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The breeze off the ocean was chilly, but the sun was out I shadedat the tohere pedestrian traffic was picking up as the noon hour approached Two youngstrollers, while a dog pranced along behind them with a Frisbee in his mouth This was not the tourist season, and the beach was sparsely populated Eround equipment was rooted in the sand The only sounds were the constant shushing of the surf and the high, thin whine of a small plane overhead

I retrievedroo for the querulously to Ann

"Fine, Mother Let’s go ahead and do a test We should have done it hours ago, anyway"

"I don’t want to fool with it! I don’t feel that good"

I could see Ann curbing her temper at the tone her mother used She closed her eyes "You’re under a lot of stress," she said evenly "Dr Ortego wants you to be very careful till he sees you next"

"He didn’t tell me that"

"That’s because you didn’t talk to him"

"Well, I don’t like Mexicans"

"He’s not Mexican He’s Spanish"

"I still can’t understand a word he says Why can’t I have a real doctor who speaks English?"

"I’ll be right with you, Kinsey," Ann et Mother settled first"

"I can take o"

There was a brief territorial dispute as the two of theued about which roo out cotton balls, alcohol, and so strip sealed in a paper packet I looked on with disco witness as she swabbed her ertip and pierced it with a lancet I could feelnearly cross-eyed with distaste Iinterest in the titles on the shelves Lots of inspirational reading and condensed versions of Leon Uris books I pulled out a volu out the scene behind me

I waited a decent interval, tucked the book away, and then turned back casually Ann had apparently read the test results fro a syringe from a small vial of pale, lass paperweight-a Nativity scene in a swirling cloud of snow Baby Jesus was no bigger than a paper clip God, I’ sounds behind me, I surmised they were done Ann broke the needle off the disposable syringe and tossed it in the trash/ She tidied up the bed table and then we iveout a request

4

By one-thirty, I had driven the twelve h the don area, trying to orient s are two to four stories high and immaculately maintained This is clearly a museum toith Spanish and Victorian structures restored and adapted to current use The storefronts are painted in handso over the s The establishments see stores and trendy restaurants Carrotwood trees border hts woven into branches bursting with green Any businesses not catering directly to the tourists seeeared to the tastes of the Cal Poly students in evidence everywhere

Bailey Fowler’s new attorney was a man named Jack Clemson, with an address on Mill, a block fro space and locked e with a pointed gable in the roof and a narroooden porch enclosed by trellises A white picket fence surrounded the property, with a tangle of geraniun affixed to the gate, Jack Clemson was the sole tenant

I climbed the wooden porch steps and moved into the entrance hall now furnished as a reception area A grandfather clock on the wall to ave the only sense of life, the brass pendulu back and forth ht was lined with old-fashioned, glass-fronted oak bookcases There was an oak desk with a typing ell, a swivel chair, a Xerox ht The screen on the computer monitor was blank, the surface of the desk neatly stacked with legal briefs and brown accordion files tied with string Across the hall, the door to theparlor was shut One of the buttons on the telephone was lighted and I could s out from somewhere in the back Otherwise, the office seemed deserted