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At 2:47 AM the phone rang and I jumped a foot, unaware that I’d been asleep The jolt of adrenalineof white-hotof the phone became one sensation I snatched up the receiver "Yes?"

His tone was low "It’s me"

Even in the dark, I squinted "Bailey?"

"You alone?"

"Of course Where are you?"

"Don’t worry about that I don’t have much time Bert knows it’sthe cops"

"Forget it They can’t get a trace on a call that fast," I said "Are you all right?"

"I’ave hi I didn’t dwell on Royce’s collapse because I didn’t want to worry him, but I did mention that someone had broken in "Was it you, by any chance?"

"Me? No way This is the first time I’ve been out," he said "I heard about Tap God, poor bastard"

"I know," I said "What a chump he was It looks like he didn’t even have a real load in the gun He was firing rock salt"

"Salt?"

"You got it I checked the residue at the scene I don’t know if he realized what it was or not"

"Jesus," Bailey breathed "He never had a chance"

"Why did you take off? That was the worst move you could possibly have made They probably have every cop in the state out Were you the one who set it up?"

"Of course not! I didn’t even knoho it was at first, and then all I could think to do was get the hell out of there"

"Who could have put him up to it?"

"I have no idea, but soht know I’ll try to see her tomorrow In the ot you listed as arured as much, but what a to blow me off the face of the earth, same as Tap"

"Call Jack Clemson Turn yourselt in to him

"Hoe knoasn’t him set me up?"

"Your own attorney?"

"Hey, if I die, it’s over Everybody’s off the hook Anyway, I gotta geton" There was a silence His end of the conversation had reverberated with the hollow echo of a phone booth Now I heard the ht there was somebody out there, but it doesn’t look like it"