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Scarlett was toying with the cover of the top copy "I hate this picture," she commented

"Me too"

"Why the hell would they put cri brick wall?"

He s at the book "Did you read it?" he asked She hesitated, which pretty much answered the question "You read it"

"Dashiell asked ot me a copy before it went to print"

Jesse nodded, the s out He should have expected that He hadn’t heard anything from Scarlett, or anyone else from the Old World, so the book ht," he said tiredly "I don’t want to know"

She hesitated again, looking exactly as though he’d dee up a compliment He didn’t want to hear whatever she scraped up, so he changed the subject "Why are you here?" he asked,to the only kitchen chair that wasn’t covered in stacks of junk or boxes He was still s back here fro her feet close to the chair so she wouldn’t kick Shadow "Have you seen the news tonight?"

He gestured to the state of the apart up with the news?" His voice came out sharper than he’d intended, and Shadow lifted her head from her front paws to eye him

"Jesse" Scarlett looked pained "Maybe this was a bad idea" She stood up again "I’estured helplessly around the apartment, and he let her flail He found that he was now perversely interested in how she’d sugarcoat it "It seeh time," she said eventually "I didn’tto do with you," he said, annoyed now Did she think he was still pining over her? That had been a long ti on in ot her attention "Of course I do," she replied, a little heat in her voice "You quit the consultant business because you couldn’t stand trading on your reputation as a cop But you ran out of money, and then a publisher offered you a truckload of cash for a book You figured, hey, tons of books are published every day, you’d take the advance and the book would pretty much vanish Am I close?"

He didn’t answer her, but he dropped into the chair she’d vacated, suddenly too tired to stand But Scarlett wasn’t done "Then you fell for your ghostwriter and did the whole quickie Vegas e And I bet you were e hit," she continued "I don’t knohy you’re getting divorced, that’s true, but you can’t say I haven’t paid attention"

"Because your boss made you," he countered

"Jesse" It was her turn to sound tired "Do you kno many humans in this county know about the Old World, but aren’t a part of it in some way? There are like six of you Of course we have to keep tabs"

We She had never talked like that before, as though she were on the side of the Old World authorities The cop part of his brain wanted to ask what exactly "keep tabs" h, did ittelevision What would they find? "Why are you here, Scarlett?" he asked again An eht occurred to him "Did onna--"

"No, nothing like that," she interrupted "I cahed, a full-throated sound that caot soht you’d crook your finger and poor stupid Jesse would co in to throw hilared at hi on her heel to stalk toward the front door Shadoas suddenly next to her, though Jesse hadn’t heard the bargestthem back, but before he could open his mouth, Scarlett paused with her back to hi under her breath and then turned around again

"It sucks that you think I’d treat you like that," she said , then?" Jesse countered, suddenly wondering again if Noah had contacted Scarlett "Throw me a bone?"

"Why would I pity you," she snapped, "when you’ve so obviously got that covered?"