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Phule’s Paradise by Robert Asprin

As if she felt his eyes, she glanced over to where Harry was sitting and their eyes met. He raised his beer in a silent toast to her, showing all his teeth in a friendly smile. Rather than responding, however, she let her eyes go out of focus, her face impassive, looking right through him as if he wasn’t there. A near-physical chill swept over Harry like a wind off a glacier, and he turned back to the bar where the bartender was just delivering his fresh beer.

“Say, Willie,” he said. “What’s the story on the group against the far wall? They look like regulars.”

“I don’t know who you’re talking about,” the bartender replied without looking.

“The monster and the two women,” Harry clarified. “The ones sitting right over …

He started to point, but William snaked out a hand and caught his wrist.

“I said `I don’t see anything,'” his new friend intoned, staring hard into Harry’s eyes as he emphasized each word. “And if you’re going to work here, you don’t, either. And you sure don’t point at them. You catch what I’m sayin’?”

“Got it.” Harry nodded slowly. “They aren’t here tonight. Never have been, never will be. Casual conversation or under oath.”

“Good,” William said, releasing his wrist. “I thought you’d understand. Sorry to grab you like that, but you almost bought into some big trouble before I could give you a full briefing.”

Harry picked up his beer and propped his elbows on the bar.

“No problem,” he said easily. “I appreciate your watching my back for me. Speakin’ of briefings, though, just between the two of us, my vision is a lot more selective when I know just what it is I’m not seein’.”

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Categories: Asprin, Robert
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