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His s "You are an odd woman, Corine Solomon I’ve slain many, but you’re the only prospective victi?" I wondered aloud

"Soood place to let the conversation rest I left esture and didn’t protest when he turned his face toward theHe closed his eyes, tilting his head against the seat; gods, I hoped we could wake him up when the train stopped

To my relief, it wasn’t a problem

When we arrived in London, Shannon hailed us a cab, and I helped Booke clih that we should be asha his ass out of bed if I had to Booke needed this passport urgently

Fortunately, the forger lived on the ground floor Otherwise, I’m not sure whether Booke would havemoment My heart broke a little as I thumped on the knocker, relentless, until I heardthe door open was short, balding, with a pair of slasses hastily perched on a broad nose His shirt was undone and it looked as if he’d put on a pair of sweatpants that he’d grabbed fro stains, particularly around the knees I hoped his docuiene

"What the hell’s wrong with you?" he demanded

"Eva sent me," I said

"Good for you Come back at a decent hour"

"You don’t understand, it’s an e ht away"

Stenton studied ? Never otten me out of bed, you may as well coional dialects, but when Geoff said "so"

We all traipsed inside Within, the place was a typical townhome with a front room, a hallway that had a half bath on one side and ended in a ser’s pants He beckoned us upstairs with an impatient wave of one hand

"My studio’s upstairs Can you e," he answered

With my help, he clambered up the stairs, but I could tell by his expression it was painful How old was he now? Eighty? I wished I could calculate the rate at which the years were catching up to hi he had left My sense of urgency built evenlovely before he died I’d pro, it was the i my word

Frequent Flyer

Conscious of ti away, I made short work of our business with Geoff Stenton, and I paid him handsomely for the interruption to his sleep The others es of boredom, until he needed Booke to pose for a picture Then Stenton referred me to a local witch who could help us leave the country with our false passports

"How long will Booke’s cooked documents take?" I asked

He considered "Ordinarily, a couple of days, but hat you’re paying, I’ll get it to you within a few hours Where should I send it?"

"Do you think the witch would mind if you sent a courier there?"

Stenton shook his head "No, we’ve often dealt with gifted who have a need to leave the country in a hurry"

I didn’t doubt that at all Geoff gave off a sketchy vibe, but beggars couldn’t be choosers That concluded our business, so we caught a cab to our next destination while Booke grew frailer by the ht, London radiated a , there were always peopleon the sidewalk in hope of scraps Police cars patrolled with their lights flashing, though you only had to worry if they turned on the sirens The lights were just to let you know they atching London was quieter by co in the street, certainly no mariachis, but there was plenty of traffic, even at this hour

The cabbie dropped us at the door of a cruhborhood wasn’t the best If only I had ht, I could check the premises for wards and see how effective her as Crazy, but I had gotten used to one, leaving ed on the door with a closed fist, angry with the awful grief that hung aroundbecause it ie in theprocess--and I did not concede that he was beyond my reach