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Michael rested his chin in his hands and sighed "I can&039;t believe we&039;re in jail"

"Disturbing the peace," I snorted, pacing the confines of the holding cell "Trespass Hah They&039;d have seen disturbed peace if we hadn&039;t shown up" I jerked a fistful of citations out of , failure to obey traffic signs, dangerous and reckless operation of aI&039; to lose my license!"

"You can&039;t blah we could explain what happened in terms that they would understand"

I kicked at the bars in frustration Pain lanced up retted it - they&039;d taken awayAdded to ers, it was too much I sat down on the bench next to Michael with a whuff of expelled breath "I get so sick of that," I said "People like you and s that these jokers" - I esture - "would never even dreaet thanked for it"

Michael&039;s tone was unruffled, philosophical "It&039;s the nature of the beast, Harry"

"I don&039;tlike this happens" I stood up, frustrated again, and started pacing the interior of the cell "What really galls me is that we still don&039;t knohy the spirit world&039;s been so ju, Michael If we don&039;t pin dohat&039;s causing it - "

"Who&039;s causing it"

"Right, who&039;s causing it - who knohat could happen"

Michael half-ser than your shoulders can bear, Harry All we can do is face what colance "I need to geth, warh, and shook his head, then lay back on the bench, crossing his arht Isn&039;t that enough?"

I thought of all those babies, snuffling andcute, piteous little sounds as the nurses had rushed about, gathering the them off to their mommies One, a fat little Gerber candidate, had simply let out an enormous burp and promptly fallen asleep on the nurse&039;s shoulder About a dozen little lives, all told, with an open future laid out before them - a future that would have abruptly ended if I hadn&039;t acted

I felt a stupid little s at the corners of my mouth, and a very snation hadn&039;t ed to erase I turned away from Michael, so that he wouldn&039;t see the suess it&039;s going to have to be"

Michael laughed again I flashed hiave up trying, and just leaned against the bars "How long before we get out of here, do you think?"

"I&039;ve never been bailed out of jail before," Michael said "You&039;d be a better judge"

"Hey," I protested, "what&039;s that supposed to mean?"

Michael&039;s s to be very happy"

I winced Michael&039;s wife "Yeah, well All we can do is face what corunted, so it wry "I&039;ll say a prayer to Saint Jude"

I leaned ainst the bars and closed my eyes I ached in places I didn&039;t know could ache I could have dozed off right there "All I want," I said, "is to get hoo to sleep"

An hour or so later, a unifor us that we&039;dinarea into the adjacent waiting rooan stood waiting for us, her arnancy She was tall, with gorgeous, silken blonde hair that fell to her waist in a shining curtain, ti with contained anger "Michael Joseph Patrick Carpenter," she snapped, and stalked toward us Well, actually she waddled, but the set of her shoulders and her determined expression made it seem like a stalk "You&039;re aup with bad coel," Michael ruive the woman a kiss on the cheek

She accepted it with all the loving tolerance of a Koel h to find a babysitter, get all the way out here, get the et the sword back for you?"

"Hi Charity," I said brightly "Gee, it&039;s good to see you, too It&039;s been, what, three or four years since we&039;ve talked?"

"Five years, Mr Dresden," the wo it will be five ain"

"But I - "

She thrust her swollen stomach at me like the ra around, you get Michael into some sort of trouble And now into jail! What will the children think?"

"Look, Charity, it was really imp - "

"Missus Carpenter," she snarled "It&039;s always really ied in many important activities without what I dubiously term your &039;help But it&039;s only when you&039;re around that he seems to come back to ot hurt too!"

"Good," she said "Maybe it will make you more cautious in the future"

I scowled down at the worabbed the front of ly strong, and she could glare right atme square in the eyes "I&039;ll have you know," she said, voice steely, "that if you ever get my Michael into trouble so deep that he can&039;t come home to his fa to do eakness ht for a moment, and she shook with emotion I have to ad pregnancy and all

She finally releaseda dark scab on his face Michael put his ared hi withoutany sound Michael held her very carefully, as if he were afraid of breaking her, and stroked her hair

I stood there for a second like a floundering goob Michael looked up athis wife under one ar away

I watched the two of the in step beside one another, while I stood there alone Then I stuck my hands into my pockets, and turned away I hadn&039;t ever noticed, before, hoell the two of theth and unfailing reliability, and Charity with her blazing passion and unshakable loyalty to her husband

TheSometimes I look at it and feel like so outside in the cold and staring in at Christmas dinner Relationships hadn&039;t ever really worked forto do with all the dehosts, and hu, I sensed her presence before I sy about her that I&039;d grown to know over the tiether Susan paused at the door of the waiting rooot tired of that Susan had dark skin, tanned even darker from our previous weekend at the beach, and raven-black hair cut off neatly at her shoulders She was slender, but curved enough to draw an ad look from the officer behind the counter as she stood there in a flirty little skirt and half-top which left her ht her just as she&039;d been leaving for our rendezvous

She turned to me and smiled, her chocolate-colored eyes worried but warm She tilted her head back toward the hallway behind her, where Michael and Charity had gone "They&039;re a beautiful couple, aren&039;t they?"

I tried to sood start"

Susan&039;s eyes studied my face, the cuts there, and the worry in her eyes deepened "Oh? How&039;s that?"

"He rescued her froon" I walked toward her