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"Yeah"

"Huh," Matt said

Ty looked at him "Okay, let’s save some time here Why don’t you just tell ht," Matt said "Someone stole soht beneath Mallory’s nose"

Ty’s gut tightened "Today? Was she hurt?"

Matt atching him carefully "Yesterday And no"

"What was taken?"

"Pain meds She doesn’t knohen it happened, actually She says it could have been at a couple of different points during the day"

Ty went still, re the look on Mallory’s face when she’d seen the empty bottle fall out of his jeans pocket

She’d known then, and she hadn’t said a word Had she thought he’d taken the pills? He tried to think of a reason that she wouldn’t haveit was hiut, he realized he couldn’t "Is she taking shit for it?"

"You could say that, yeah As of right thisto stay that way"

"She doesn’t deserve the blame"

"She accepted the blame"

"How do you know all of this?"

"I’m on the hospital board Look," he said at Ty’s dark expression, "at this point only we board members know They want her to turn in a list of as at HSC during the hours that thebecause it’s supposed to be anonymous That put her job in the ER at risk as well as at HSC"

Ty let out a breath and closed his eyes "Oh, Christ"

"What?"

"I was in there yesterday afternoon" He opened his eyes and looked at Matt "I was at HSC"

"Did you do it?" Matt asked ure you for being stupid," Matt said, watching as Ty pulled out his phone and hit a nuet reception out here No one does Listen, this gets a little worse Jane, her boss, rode her hard about this, and…"

"And?"

"Mallory walked off her job She quit"

Ty held his hands out "Keys"

"Excuseback" He needed to see Mallory Now Yesterday

"Why are you driving back?" Matt wanted to know

"Because we’re in a hurry, and you drive like a girl"

Halfway back to town, Ty finally got phone reception and hit Mallory’s nu in his ear, Matt tsked "You need a blue tooth," he said "Or you’re going to get a ticket"

Ty ignored hi pick up, pick up…but Mallory didn’t "She’s probably at home, phone dead"

And he didn’t have her house number

Matt shook his head "Nope, she’s not at home"

Ty looked at him

"Oh, did you want to knohere she is?" When Ty just narrowed his eyes, Matt smiled "Yeah, you want to know She’s at the diner I was there earlier, heard A"

There was so a distraction, Ty slid hilance "So what’s with you and the pretty waitress?"

"Nothing"

"There’s a whole lot of tension between you two for nothing"

Matt pleaded the Fifth

"You screw so away He was not answering, which was the sa up "What did you do?" Ty asked

"Jack shit"

Yeah, right They came into town and bypassed the road to Matt’s house

"Hey," Matt said

"Hang on, co in hot" Ty pulled up to the diner with a screech of tires

Matt let go of the dash and looked at hied "Maybe misery loves company"

"You mean maybeto fk anything up"

"Uh huh"

Ty shook his head and went into the diner, which had been decorated for spring There were brightly colored papier- tiles, and streamers around the s It didn’t much

The place was full with the dinner crowd, the noise level high Ty recognized just about everyone there, whicha large tray to a table And there was Ryan in a far corner with two guys froroup of other blue-haired, nosy old bats Ty shifted past the s to be seated because he could see Mallory at the counter Grace was on one side of her, with Amy on the other side of the counter

Ty ca down at a cake that said "Happy Birthday Anderson" as Aeneral, noisy sounds of a diner Dishes clanking, voices raised in conversation, laughter--each table or group involved in their oorld This particular little world, of the three wo their surroundings any attention

Mallory, the woiven up chocolate, licked her lips "We should skip the candles," she said to Aht now You’re too busy for this"

"Oh no," Areed When bad shit happens, we meet We eat" She lit the last candle and handed each of them a fork "I’ve already called Tara and told her that Anderson’s cake ic demise"