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She exaht about it Took another drink Thought about it again

"You’re killing me, Smalls," I said

"I like it"

"Don’t sound so surprised," I said, adding a grunt "You’ll give ht about it Took another

I cleaned updown at the file folder in her hand

"So what’s up?"

Her fingers tightened around the file It was old, its edges frayed, but it wore its coffee stains like a champion Clearly, it had been read and reread dozens of ti you I had a few cold cases I wanted you to look at?"

I put out a tray of h she hated when I called her that "I sure do I thought you were talking about beer," I said, teasing her

"Well, this is the main one I would love to see solved It wasn’t even my case It was my father’s, and it haunted hiued" I opened the file for a quick look

"Kidnapping case," she continued, "about thirty years ago Nothing added up, from the parents’ testimony to the suspects to the kid himself It was just a bizarre case froued What would be odd about the kid?

"A ten-month-old baby was taken out of his crib while his mother napped"

I perused the file "No pictures?"

"That’s just it One of the oddities of the case All photographs of the child were stolen as well"

I eyed her doubtfully

"Tellhbor took hi their everythe s"

"Witchcraft? That was veryto the choir But that still isn’t the s on the baby’s body"

"Markings?" I asked, suspicion needling the back ofto the baby’s doctor, there’s a rare syndronant with twins but one of the twin absorbs the cells of the other and basically has two sets of DNA running through his body"