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Henry Clay unlocked the door of his apartment The drapes were drawn, and it was dark He was halfway in and reaching for the wall switch beside the door when he sensed a presence Wrong-footed, too late to back out, he hurled hiht switch with his left hand and drawing his Bisley with his right When the light flared on, he had the gun pointed at the figure sitting in the armchair

“I a her hands to show they were empty

“How did you find me?”

“When I learned that you were a detective,” she said calmly, “I wondered hoould ever track you down on ht of hiring another professional to find you”

“Bell!”

“Not Bell Don’t be ridiculous Although I did consider uards The Van Dorn Protective Services pride theuards”

“Stumblebums They couldn’t find me”

“That’s what I thought Besides, they ht home to tell Bell”

“Then how did you find me?”

“I remembered that the old fellows in Bell’s squad told es had fled the city But that didn’t seem likely Why would they let a couple of Van Dorns chase the for familiar faces”

“Where?”

“Casinos and concert saloons by the river”

“My God, Mary, you could have been killed, or worse”

“Not killed,” she said “Not even compromised”

“You were lucky People in those places would not hesitate to slip chloral powder into an innocent girl’s drink”