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Luke,

Thank you for a wonderful night I have so See you soon

Katelyn

She has stuff to do? Of course She’s looking for work She told me e first met Mental note: check back in with Lois to see if that hosting position is a possibility Does Katelyn kno to tend bar? Bartenders are always for hire in New York Of course, maybe she wants a position with better hours than a restaurant or bar can provide I can definitely see Katelyn sitting behind a desk doing i Or rather, wished I were doing ten years ago instead of what I ultimately chose

Now the former is impossible

Those days are gone forever

I pour myself a cup of coffee and fry a few slices of bacon and two eggs Afterand hail a cab Time to pay a visit to Anthony DeCarlo at prison

“Who the fuck are you?” DeCarlo says into the phone on the other side of the plexiglass

“Luke Johnson”

“And I’m supposed to know you?”

“No But we have mutual friends in common”

“Like who?”

“Like the people you give information to, canary”

DeCarlo narrows his eyes Yup, that got him I’ve never actually seen the ot a muscular build and brown eyes His hair is shaved close to his head, and he’s wearing prison beige

“This some kind of threat?”

“No No threat Just letting you know I’ the reason your parole hearing was canceled wasn’t because of a fight you got in”

He narrows his eyes further “What the hell do you want?”

“I want to know exactly what you did to Katelyn Brooks And why”

“I don’t knohat you’re talking about, asshole”

“You , DeCarlo I promise I can make your life very difficult”

“You? You’re nobody”

He’s right I am nobody Or everybody I’m supposed to blend in I’m every man A waiter in Manhattan who lives in a studio

That’s me

And that’s a million other people

Except I have a past A past that includes Anthony DeCarlo A past he’s still involved in, even if I’m not

“Letabout Katelyn, and if you don’t, I’ll have the Raven take your head off”

His eyes widen

The Raven Even now the words sound foreign The Raven no longer exists He never really existed He was more of an idea than a person Tords that struck fear in—and apparently still strike fear—in reckless criminal peons like Anthony DeCarlo