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"Yeah," I muttered "It’s not as arded ht call me pobrecita and try to tend my wounds Clearly Chuch had himself a tenderhearted wo you to find histo do, like you could say no--and you still half in love with hi, she shook her head

"I ahed, and that made it worse somehow "Lies You eat him with your eyes, Corine" Then she did say it "Pobrecita Men can be such assholes"

I didn’t Did I? Unhappy, I clutched es

"Anyway I handled the Buddha statuette hisSanitation orSalvation" I trailed off, depressed at how slim a lead that offered

"Did you check the phone book?" At ot up and went to the bureau just outside the kitchen door and returned with a directory in hand "I guess that’s too obvious, huh?" Eva flipped the pages, first looking under sanitation "Five listings Would you recognize the truck if you saw it again?"

I nodded "Pretty sure White with blue lettering, and I got a good look at the logo"

"So we can eliminate the Salvation Ar the directory, Eva tapped a finger thoughtfully "I’d rule out salvation altogether, s"

Wow, she wasn’t half-bad at this deductive stuff Maybe she should get her license if the forgery thing didn’t pan out "Write down the addresses, and we can do a drive-by so I can check out the trucks" A plan of action cheered otten about the chess garess As Eva trailed me into the office, Chance said, "Check" The pieces on screentofor Booke to decide he was doo, he ceded the game, which Chance took with his nextlike that since Pavel Blatny played Rashty-four," Booke said, openly enthused "Really unorthodox stuff, but--"

Chuch lishmen "Booke A deal’s a deal, aht" Booke sounded subdued, and I gathered the i coirl, I’d ht do it anyway, provided I could figure it out "Well, it’s clearly a variation on a sueton Clavicula Salomonis" I wasn’t the only one ent blank, but luckily I didn’t have to ask

"The what?" Chance looked at ht to know, but I’m not a witch I don’t use rituals I don’t even look at the old books anyh I’d never throw them away They’re all I have left of my mother

"Sorry," Booke said "It’s a rather fa, binding, and h I can’t be certain frohts of Hell Caim, Balam, Murmur, and Foras most closely resembled the symbols, but none of them were a perfect match"

I cleared ht have been at fault In layman’s terms, what does that mean, Booke?"

The speakers crackled, and I could practically hear hi his response "I’hts to enforce a bargain with those four ainst their souls, sealed in blood"

For ato collect on a bum deal Heck of a way to make sure someone kept his word Never mind how Min kne to do so "It must have been important"

"To say the least" Booke sounded a the "

"That’d be great, prihts she invoked, would you?"

"Absolutely Talk to you later, Chuch It was lovelyall of you" Booke’s teatime manners put a smile on my face even as I turned to face Chance

You’d think he ets easier to hear that your mother kno to conjure cohts of Hell Maybe his back hurt, or , but he looked like he was in serious pain I wanted to go to hi him with my eyes, I waited for someone else to make a move Anyone

"That sucks, huh?" Trust Chuch to reduce it to the simplest terms

Chance echoed Booke’s words with a faintly ironic inflection "To say the least But you two looked like you had nehen you first caood"

I let Eva do the honors

Searching for a Needle

Chance let ood indicator of hisat me out of the corner of my eye, but I didn’t speak, mostly because I couldn’t think of what to say This was new territory for us Usually I teetered on the verge of falling apart while he appeared cool and reether--

No I still would’ve left Near death experiences have a way of e your life

We had four addresses to check out, and then I’d an’s Roadhouse Given the realities of the job, his abilities must prettyuntil he felt like one raw nerve ending I wondered how he couldChance’s second look proved harder than the first, and the third made ht

"Do you knohat Leeton Clavicula Saloas,into the left lane

"No Latin isn’t one of my skills"