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"Has anybody spoken to ular updates I’ve sent an agent to be with your faer pause

"Are you all right?" Gah it was thin and struggling "I don’t ht But o on too long the Chief Inspector spoke, reassuring the young agent

Chief Superintendent Francoeur exchanged glances with the Inspector beside him

Across the room Beauvoir could see the clock

Sixteen hours and fourteen minutes left He could hear Morin and the Chief Inspector discussing things they wished had gone differently in their lives

Neither of them mentioned this

Ruth exhaled "This story you just told h it was a fairy tale, a children’s reed Beauvoir "Only a fe it"

"Then why’re you telling ? They’d all just think you’re drunk"

"And they’d be right"

Ruth cackled and Beauvoir cracked a tiny smile

Across the bistro Gabri and Clara watched

"Should we save him?" Clara asked

"Too late," said Gabri "He’s made a deal with the devil"