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The , but it still seeht, in the middle of the yard between the kitchen and the stables, he saw a horse A e, black and sleek

He walked over to the horse and the anie black head nuzzled his chest He stroked the cool air, seeing the ani the beat, eh?" he murmured

The horse whinnied but couldn’t answer any questions for hi one could But he was encouraged If the horse was here, the house itself was opening to hilanced down There was a dog by his feet a hound, large and tawny in color, with huge brown eyes that looked up at hi air, but aware that the hound kneas being stroked "Thank you, boy Thank you for co to me," he said softly "If I can help, I will"

He was so involved with visions of the fa

"Montague," he said quickly, grinning to hi but a blast of air or ient Montague, it’s Allison Leigh I’ve, uh, had a nap If you want to talk, I’et you," he said

Allison had ed to convince herself that she was totally sane; she was just under intense pressure

And she was going to do the sane and intelligent thing See a shrink

Annette Fanning sat on a stool at the counter, looking at her with concern

She was grateful to Annette Her friend had arrived just as she’d come to, and when she’d let Annette in and continued to run through her house searching for a sign that someone had been there, Annette had kept quiet and helped Now, she stared at Allison

"You’re ood shot," Annette told her sagely "And if you won’t have one, I will You’d barely gotten off the floor when I got here You could have hurt yourself! I still don’t understand what happened You saw someone in your house, or you think you saw someone?"

"I don’t think anyone was really here I’ I wasn’t able to do before I ht I ith the cops and at the station and back at the house, and then we found the office trashed"

"You need a good shot of whiskey," Annette said again, getting up and going to the cabinet

"I don’t want any whiskey I just called that agent and said I’d go out with hi, Allison"

Allison frowned at her "I don’tto answer questions for him and tell him about people It’s not a date"

"That’s a pity," Annette said She was tiny and blonde and struggled to reach the bottle shoved at the back of the cabinet "You should get a real life, you know You can’t spend your life in the past"

"I don’t spendthe bottle for her "And I don’t want a shot, really"

"I do--really!" Annette accepted the whiskey bottle and poured herself aPeter Aubrey, right? I thought you tere great together"

"When he was clean, ere great I cared about Pete and it was fun being with hie his three times when his friends called to say he’d passed out and needed help And I went back to him then he said he’d kill hi to do with me--he has to find a way to face his demons I went to Narcotics Anonye hioes into rehab and is serious about it, I’ll consider seeing hiain," Allison told her "I’m not antisocial I’m not lonely And now is not the time to worry about my social life Julian is dead, Annette, and the house is in the ation" She let her voice fade away; Annette’s big brown eyes were ain

"I still can’t believe it," Annette said "I can’t believe that Julian’s dead"

"I’m sorry, Annette, I didn’t h "I called Nathan to find out if the board knew anything about funeral arrange The faue isn’t going to release him until…until whatever, I don’t know There are still tests being done, I guess Do you think he’d been drinking or that he was high or so? This is all so mysterious Oh! Nathan did say he’d make sure we have a memorial in the next feeeks, no matter what Julian had a lot of fans in the city"

"He was a decent uess that’s why he uide," Allison said

"When he showed up," Annette agreed She walked back into the living roo to sweep oneyour foot"

"Drink your whiskey The floor is fine I cleaned it over and over again," Allison said