy It&039;s the same haircut she&039;s had since I ed, either She earing jeans, cowboy boots with purple tooling, a short winter coat over a lilac crewneck sweater She was not wearing a gun Didn&039;t think the et that out of hand