“We’re too late,” muttered Jimmy.

Suddenly, Drinan growled.

“What?” Jenna realized Drinan had seen something in the ashes.

Wordlessly, Drinan reached back to the takeout containers on the kitchen table, picked up a plastic spoon, and scooped it irreverently through the man-shaped ashes on the apartment floor. He held this before Jenna’s eyes. It was a hell of a time for a vampire sensory lesson, but Jenna focused on the contents of the spoon.

The gray powder she expected, but she also saw short, stout fibers. And she did recognize that smell, from years in Vermont. It took her only a moment to put it together. “Wood,” she said. “These are ashes from a wood fire.”

“What?” At Drinan’s confirming look, Jimmy breathed, “He faked us out? Then where is the guy himself?” He saw both Drinan’s and Jenna’s lips tighten. “Yeah. And what’s happening to the women?”

***

The Liars’ Party doles out justice and watches their backs, but crises still pop up on their radar. Jenna’s boss at Hanford & Bogie is being stalked by an entity with an ulterior motive. Sniffen’s sister is losing her battle with cancer. The dogs of Harlem actively recruit Jimmy… far too actively. Conroy begins tracing his penitential path that parallels Petray, the damaged priest. Drinan, unaccustomed to the strain of these worries and emotions, sets off land mines of his own. The happy ending is in sight, but they may have to kick some booty to achieve it!

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