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Chapter Fifteen

My sister is one of the few people on earth who know about my "condition"

I have other family members, of course A sister in San Francisco, a brother in New York, and h desert, but I was not close to them My sister, Mary Lou, and I had always been h she was six years older than me Back when I was attacked and left for dead - or, more accurately, left for eternity - it had been Mary Lou as by my side In fact, I didn&039;t even receive a phone call from my brother until three days later

It&039;s hard to forget so like that

Mary Lou and I will probably never live very far apart She is o, but my sister will always be there for me

That I would someday outlive her is a very real possibility That I would watch row old and wither is a very real possibility So e

Of course, if I failed to unlock the secrets of the medallion, I wouldn&039;t have to worry about this with Anthony

Panic gripped me

Calm down, Samantha Be cal

As I waited forroo between an end table and a bookcase, I realized that I didn&039;t knohat the hell I was doing What if unlocking the medallion so hi?

Oh, Jesuswhat have I done?

"You saved hi "You saved him That&039;s what you did Now just fix it, Sam Fix it"

A car pulled up outside and soon I heard feet rapidly approaching My sister was using her own key to unlock the door and soon she was inside and in the living roo with me

God, I loved , and I would not tell her, not ever Not if I didn&039;t have to

"C&039;o see Anthony"

"Where&039;s Ta her and the kids"

"Rick&039;s a good et you dressed"

Chapter Sixteen

At the hospital, we found Anthony asleep No surprise there, since it was theme, I listened to the doctor express his concerned over my son&039;s slower than normal heartbeat, a condition he called bradycardia, which apparently could lead to a cardiac arrest My sister looked increasingly concerned about this news, but I heldof my son&039;s heart rate was to be expected, after all Expected by me, at least Hell, my own heart barely beat a few ti heartbeat, everything looked good and, according to the doctor, if ht even be released in a few days

Good news, surely, for any htly and I felt her tears on my face She pulled away and wiped her eyes and was unaware of a very different expression on my face

I could not predict how I looked, but I suspected it was a look of desperation After all, I had three and a half days byto unlock the secret to the medallion

Or e seven

Sweet Jesus

I asked Mary Lou if she would stay with Anthony for a few hours while I took care of some business She said of course, and as she pulled up a chair, she took out a black and narrow device that looked suspiciously like one of those Kindle thingies

She powered it on, settled in, and I headed out

Maybe I should get one of those someday

Chapter Seventeen

In ht, I Googled Archibald Maxi the private investigator&039;s greatest tool

Nothing of note

I tried the na other possible related keywords:

Archibald Maxih a ton of sites popped up, very feere even close to what I was looking for And the few that were turned out to be either porn or dead ends

Archibald Maxi

Archibald Maxi

Archibald Maxi No, never mind Just another porn site

I really hadn&039;t expected an obscure alcheh that would have certainly made my job easier

I next tried the name in my various industry databases, sites that only private investigators have access to Nothing Not even an unlikely hit Whoever Archibald Maximus was, he didn&039;t own property, have a criminal record in the United States, nor had he applied for credit

I next calledHe answered on the second ring, which , Sunshine"

"Never gets old does it?" I was referring to his nickna&039;s simple world, the nickname was supposed to be ironic And funny

"Not yet," he said, chuckling

"You need to get a life"

"I&039; to ask her, Sam"

"Ask her what? And who?"

"Monica I&039; to ask her to marry me"

I shook my head The poor dope "Isn&039;t it a little too soon?"

"For love? Never!"