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afterward.
It appears we re at an impasse then, I said in a low voice.
Guess so.
Donovan didn t look at me.He s not the one for you, Warren T. Fox s reedy voice whispered in my
head. I didn t want his words to be true, but it looked like they were at least for tonight. Besides, I had
Tobias Dawson to take care of. Fletcher Lane had trained me to put the job first, ahead of my own
wishes. Distracted assassins got sloppy, and then they got dead. I especially needed to focus this time,
since I had a couple of innocent people to protect. One problem at a time. I d deal with Donovan and his
conflicted feelings about us later.
All right, I said. You watch out for Warren and Violet. I ll get Finn to help me with Tobias Dawson.
Donovan nodded. I think that s for the best.
There was nothing else to say. Not tonight. So I got out of the car. The detective didn t look at me as he
threw the vehicle in reverse, turned around, and drove away. I stood there and watched the fog and
darkness swallow him up.
For some reason, my heart felt as icy as the rain drizzling down around me.
23
I d just finished pulling a blackberry cobbler out of the oven around noon the next day when I heard the
sound of tires crunching on the gravel outside. I padded into the front living room and peered out a crack
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in one of the curtains. A silver Aston Martin crouched in the driveway.
I unlocked the front door, then went back into the kitchen.
A minute later, Finn stuck his head inside the room.
As usual, he wore an impeccable suit, this time in a dark charcoal gray. His cheeks were ruddy from the
ever-present drizzle, and water droplets glistened in his walnut hair. He carried his laptop in a black
leather waterproof case.
About time you got here. I dumped a tin pan full of orange-cranberry muffins onto a white plate.
Coffee s on already.
Finn helped himself to a mug of the hot chicory brew. He took a couple of sips, then moved a basket of
sourdough rolls out of the way so he could set his laptop on the kitchen table. Looks like somebody
didn t get any last night.
I glared at him.
Nonplussed, Finn threw his arm out and gestured at the kitchen. C mon. I see a cobbler, muffins, rolls,
a chocolate cake, and what I assume are strawberry preserves. You always cook more when you re
upset.
He had me there. The situation with Donovan Caine hadn t been resolved to my liking, and it had
affected me more than I d realized. Why couldn t the detective just accept me for what I was? Morals.
They always ruined everything.
I d gotten up early with nothing but time to kill until Finn showed up. So I d started cooking. But the
mixing, stirring, and baking hadn t relaxed me nearly enough.
Maybe if I made another pound cake or two
I take it things didn t end with the good detective in your bed last night? Finn asked in a sly tone.
In addition to treating me like a sister, Finnegan Lane also had an annoying tendency to analyze my sex
life along with everyone else s.
No, I snapped. The detective didn t spend the night, although I invited him to.
Finn shook his head. Idiot. The man s an idiot. But don t feel bad. I didn t have any luck myself last
night.
I raised an eyebrow. You mean the evening didn t end with you having a threesome with Violet Fox
and Eva Grayson?
Touché.
Finn took another sip of his coffee. He examined the various treats I d baked and grabbed two
orange-cranberry muffins to start off with.
I hope you did something last night other than hit on those two girls, I said, dishing up a generous
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portion of blackberry cobbler into a large bowl.
If you consider sifting through reams of information on Tobias Dawson, then yes, I did do something
useful last night, although it was a thoroughly eye-glazing experience. The man doesn t have nearly
enough vices to make things interesting. All he does is mine coal and buy equipment to mine coal and
look for more places to mine coal. Did I mention he mines coal?
Once or twice. My lips twitched up. No matter how bad I felt, Finn could always make me smile. I
loved him for that.
I used my Ice magic to frost a mug and create some small Ice cubes, then poured myself a glass of milk
and dug into the cobbler. I didn t bother with ice cream this time. I just wanted warm sugar, and a lot of
it.
But you were right about the diamonds, Finn said.
According to the cell phone photos the detective took in Dawson s office, the dwarf is planning a major
expansion of his current mining operation. And guess where the new primary shaft leads to?
I didn t even have to guess. Warren T. Fox s country store.
Finn nodded. Actually, our good friend Tobias Dawson has already started shoring up the mine, and
he s even crossed over into Warren s land.
Explains all the rumblings and mini earthquakes they ve heard and felt. I took another bite of cobbler.
The oat topping provided a crunchy, chewy contrast to the syrupy sweetness of the blackberry filling.
Mmm. Perfect.
But wait, there s more, Finn said. Dawson might be mining his brains out, but he s not making a lot of
money doing it anymore.
Why not?
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