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The car was an oven In seconds, sweat started to trickle down my back, between nition, put the air conditioner on full blast, and set about looking for clues

The first and er seat I knehat that was--my research on Prince Rezza That it was here in the car instead of in my files at the office said that I’d actuallytoout fro Vicki’s birthday, but apparently we’d done it I flipped through the snapshots over and over, trying to rereat time From the expression on her face, she’d loved theand hugging But I didn’t re I felt a lump in my throat and a pain in my stomach Memories lost were just that--lost Sure, there would be more sive theers

I slid the photos back into the envelope and reached over to open the glove coo out on a job After all, no calls when you’re on duty

It wasn’t there I swore under love box, it had probably been inho knehat all else

Since I put the file in the car, Iet--both of which were valuable and neither of which I had any longer Daine did its best to blast cooler air through the vents I reached back into the glove corabbed a bottle of suntan lotion SPF 30 would have to do I could already feel ht The smell of coconut, aloe, and chemicals filled the car as I slathered thick white liquid onwhat I was about to do wasn’t as stupid as I thought it was

Pay phones aren’t easy to find in the cellular age The days when Superer still About the only place you can find a usable public phone is at the occasional convenience store, and even then it’s just as likely to be out of order

Fortunately, I was on campus I knew of at least three convenience stores that catered to students Surely one of the lot with a particular 7-Eleven in mind

The first store had a phone, but the cord had been severed I struck pay dirt at the second shop The phone was even in the shade Yeah, there was graffiti on it, but the cords were all attached, it wasn’t covered with anything sticky or awful, and when I picked it up I got a dial tone I dropped a pair of the coins I’d rued from the ashtray of my car into the slot and dialed Gran’s nuht times No answer Since she didn’t have voiceup

But I have voice e I dropped the coins back in the slot and dialed the nu told ested I call back later

Well, that was a waste of ht be the key toaround between the seats, I found e I dropped another pair of coins in the slot, dialing a different nu exactly once before a businesslike fe"

"Hey, Alex" I greeted the woman on the other line with breezy familiarity that was only a little bit forced I like Vicki’s lover The three of us have had dinner a few ti, apparently, the birthday party But I have to admit it’s been a little bit aard Maybe Alex and I are just too much alike--both hard cases with a sarcastic bent Whatever the probles between us have always been just a little strained Still, we both love Vicki to pieces She’s ’s peachy

"Graves I just got the weirdest call about you" Alex’s voice was gruff but not unfriendly "A friend of etting bit by bats and being taken for medical treatment, but nobody could find you at any of the hospitals Then, when they checked out the site of the supposed attack, there was no evidence of anything The alley was clean Which is just fucking weird"

"Well, I was attacked I was damned near killed--apparently some time after Vicki’s birthday So there should be evidence if they look hard enough"

"Are you all right?"

I thought about how to answer that for a few seconds The cops didn’t like monsters Would she consider ? First time she set eyes on me she’d know the truth "Yes, and no Ever heard of an aboned, like she didn’t really want to know but knew she needed to

I explained what had happened and as much of what it meant to me as Jones had had time to impart--not much, really