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“They’re rare,” he assured me. “Maybe we could put you in one of those plastic hamster balls for your protection.”
“That’s two jokes in two nights. You’re on a roll.”
“I think you’re having a bad influence on me,” he said solemnly.
“It’s nice to return the favor.”
“So, is this purely a social visit, or is there news from the council I should be aware of?” I asked, playing with the lapels of his coat.
“You’ve been cleared in Missy’s death,” he said. “Cleared in the sense that the council knows you killed her but feels it was justified. Also, they’ve ruled that you were not involved in Walter’s death.”
“Does that mean I have to give the Knight Rider DVDs back? Because they were kind of destroyed in the fire at Dick’s place. Where is Dick staying, anyway?”
“Not with me,” Gabriel muttered. “And that is all that matters.”
“You are going to have to come to some sort of truce with the guy,” I told him. “Now that I know he wasn’t involved in a conspiracy to defame and murder me, I consider Dick a friend. And as my…” Gabriel’s eyes focused on mine as I searched for an appropriate term. Unfortunately, all I came up with was “another important person in my life, I think it’s important that the two of you get along. Oh, come on, I’m not asking you to invite him to move in with you.”
Gabriel’s lips disappeared as he mulled that over. He finally relaxed enough to say, “Ophelia sends her regards. She also said she would like to not see you for several months.”
“The feeling is mutual,” I told him.
“The good news is you can expect a rather large deposit in your accounts soon, ” he said. “And you’ll inherit the land surrounding your property in addition to Missy’s other holdings.”
“I don’t want to know how they know my account numbers, do I?” I asked.
He shook his head.
“I still have a hard time believing this was all about real estate and money,” I murmured as I stared up at the purpling sky.
With the weight of an impending murder trial off my shoulders, the world was a beautiful place again. The stars stretched out forever, and anything seemed possible…except maybe getting a tan. For the first time in a long time, I felt comfortable in my own skin.
“I kind of hoped that vampires were above petty greed,” I said.
He smiled that maddening Buddha smile. “Well, we were all human once.”
“Speak for yourself.”
