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"Do you see everything as part of so after higed to o at that When we reached the front entrance, the Porsche was parked right up against the shrubs He snagged the keys off the board hiot in on his side and fired up the engine

We drove ho to pound When we got to my apartment, Dietz hauled out his portable alarm system, which he showed me how to arm and disarm He affixed it to the door

"I’ll tell Henry to keep an ear turned while I’ off somewhere?" I felt a little bubble of panic arise, testimony to how quickly I’d come to depend on him for my sense of personal safety

"I want to have another chat with Lieutenant Dolan He said he’d talk to the Carson City DA and try to get an ID on this guy with the kid So shot and at least figure out what he looks like I’ll be back in half an hour You’ll be fine here Get some rest You look beat"

He took off while I downed a pain pill and headed up to the loft I had promised to call Irene and I could feel the tiny voice ofjust as I was pulling off my shoes Dietz had told me not to answer it if he wasn’t there, but I couldn’t help myself I leaned across the bed and picked up the receiver

It was Irene Gersh "Oh good, it’s you I’lad you’re there I was afraid you were still out"

"We just got in I was thinking I should call you, but I hadn’t worked up the energy"

"Is this a bad time?"

"It’s fine Don’t worry about it What’s happening?"

"Nothing That’s the point I’m sorry to be such a pest, but I’ht hours and there’s siet out and check the neighborhood ourselves"

"Sounds s on doors?" In that split second nes’s safety overrode my worries about er Mother’s on the loose, the et Somebody must have seen her"

"You’d think so," I said "When do you need me there?"

"Soon if you could Clyde called from work and he’s on his way over now If it’s not too ave me an address in the eleven hundred block of Concorde

"I’h to Lieutenant Dolan’s office and left word for Dietz tothe address That done, I picked my way carefully down the stairs I craved action My whole body was seizing up in the wake of the accident and my joints felt stiff with rust Certain postures caused excruciating pains to shoot throughthe painkiller would do its work before long

I found a jacket and , checked to make sure my little32 was accounted for, and headed for the door, searching for my car keys in the outside leather pouch Where the hell were they? I stopped dead, perplexed, and then it dawned on me I didn’t have transportation My VW was still down in Brawley at the auto body shop Well, hell, I thought

I turned on ain, and called a cab By that point, I had already begun to internalize some of Dietz’s precautions I knew better than to loiter outside on the curb in plain sight I waited, dutifully standing in the tub in the downstairs bathroom, where I could look out theuntil the cab appeared in front For the second ti When I opened the front door, the alar me so badly that I nearly wet ed open and he ca out with a meat cleaver in his hand All he had on was a pair of turquoise briefs and his face was pale as bread dough "My God, what happened? Are you all right?"

"Henry, I’et back inside You scared the hell out ofwent off Why are you out here? Dietz said you were napping You look awful Go to bed" His panic had rendered hi? There’s no cause for hysteria Irene Gersh calledho out in front"