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"But he kept firing even when you and the others were on the ground," Owen pointed out

I shrugged "Maybe he was trying to get Donaldson, Parker, and some of the other bosses as a bonus Maybe he had orders just to kill who to have me or some of the other underworld players assassinated at Mab’s funeral is just the sort of underhanded, weaselly thing McAllister would do As for why now, probably because this is one of the few tiether and that I’ve been out in such a public place since I killed Mab McAllister wants ht this was his best shot - that I ht with her I would still be weak, if Jo-Jo hadn’t spent sos were still twitching and tre from my sprint across the ce up onme home, and I still had unfinished business here

Jo-Jo pattedYou know that"

I nodded at the dwarf, but aze went back to McAllister If the lawyer had been behind the attack, I wondered hoas feeling now that it had failed He didn’t seeh, and I couldn’t help but wonder what else McAllister would plan now that he hadn’t gotten what he’d wanted at the funeral

I had a feeling I was going to find out sooner rather than later

The guns were holstered, the overturned chairs were righted, and folks took their places in the seats and around the coffin once more It was a little ot everyone settled down again and ed to finish the service He consulted his notes and picked up right where he’d left off, talking about all of Mab’s contributions to various charities in Ashland and beyond and how she’d left a lasting legacy on the city that would be remembered for years to colancing at the other mourners as he spoke, and more than a few folks looked back at ed since the shooting Now, instead of looking atat me with cold speculation, like I was a prize they’d suddenly set their sights on, one they wanted to win no matter what

The rest of the service went off without a hitch, and the hts started flashing in the distance Several sedans and cop cars entered the ce everyone know that the police had finally arrived

You would think that the appearance of the po-po would cause all the crime bosses to quietly, discreetly leave the scene as fast as they could But this wasn’t a normal city: this was Ashland, where practically all the cops were on the take Instead of shying away froreeted the cops like they were old friends Hell, I even saw Kincaid shaking hands with some folks in the coroner’s office More than a few C-notes exchanged hands as the crime lords and ladies slipped their po-po and other infor here today Soht the underworld o ahead and take over the police departame At least then the corruption would have an official city stamp of approval on it

Once the bribes had been handed out, the bosses said their good-byes to their inforot into their limos and expensive sedans, and rode away The otherout of the cemetery as well, now that the shoas over and the cleanup had started

"If you don’t need us any," Jo-Jo said "I need to feed Rosco and get everything set up in the salon forhere withat her and Sophia "Both of you"

"Welcome," Sophia rasped

The Goth dwarf nodded at rass to her convertible

"Nohat?" Owen asked

I looked around at the eo see what Bria has found out about the dead guy Who knows, et lucky and he’ll actually have some info on him about who hired him and whether he was after me or someone else"

The two of us walked over to Finn, as talking to a giant as around seven feet tall The giant had one ar her close, while the va her head on his chest The sun glinted off the giant’s shaved head as he nodded at so Finn said

Xavier, Bria’s partner on the force and a friend of rinned when he saw me come up behind Finn "Hello, Gin Good to see you out and about Tell rave yet?"

"No," I replied, s back at him "But only because they haven’t officially buried her yet Trust roup of three dwarves earing gray coveralls, drinking sodas, and leaning on shovels a few feet away fro for everyone to clear out before they buried the Fire eleer now that the police were here

While Owen and Finn talked with Xavier and Roslyn, I headed over to Bria, as using a pen to flip through the dwarf’s wallet, which she’d fished out of his pants pocket

"Anything interesting in there?" I asked

She shook her head, h her blond hair "Not much Driver’s license says his name is Jack Spenser Address says he’s a local who lives in an apart down his friends and fa anyone who knew him"

"Cell phone?"

"Just a brand-new burner phone in his pocket, with a log that looks like he only got calls from another brand-new burner phone Sou is the five thousand dollars in cash he had on him"

She pointed her pen at the fat roll of hundreds bound together with a rubber band that was sitting on the grass The money was splattered with blood, just like the rest of the das, and it looked like a bullet had cut right through Ben Franklin’s face and lodged inside the rest of the cash