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Playing chauffeur to a convicted felon with a ho me in the ribs every time I hit a bu I had a case I had places to be and people to see And two horrorto wreak havoc on my nervous system

"Take the San Mateo exit"

He startled o "Where are we going?"

"My best friend’s house He was my cell mate for over four years"

"Amador Sanchez?" I asked, the surprise in h school with Reyes and seemed to be Reyes’s only connection to the outside world before he was arrested as well for assault with a deadly weapon resulting in great bodily harainst a police officer, no less Never a wise decision What neither Neil Gossett nor I could figure out was how Amador and Reyes had ended up cell mates for four years And Neil was the deputy warden If he didn’t kno that happened, nobody did Clearly Reyes’s résueneral in hell

Reyes opened his eyes and turned toto find your body before" I couldn’t help a quick glance at that very thing Demons had attacked him by the hundreds, had practically ripped him to shreds, yet here he was, teeks later, almost completely healed Frorin "I take it he was a lot of help?"

"Please You hed softly "It’s called friendship"

"It’s called blacklanced over at hireen flecks in his eyes He was sooey

I blinked and turned away

"What ti moment

I looked at the clock on my dashboard "Almost eleven"

"We’re late"

"Sorry," I said, both syllables dripping with sarcasm, "I didn’t realize ere on a schedule"

We pulled up to the Sanchezes’ house, a stunning trilevel Spanish-tiled adobe in the Heights with a stained glass entryway It hardly fit the ie of an ex-convict who’d done time for assault It was much more of a tax-evasion rap, an embezzlement kind of stretch

Maybe he stole it

"Drive up to the garage and flash your lights"

A little surprised by the level of thought he’d put into his escape, I did what he asked The garage door opened iine"