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"I’ll come over later," he said

"No, you won’t," she said "Stay here and co I insist"

"E for this

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

THREE DAYS LATER, Jack woke up in a foulthe fog of disapproval co from his sisters and Mrs J as he left O’Rourke’s Between theh in

Yeah, he was a sucker But what else was he supposed to have done? Left Hadley there, sobbing her eyes out in a tohere no one liked her? Driven an hour to Cornell and dumped her on Frankie’s doorstep? Told her to just deal with it?

Princess Anastasia had been Hadley’s beloved pet, no matter how satanic the cat’s personality Her seventh birthday present And she truly was devastated He knew that

He left her apartment as soon as decently possible Walked over to Emmaline’s and stood there in front of her little house There was a light on upstairs--her bedroo slanted down He could see some brick from the exposed chimney

Bet her bed was messy and comfortable Flannel sheets and soft old ht table She see sleep with her

He took out his phone and called her It went right to voiceoutside your house I’ht" He paused "Giveshe wasn’t going to

Which was too bad, because he liked being with her She was an odd coooey cara Slapped on handcuffs but nuzzled a tulip A hip check that could castrate a bull, but surprisingly soft and silky skin

Well His coffee was finished, and it was tiht up the local newspaper’s website and checked for news of Josh Deiner’s death

Not today Not yet, anyway

Lazarus gave his "feed me" screech, and Jack obeyed Mrs Johnson had chastised hi over for breakfast anymore, and she had bribed him with an offer of a chocolate cake rabbed his keys, , which was good-- vines with Pru, as concerned that the heavier-than-average snowfall had hurt the a new varietal of oak for their chard barrels

Stop by the hospital andMaybe they’d tell him how Josh was Let him see the kid, just for a minute

The one who needed you most, and you left him for last

Jack left the house, his movements deliberately exact Locked the door and stopped for a minute

The one who needed youaway the ht Took a slow, deep breath of the cool, da heavy over Crooked Lake today, but up here, the pale March sunshine streaold A crow called from the oak tree, then flen and landed on a cedar post at the end of a row of vines

Another breath, slower this time There was the stone wall one of his ancestors had built and which Jack kept up, raside the field

He opened the truck door, started to get in and froze

There was a dead possum on the dashboard

Possums under any circumstances are not attractive anilier, its bald tail dangling, itsfrootten into his truck It didn’t wander in through an open , because there was no open ; it was early March, for the love of God, and it had been seventeen degrees last night

Someone had put it there

LATER THAT DAY, Jack drove over to the police station and went inside "Hi, Jack!" Carol said, hopping up for a hug He obliged "Are you here to see Eo so well"

"Is she here?"

"No," Carol answered "She’s taking a class for hostage negotiation Not that we have es around here"

The disappoint "Is Levi available?" he asked

"Yes, he’s in his office on the phone Levi!" she yelled "Jack’s here and wants to talk to you when you’re off the phone!"

"You’re a great secretary," Jack observed

"I’m an administrative assistant, sed your diapers when you were a baby"

"You say that to all the guys," he said

"Come on in, Jack," Levi said from his office "And, Carol, please try to , okay?"

Carol rolled her eyes and sat back down, and Jack winked He’d always loved Mrs Robinson

"What can I do for you?" Levi asked

"This iswell, it’s police business Maybe I don’t know"

Levi sat behind his desk, and Jack sat down, too "Go ahead," he said, picking up a pen

"I don’t know if I want to file a report or anything official," Jack said "I found a dead possu Its neck was broken"

"Shit What tiht away?"

Jack shrugged "It was dead Its biting days were over"

"People don’t usually find dead anih his hair "I know"

"What did you do with it?"

"I put on rubber gloves and put it in a garbage bag It’s in the back of my truck"

"And I bet you scrubbed that truck down, didn’t you? And erased lots of fingerprints we ht’ve been able to lift"