Chapter 21. We walked back to my car in silence. The world failed entirely to collapse on us as we made our retreat. We discovered no corpses, not even a little one.

We were neither arrested nor detained. In fact, the only police car we saw was headed quickly in the opposite direction,

though in all fairness

it may have finally been responding to a small disturbance we had at least helped to cause back

at Hap Spencer's bar.

By the time I unlocked the doors of the heap and we piled in, the evening seemed to have lost

a little steam.

I started the engine and pulled away from the curb.

The city's sky was as black as it ever seemed to get, and the

lights of the passing shops blinked through the windows as we drove. Trixie shifted uncomfortably

in her seat. I wondered if she was working up to some revelation, or if the little hidden piece she wore

was chafing her. Well, she said at last. I waited a moment to see if there was more. There did not seem to be.

Yeah, I agreed. Yeah, she said. We drove in silence for another minute.

This was fun and all, she said at last, but I'm not sure it's going anywhere.

There didn't seem to be anything to say to that, so I didn't.

Well, she asked a moment later, proving that I had once again misread the situation.

I hadn't worked with anyone since old Tom packed it in after the war, and he and I never talked

all that much. Maybe that was because we had worked together for so many years.

Maybe it was just because neither of us was a legy blonde or any other sort of girl detective.

Well, what? I shrugged. You don't have any opinion on that? she asked. I thought about it for a minute.

I'm not sure I remember what the question was, I said. You really are the original horse's ass,

aren't you? She asked. I grinned. It took you this long to notice i asked in my defense she said i did try to kill you right after we met

...