Hmmmm – Al had been convinced Miss Manners had sent the images to the pawns, but the pictures on the newsfeeds were not the ones the woman would have sent, and why would the cops hold back? It didn’t add up either way, which meant he was missing a variable, and then he realized it didn’t matter either way.

He shot off a quick message to his coworkers: <<Best change that Pinocchio face o’ yours Johnny, it’s all over the trid. Jan, looks like ya dodged a bullet this time.>> He got the same message-fail response as before from Jan’s ‘link. Well, he’d just have to keep trying.

And then the elf walked in. Didn’t look anything like…her. But the similarities were eerie-scary. He knew an omen when he saw one and left the place immediately. Besides, the last thing he felt like doing was being reminded of the one person in the world he’d most like to see….since she was also the one person, more than anyone else, that he could never see.

The rain outside washed cold on his uncovered face and head, and he wished it would wash over his heart as well.