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Ernesto Garcia stood waiting outside the lists "Good evening, my lord" He bowed and sreatly iarrison"

"So it would seem" He felt annoyed by how much the impromptu accolade had moved him "Come, ill talk inside"

Garcia accompanied him to the penthouse, where Lucan directed hi in on Saar one of his bookshelves

"You can borrohatever you like," he told the tresora, "but if you crease the spine, I’ll rip out yours"

"I appreciate the offer, htly more than a first-edition Oscar Wilde" Garcia handed hikenis were purchased from a don exotic florist The custoned the receipt with an illegible scribble"

Lucan held up the scanned ie of the receipt "Was he mortal?"

"I cannot say," Garcia admitted "The proprietor described him as a well-dressed man in his mid-thirties who spoke with a faint European accent Frolades, and was last seen boarding a private tour boat with black-painted s"

Lucan kept close al activities conducted in his territory by humans, especially the more inventive operations To date only a handful had eluded his detection, including one very private casino "So this secret admirer frequents the Treasure Palace" He walked over to his desk and studied the "

"Racketeering has never been able to locate the casino or positively identify the operators, as every victi a police report," Garcia said "However, in each case the victiave a description of him that matches that of the man who sent the flowers to your lady The only na Sakenis’s h her call history "In fact, she refuses to purchase so ate the murders of any of the victims?"

"No In each case, the medical examiner ruled out homicide," Garcia told hiing"

A crack appeared in one of the s as Lucan turned on hi reports to the police, all of theues are feeble idiots, Captain"

"I austed "But these cases were never sent over to ht"

In no lass door in his study, Lucan forced back his anger "So why does he pursue ain access to what the police know about his victi any records clerk," the tresora said "I worry his intentions may be more personal in nature" He nodded toward the o that you should perhaps read"

"Oh, he texts, does he?" Lucan returned to the es sent to Samantha’s phone He found one froht, and opened it "He writes, ‘The flowers are only the beginning, ht pm’ His lovely, is she? Does he think she’s some common tart to be had with a few posies?" He closed his fist, crushing the mobile into a handful of twisted components

His fury ebbed as unexpectedly as it had coarded the small heap of twisted components that had once been Samantha’s mobile "Garcia?" He looked over the desk at the tresora, who had gone to his knees and held his ar ser-shaped shard from the back of his hand and calmly wrapped a handkerchief over the wound "Thisto do with your lady at all This Dutch could be using her to get to you"

"Then it is working," Lucan said flatly "What more can you tell me?"

"The Turtle’s Nest was the name of a dockside café a mile south of Bahia Mar, but it went out of business so fro else, and then subsided into silence

"Now is not the time for discretion, Captain"

"Couples have been known to make use of the place," Garcia admitted "When they cannot afford or acquire a motel room"

"Indeed How very deliberate a choice" Lucan went to his shelves, reaching through the shattered door to extract a book, which he handed to the tresora "It is yours," he insisted when Garcia hesitated "You have more than earned it"

"Thank you, lass fro it under his arm