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"Once And there was nothing in the papers then, either"

"His tradeuess"

"Hers"

"Pardon?"

"Her trademark"

"The hitter was a woman? We just said there weren’t any outside of the movies"

"You’re the one said that, Keller I didn’t say anything"

He replayed the conversation in his head, shrugged "Whatever," he said "A woman, huh? And you used her before?"

Dot nodded, then raised a hand and pointed at the ceiling Keller looked up, saw nothing reht fixture with one of its bulbs burned out Then he got it and his jaw dropped

Twenty-five

"The old man," he said

"Sometimes it amazes me how quick you are on the uptake"

"But that was you, Dot He was losing it, and he was talking about hiring a kid to help him write his memoirs, and you sent me off somewhere and did it yourself"

"Sent you to Kansas City," she said "Your first stamp auction, if I remember correctly"

"And you did Louise, too? Why, for God’s sake?"

"Short notice," she said "There was aof opportunity, and who kne long it would be open? And it wasn’t just aher out It had to be quiet, so you wouldn’t read about it And soh her files, somebody ould knohat to look for So I called her up andpill in his cocoa and a pillow over the face"

"I didn’t figure that would ith her I thought maybe hit her over the head, make it look like a break-in that went bad"

"Makes sense"

"You get cops that way, but they start out looking for burglars, or if they s look at her personal life Still, ants the at all?"

"You never knohat they’ll find"

"So I sat there, pretending to be fascinated by all of this astrological crap, all of it in a voice so sweet and gentle it could lull you to sleep, with a pause now and then so she can pop another of those chocolates ‘Those look good,’ I said, and she held out the plate for me to take one"

"Oh"

"I took a couple," she said, "and I ate one, and I have to say it wasn’t bad, but I’d hate to stuff ed to drop the other one inEnd of the session I made another appointood,’ I said, and when she passed the plate I ht of hand"

"You put back the chocolate you took the tile movement faster than the eye could follow I practiced in front of a ood a way as any"

"You’d have to be careful not to wind up with the same one you started with"

"Tell me about it"

"It’d be a hardup a fresh one at the sa But then, when it’s ti in yourto have," she said "I knew I hadn’t screwed up, and even so I took a good look at the botto for the telltale pinprick"

"You used a hypodermic needle"

She nodded "I don’t knohy I didn’t just palet rid of it," she said, "but somehow I felt compelled to eat it I didn’t see a pinhole on the bottom, so of course I decided it had sealed itself in the course of being handled So I told myself, the hell, either it’s in the stars or it isn’t, and I ate the chocolate"

"Thinking itit ht be And wouldn’t you know it had a nut in it, and I was sure I was tasting bitter al," she said "I didn’t, I used so, and who even knohat the hell it tastes like? Not bitter al to bet, but that’s what I decided I was tasting, and, well, you can ihto enjoy the chocolate"

"Sood’ Which is just brilliant, because of course she offers me another ‘No, I don’t dare,’ I said, and truer words were never spoken So I sat there and waited for her to pick the candy with the prize in it"

"Couldn’t you just go home?"

"And wait for nature to take its course? No, because I had to search the place, reht"

"And I also had to hear all about my boyfriend and how Jupiter trined Pluto in his twenty-second house"

"I think there are only twelve houses"

"There used to be, but then the developers came in"