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"Silence, woman," Armando said "Have you considered His Majesty’s request?"
"I’ to marry you, Armando"
"You would be queen!"
"You don’t have a throne And last I checked, Mexico has a president, not an e lords threatenthe picture "They starve, and are forced to bow to the whirace This picture, it is authentic" He handed it back
"That’s all?" I asked "You don’t need to do soraphy expert?" Armando said "Did you not come to me with piteous supplication? I have spoken It is real No trickery The photographer, however, is a buffoon He knows nothing of the art of the craft These pictures offend me in their utter pedestrian nature" He turned his back to us, looking out theagain
"Now can I shoot him?" JC asked
"I’ over the picture Audrey had looked at the handwriting on the back, and hadn’t been able to trace it to any of the professors, psychologists, or other groups that kept wanting to do studies on ed, then took outpicked up
"Hello?" I said
"May I come visit you, Mister Leeds?" A woman’s voice, with a faint Southern accent
"Who are you?"
"The person who has been sending you puzzles"
"Well, I figured that part out"
"May I come visit?"
"Iwell, I suppose Where are you?"
"Outside your gates" The phone clicked A ates
I looked at the others JC pushed his way to the , gun out, and peeked at the front driveway Armando scowled at him
Ivy and I walked out of Armando’s rooing up to us
"Norun strapped on, JC"
"They do if they want to live Go get your gun"
I hesitated, then sighed "Let her in, Wilson!" I called, but redirected to un out of htstand I holstered it under ood to be armed, but I’ my way down the steps to the front entryway, Wilson had answered the door A dark-skinned wo a black jacket, a business suit, and short dreadlocks She took off her sunglasses and nodded tothe landing He led her to it, and I entered after, waiting for JC and Ivy to pass Tobias already sat inside, reading a history book
"Lemonade?" Wilson asked
"No, thank you," I said, pulling the door closed, Wilson outside
The wo over the décor "Fancy place," she said "You paid for all of this with money from people who ask you for help?"
"Most of it caovernment," I said
"Word on the street says you don’t work for them"
"I don’t, but I used to Anyway, a lot of this carant ing enor it would put the does," I said, gri "Have a seat"
"I’ll stand," she said, inspecting h "The name is Monica, by the way"
"Monica," I said, taking out the two photographs "I have to say, it seems remarkable that you’d expect me to believe your ridiculous story"
"I haven’t told you a story yet"
"You’re going to," I said, tossing the photographs onto the table "A story about tirapher who doesn’t kno to use his flash properly"
"You’re a genius, Mister Leeds," she said, not turning "By some certifications I’ve read, you’re the smartest man on the planet If there had been an obvious flaw--or even one that wasn’t so obvious--in those photos, you’d have thrown them away You certainly wouldn’t have called "
"They?"
"The people who calldown in the chair next to Tobias’s "I’e"
"I find that hard to believe"
"Believe what you will," I said "But I’enius My hallucinations are"
"Thanks," JC said
"Some of my hallucinations are," I corrected
"You accept that the things you see aren’t real?" Monica said, turning to me
"Yes"
"Yet you talk to thes Besides, they can be useful"