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Athe branch of a fire-​blackened tree on the edge of Dark Hollow Seated on his log, the Bone Man stared into his lonely fire and read the secrets of the flames The wind carried stillthe echoes of distant, beating hearts The Bone Man could still feel in his mouth the after-​taste of the black blood that had burned so unexpectedly on his tongue When he had first tasted it he had cried out in disgust and spat the ichor into the flames The flames had burned it all up, but the sound it hter than the hiss of superheating moisture

The north still blew its cold breath across the town, and the Bone Man shivered He was always cold, even so near to the fire Always cold Now, sitting there, the taste of the black blood barely fading, the Bone Man read the winds and the fire and saw the days to coet into the hospital but he was able to get through on the phone, though he had to claier brother to bluff his way past the switchboard operator

"Hello?"

"Crow?" Mike asked, not sure that the tired old man’s voice on the other end of the line was his friend’s

"Yeah Who’s this?"

"It’s Mike Mike Sweeney"

"Hey, Iron Mike…how’re the ribs?"

In truth the ribs hurt less than the rest of him, so Mike said, "I’ot shot!"

"Twice Both bullets right through the brain pan Killed hed "How are you, or is that a stupid question?"

"I’ht in a drive-​by while I was drinkin’ gin and juice withIt’s kind of sad when you try to be hip"

"Sorry, kid, lost ain"

"Seriously, though, I’ out toet in to see you but the cops stoppedanyone in"

Croas quiet for ait so they let you past the dragons, would you do "

Crow told him what he wanted done

"Oh, man! That’s so cool!"

"Will you do it?"

"Of course! I’ one for this"

Mike paused, then said, "Crow…you don’t oweup For the first tienuinely happy smile

2

Detectives Frank Ferro and Vince LaMastra sat at a deuce in the lounge of the Harvest of Miller Genuine Draft and LaMastra was halfway through his fourth Pumpkin Ale The storotten there had bloay into someone else’s sky and the te of a possible frost It was already a chilly forty outside and thesky

They’d eaten chicken cheesesteaks and French fries, had listened to jukebox music, had eavesdropped on half a dozen ordinary conversations, but between them barely a half dozen words had passed in the two hours they’d been there The report Dr Weinstock had given had shaken theress in the case was running them down

LaMastra looked up at the clock over the bar, watching the hand go frolass and drained the last of it in two big pulls, set it down, and shook off the bartender Ferro just took another sip and stared lass

Tomorrow they were scheduled to take a quick trip to Black Marsh An hour ago they’d gotten reports fro a USPS letter carrier, that so the posted description of Kenneth Boyd had been spotted In all three reports, though, the suspect had been running or walking, and there was no visible evidence at all of the broken leg that Ruger hadit to escape froer? That see he could to put as much distance as he could between his former partner and himself If that was the case, then on one hand their immediate problems were cut in half, and on the other hand the scope of their manhunt just broadened It was Ferro’s contention that Boyd was of so little i to Black Marsh was alht have soer was or about how he planned to escape Pine Deep

"Shit," LaMastra said softly

Ferro glanced at him, eyebrows raised in query

Vince said, "It doesn’t add up Boyd being see like that By three witnesses…and then vanishing from the face of the earth as soon as the cruises show up It’s a little much, don’t you think?"