Page 127 (1/2)

“Ah, Lieutenant, I know you’ve got to get going, but I just wanted to say…I know you saw ht”

“Yeah, we ran into each other She’s a nice woman”

“Isn’t she great?” His face lit up “She’s the best My old man ditched us when I was a kid, so we’ve always, you know, taken care of each other Anyway, she told ery and all”

“You went down under ht

“Well, it meant a lot to her that you were here I just wanted to tell you that So thanks”

“Just stay out of laser streams,” she advised

• • •

Down on the next level, Kenneth Stiles stirred in his bed, glanced toward the nurse who checked his monitors “I want to confess”

She turned to hiht and professional “So, you’re awake, Mr Stiles You should take some nutrition now”

He’d been awake for a considerable a “I want to confess,” he repeated

She walked to the side of the bed to pat his hand “Do you want a priest?”

“No” He turned his hand over, gripped hers with a strength she wasn’t expecting “Dallas Lieutenant Dallas Tell her I confess”

“You don’t want to get overexcited”

“Find Lieutenant Dallas, and tell her”

“All right, don’t worry But in the meantime, you should rest You took a nasty fall”