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She shrugged “From the third floor, I can see them in the woods Clearly, they have no sense of self-preservation, or they’d avoid ular scar on my neck

“I remember,” I said Isabel had no reason to be a fan, either “If any of theht? Before you let your dad stuff thehten the impact, I said foyer like the French: foi-yay

Isabel’s withering look could’ve turned lesser men into stone

“Speaking of foi-yays,” she said, “are you living in that big house by yourself now?”

I wasn’t Part ofback the other pack members as they fell out of winter into their hu out for the four neolves that had to be getting ready to shift, but the other part ofaround there with no hope of ever seeing Beck again

It wasn’t home, anyway Grace was home

“Yes,” I told Isabel

“Liar,” she said, adding a pointy smile “Grace is such a better liar than you Tell me where the medical books are Don’t look so surprised—I’m actually here for a reason”

“I didn’t doubt that you were here for a reason,” I said, and pointed to the corner “I just had yet to ascertain what that reason was”

Isabel slid off the stool and followed my directions to the corner “I’m here because sometimes Wikipedia just won’t cut it”

“You could write a book about the things that you can’t find online,” I said, able to breathe again now that she had gotten up I started to fold a duplicate invoice into a bird

“You should know,” Isabel said “As you were the one as once an iinary creature”

Is with er I picked up a pen, about to line the other wing and edfor, anyway? We don’t have much in the way of real medical books Just self-help and holistic stuff, mostly”

Isabel, crouched beside the shelf, said, “I don’t know I’ll knohen I see it What’s that thing called—that doorstop of a book? The one that covers everything that can go wrong with a person?”

“Candide,” I said But there wasn’t anyone in the shop to get the joke, so after a pause, I suggested, “The Merck Manual?”

“That’s it”

“We don’t have it in stock I can order it,” I said, not needing to check the inventory to know that I was right “It’s not cheap new, but I can probably find you a used copy Conveniently, diseases tend to stay the saot up onto the counter to hang it above me “It’s a little bit of overkill, isn’t it, unless you’re planning to become a doctor?”

“I was considering it,” Isabel said, in such a stark way that I didn’t realize she was confiding inanother customer

“Be with you in a second,” I said, standing on ht fixture above ”

Though there was only a heartbeat’s pause, I are that Isabel had gone silent in a way that shouted the silence to

“Don’t let ly professional “I’ll wait”

So in the tone of his voice made me lose my taste for whi by the counter, looking up at ing on his gun belt: gun, radio, pepper spray, handcuffs, cell phone

When you have secrets, even if they’re not secrets of the illegal sort, seeing a police officer in your workplace has a terrible effect on you

I slowly cliesture tovery well, anyway Can I…help you find so?” I hesitated on the question, since I kneasn’t here to talk about books I feltin my neck Isabel had disappeared, and for all intents and purposes, the store looked empty

“Actually, if you’re not busy, I’d like to talk with you for a ht?”

I nodded

“I’ on Olivia Marx’s case”

Olivia My stoht Olivia, one of Grace’s closest friends, had been unwillingly bitten last year and had spent the last few ht she’d run away

Grace should’ve been here If lying were an Olympic sport, Grace would’ve been cha, she certainly was an awesome storyteller

“Oh,” I said “Olivia”