After the bodies were removed from the car and placed in morgue bags; the coroner had me positively ID Claire and then my deputy friend drove me home.... Late in the afternoon I was awakened by the coroner at the door; he confirmed his original diagnosis and said he was releasing the bodies for burial. There would be no autopsy since he had determined that their deaths' were accidental. Claire's dead lover was a respected member of the community and the sheriff didn't want to it to be common. "I should have expected something like that from the man who issuedthe orders to the Guild at Terrellia Nine," it had been a hunch on herpart."I didn't yield to a Wolf then, and I won't yield to one now." The GreatHall was filled with Gasps. She lowered her blade and slowly turned towalk away when he said, "That's right, walk away like that coward of afather you came,"His own Vershang whirled in, severing his right hand holding the littleNeedle Blade, her blade swept from the tip of his nose. It was interesting, but it was national news and I was more interested in the local news at that moment.I finished the ice cream and checked my email before I called it a day. I was a little disappointed when I found no email from my son Charlie. I felt pretty guilty about feeling bad. God, I am so fucked up, I thought.I got into my warm bed more than a little disappointed in myself. It was warm because I did not have a lot of use for air conditioning. I was one of those rare Americans who can. He would have done. Done very well, in fact. But then SwimmerBoy had appeared, and AKA knew that the game was on. That's how AKA alwaysthought of it. As a game. Two players. The master and the mastered. Thiswas the opening move: his eyes locked on the right guy, opportunity knocking,the fates in the process of bringing the prey and his pursuer into happy--atleast for AKA--alignment. The boy pulled away from the mirror and finished washinghis hands. As he moved, his jeans, snug though they were,.