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ONE

Robert Dietz came back into my life on Wednesday, January 8 I remember the date because it was Elvis Presley's birthday and one of the local radio stations had announced it would spend the next twenty-four hours playing every song he'd ever sung At Six AM"Heartbreak Hotel" at top volume I smacked the Off button with the flat of my hand, and rolled out of bed as usual I pulled onrun I brushed my teeth, splashed water on my face, and trotted down the spiral stairs I locked my front door behind atory stretch, leaning against the gatepost in front of e one, involving as it did a dreaded lunch date with Tasha Howard, one ofwas the only way I could think of to quell my uneasiness I headed for the bike path that parallels the beach

Ah, January The holidays had left enerated one of those lengthy internal discussions about theof life I usually don't payof tiood hard look at s, and what did it all add up to? For the record, I'le, thirty-five years old, sole proprietor of Kinsey Millhone Investigations in the southern California town of Santa Teresa I was trained as a police officer and served a two-year stint with the Santa Teresa Police Departether and one I don't intend to tell (yet) For the last ten years, I've ator Soainst evil in the struggle for law and order Other days, I concede that the dark forces are gaining ground

Not all of this was conscious Much of the ru at a level I could scarcely discern It's not as if I spent every day in a state of unrewas amore complicated than the fact it inter and the California sunlight was in short supply

I started ful death claio, no space with the law fir to make ends meet I'm licensed, bonded, and fully insured I have twenty-five thousand dollars in a savings account, which affordsdown any client who doesn't suit I haven't refused a case yet, but I was strongly considering it

Tasha Howard, the aforeh the details of the job hadn't yet been specified Tasha is an attorney who handles wills and estates, working for a law firm with offices in both San Francisco and Loathered she divided her time just about equally between the two I'm normally interested in employment, but Tasha and I aren't exactly close and I suspected she was using the lure of business to insinuate herself into my life

As it happened, her first call came on the day after New Year's, which allowedI was still on vacation When she called again on January 7, she caught uard I was at the office in the

"Hi, Kinsey This is Tasha I thought I'd try you again Did I catch you at a bad time?"

"This is fine," I said I crossed er pointed down ht on a black nine and turned up the last three cards No play that I could see "How are you?" I asked, perhaps a millisecond late

"Doing well, thanks How about you?"

"I''s uncanny I was just picking up the phone I've beenand you were next on h my teeth

"I' me"

I laughed HaHaHa "Not at all," said I I was about to elaborate on the denial, but she plowed right on Having run out ofraffiti I block-printed the word BARF and gave each of the letters a three-dimensional cast

She said, "What's your schedule like toether for an hour? I have to be in Santa Teresa anyway and we could meet for lunch"