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Blevins inclined his head I wondered what school you attended to learn how to be arrogant and servile at the same tinity His eyes-blue as suly-swept over me, then Marion, then Kevin He turned on his heel and walked away

We were led to chairs Kevin was forcibly planted in one, and held there by a Djinn I remembered Mr Clean, he of the heroically bare chest, little brocade vest, and puffy trousers, not toThe one that Rahel had taken a bite out of earlier

He s there "I re for trouble before"

"I found it," I said He inclined his head

A solemn voice behind me called my name "Jo"

I turned, winced at the bite of bruises, and sais approaching Or rather, being rolled up to us He was in a wheelchair now, faded and thin, worse by far than he’d been when I’d been sucked out theHe was crashing There were hectic spots of red high in his cheeks, but his hands were treether sane

He wasn’t looking at h he’d spoken my name; his eyes were fixed on Kevin, and I didn’t like what I saw there

"We co point," said Lazlo soleive back what you stole"

I could have told him what Kevin would say, so I wasn’t surprised when the kid snapped back, "Bite er has Jonathan," I said All eyes went to htened one"

"Gone?" Lazlo repeated softly There was danger in there, hiding in the silky half-whisper

"Quinn has it," I replied "As you probably know, right? He’s your dog"

Lazlo shut his eyes wearily

"You killed Siobhan!" Kevin yelled, and tried to get out of the chair to lunge at Lazlo, or anyone else in reach I wasn’t sure whoured it was probably all of us

"I’m afraid we did, but not deliberately" Lazlo rubbed his forehead and forced hinified attention "And I’er as well, Miss Baldwin It was not our intention"

"It’s been Quinn all along," I said "Right? Quinn wanted Jonathan I’ll bet it was his idea to ’rescue’ me, too, when I first arrived"

Nobody made a sound I turned toward Kevin "Quinn put Siobhan in there to try to steal the bottle Kevin, I think she did like you, but I’m pretty sure Quinn had some kind of hold over her He was a cop, after all" Siobhan had picked up Jonathan’s bottle when I’d dropped it She’d put it in her pocket She’d given me back the decoy

Like I’d noticed from the start She was a professional

"He’s the one who shot Siobhan?" Kevin asked His hands were still shaking, but he looked feral now, especially spattered with her blood Ready to gnaw his own aret him a step closer to Quinn "Why? Why would he do that?"

"Because I ducked," I said flatly I turned toward Lewis, knelt down next to his chair withat me, and it wasn’t about Jonathan Not that tih bleary eyes "Then what?"

"Question for a question What’s his first name?"

Someone made a sound halfway between a huh? and an uh-oh, she’s lost her mind; I didn’t bother to check who Lewis looked at me with feverish, red-rimmed eyes and said, "His name is Detective Thomas Quinn"

Which wasn’t what I’d expected It threw me for a second, but then Lazlo cleared his throat His lips twisted like a ery done with a sharp spoon and no anesthetic, and he said sourly, "Thomas Orenthal Quinn" Laz was already ahead of the curve He’d heard my story He knew

"Orry," I said "No wonder he wanted me dead He couldn’t kno much I renize hio, I never really saw his face, but he couldn’t take the chance that I was running soame I think he would have killed me earlier, but he was afraid to do it in the Luxor Afraid you’d know He felt better after he heard me tell the story to Ashworth, but he still didn’t trust ht have figured it out Couldn’t have that"

Jonathan had said it: The lines connected through -especially-this

Tho me to his boss, Orry and at the time, I’d assus It probably was, in the beginning Easy ht in the sahtmares for years, and I never even knew it Hell, I’d even liked him

Suddenly the enor to ash and shadows; Siobhan, dying inas I watched I could see it happening I’d let Jonathan be taken ahen I’d had the answer in h or sh to see

"Joanne?" Marion’s voice, Marion’s warm hand on my shoulder I looked up at her and realized how tired she was Her Djinn had been taken froood behavior Quinn had been working the angles for a long, long time

A cold shiver went down o" From her expression, I’d bet that Marion could have told me down to the day, hour, minute, and second

I felthave the Djinn been disappearing?"

"In numbers?" Lewis asked "About six years Maybe less"

Since Chaz Since Orry in the desert

Since I’d gone into that dark, dark cave and he’d asked me questions

I felt Lewis takehis body, he h to make me wince

"David?" he asked He read the answer in my eyes "What happened?"

"Rahel She" My throat threatened to close up when I thought about it "She was after Jonathan David wouldn’t let her" I couldn’t get the rest of it out It had been a battle nobody else had seen, could see, except for me-the Ifrit would have been invisible to most human eyes

"Where are they?"

My hand went involuntarily to the leather purse hanging slung around my body "I put David back in his bottle Rahel I claimed her Put her in the bottle Siobhan used to switch for Jonathan"

Lewis let go of me and held out his hand "Give her to me" I started to unzip the purse, then hesitated "Not a whole lot of time left, Jo Do it"