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Ivy see Mister, but she and Kincaid left without further conversation I shut the door after the with one I didn&039;t feel as tired as I should have Probably because I had a wealth of experience that suggested I would get a lot ot a real chance to rest

Mister rubbed up against s until I&039;d leaned down to pet hinoring rabbed a Coke fro a bit onto a saucer and leaving it on the floor by Mister By the time I&039;d finished it, I&039;d made up my mind about what I had to do next

Make phone calls

I called the number Vincent had left forservice, but to my surprise Vincent&039;s voice, tense and anxious, said, "Yes?"

"It&039;s Harry Dresden," I said "I wanted to check in with you"

"Ah, yes, just a ht a bit of conversation in the background, and then heard hi and a door shut behind hi with the"

"Any luck?" I asked

"God only knows," Vincent said "But fro acco to handle the investigation"

"Houessed

Vincent&039;s tired voice becaic that led to it"

"Election year City ," I said "But once you start dealing with the actual police personnel, you should be all right There are good people in every depart?"

"I&039;ve got a lead I don&039;t kno good The thievesdown there presently"

"Very well," Vincent said

"If the lead is good, do you want me to call CPD?"

"I&039;d rather you contacted me first," Vincent said "I am still uncertain of how much trust to place in the local police I cannot help but think it must have been the reason the thieves fled here-that they possessed soe with the local authorities I&039;d like as much time as possible to decide whoht about Marcone&039;s flunkies taking a shot at o PD had an unfair reputation for corruption, thanks in part to the widespreadProhibition It was inaccurate, but people were people, and people aren&039;t iht Marcone had attained police-only inforht be smart I&039;ll check it out and let you know Shouldn&039;t be ood Thank you, Mister Dresden Is there anything else?"

"Yeah," I said "I should have thought of this last night Do you have any pieces of the Shroud?"

"Pieces?" Vincent asked

"Scraps or threads I know that many samples were analyzed back in the seventies Do you have access to any of those pieces?"

"Very possibly Why?"

I had to reely a nonbeliever in the supernatural, so I couldn&039;t coy to track down the Shroud "To confiret foxed with a decoy"

"Of course I&039;ll make a call," Vincent said "Get a sample FedExed here Thank you, Mister Dresden"

I said good-bye, hung up, and stared at the phone for a minute Then I took a deep breath and dialed Michael&039;s nuht withonly once before a wohtmare "Oh Uh, hello, Charity It&039;s Harry Dresden"

"Hi!" the voice said brightly "This isn&039;t Charity though"

So hthter "Molly?" I asked "Wow, you sound all grown-up now"

She laughed "Yeah, the breast fairy ca Did you want to talk to nificant that it tookliteral about the faerie Sometimes I hate my life "Well, um Is your dad around?"

"So you don&039;t want to talk to Mo on the addition Let et him"

She set the phone down and I heard footsteps walking away In the background, I could hear recorded children&039;s voices singing, the rattle of plates and forks, and people talking Then there was a rustling sound, and a thump as the handset on the other end must have fallen to the floor Then I heard the sound of heavy, squishy breathing

"Harry," sighed another voice from what must have been the same room She sounded much like Molly but less cheerful "No, no, honey, don&039;t play with the phone Give that to me, please" The phone rattled some more, the woman said, "Thank you, sweetie," and then she picked up the phone and said, "Hello? Anyone there?"

For a second I was te of the operator, but I steeled et rattled I was pretty sure that Charity could ser an attack "Hello, Charity It&039;s Harry Dresden I was calling to speak to Michael"

There was a second of silence during which I couldn&039;t help but iine the way Michael&039;s wife&039;s eyes must have narrowed "I suppose it was inevitable," she said "Naturally if there is a situation so dangerous as to require all three of the Knights, you co out of whatever hole you live in"