Bloody Bones   ::   Гамильтон Лорел

"I know Magnuswas with you last night."

"With me?" I said.

"I don't mean. ." Heat crept up her face again. "I don't mean with you. I mean I know you saw him last night."

"He tell you that?"

She shook her head, making her hair slide like fur over her shoulders. It was eerily reminiscent of Magnus. "I saw you together."

I studied her face, trying to read past the embarrassment. "You weren't there last night."

"Where?" she asked.

I frowned at her. "How did you see us?"

"You admit you saw him last night, then," she said. Her eagerness came back in a rush.

"What I want to know is how you saw us together."

She took a deep breath. "That's my business."

"Magnus said his sister was better at visions than he was. Is that true?"

"What didn't he tell you?" she asked. She was angry again. Her emotions seemed to collide, spinning too fast over her face and voice.

"He didn't tell me why he ran from the police."

She looked down at her hands, folded in her lap. "I don't know why he ran. It doesn't make any sense." She looked back up at me. "I know he didn't kill those children."

"I agree," I said.

Surprise showed on her face. "I thought you told the police he did it."

I shook my head. "No, I told them he could have done it. I never said he did it."

"But. . The detective was so sure. She said you'd told her."

I cursed softly under my breath. "Detective Freemont?"

"Yes."

"Don't believe everything she tells you, especially about me. She doesn't seem to like me very much."

"If you didn't tell them, then why are they so sure Magnus did these horrible things? He would have no reason to kill these people."

I shrugged. "Magnus isn't wanted for the killings anymore. Didn't anybody tell you that?"

She shook her head. "No. You mean he can come back home?"

I sighed. "It's not that simple. Magnus used glamor on the police to escape. That's a felony all on its own. The cops will kill him on sight, Ms. Bouvier. They don't mess around where magic is concerned. Can't say I blame them."

"I saw the two of you talking outside under the sky."

"I did see him last night."

"Did you tell the police?"

"No."

She stared at me. "Why not?"

"Magnus is probably guilty of something, or he wouldn't have run, but he deserves better treatment than he's getting."

"Yes," she said, "he does.