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John thanked him, made his excuses, and left If Philpot had spoken with Boone since Eood liar But John was inclined to believe hi

But the fact that there’d been an earlier wedding cast a whole new light on what Boone had done to E out what had happened to that first bride could make all the difference He would start with the police

He drove to the station, only to learn that Sam Traverton was out on a case “He’s due back after lunch,” the dispatcher said I’ll let him know you want to see him”

Th

at left John with tier and Coke at the drive-in and drove on up the highway to a seedy bar on the outskirts of town He didn’t like going into bars They tended to re years had cost hiout for the wild crowd fro Boone And John hier here

He stepped inside, keeping to the shadowed entryway as his eyes adjusted to the diht He didn’t expect Boone to be here, but he scanned every face just toThe bar wasn’t crowded at this time of day

The air was stale and s match Fro balls

“John Wolf!” Maisy Jo, the tough, fiftyish woreeted hi time How about a beer on the house?”

John, who’d always liked the woave her a wink “If anybody could tempt me, it would be you But you know better than to try I’on”

“Too bad, honey There’s nobody I’d rather teh her black tee when she fluffed her bleached curls “How about a cold ginger ale?”

“I’ll take it, but you’ve got to let ive hie before she opened the chilled bottle and poured it into a glass

“So, if you’re not here to drink, what can I do for you?” she asked

“Just looking for an old friend Boone Swenson Have you seen him around lately?”

“Boone?” She shook her head “I haven’t seen that big galoot in weeks Why?”

“Let’s say it’s personal So he hasn’t talked to you?”