the spell that killed those gunmen. But they do know about you.

They’ve traced the limo to you and they checked with the hotel.

They know that I came by to see you and that we left together.

They want me to come in and make a report, answer some

questions.”

“Things seem to be getting sticky, ” Wyrdrane said. “I’m sorry we

got you into this.”

“I was already into it up to my neck, ” said Fugisawa. “We’re

going to have to get our stories straight.”

“It may be necessary to confide in Katayama, ” Modred said.

“How well do you know him?”

“Not very well, but he’s got a solid reputation. He’s always gone

straight by the book.”

“What do you think he’d do if you told him the truth?”

“I honestly don’t know, ” said Fugisawa.

“We may have to find out, ” Modred said. “We could use some

help on the inside. But I gather you don’t think much of his

abilities.”

“Katayama may be in over his head on this case, ” Fugisawa said,

“but he’s not a fool. And to cover you with the department, we could

use the story of the limo being stolen to provide you with an alibi. I

don’t think anyone would question it, not with me vouching for

you.”

Modred pursed his lips thoughtfully and glanced at the others.

“What do you think?”

“I think it’s worth a try, ” said Wyrdrane.

“Kira?”

“Having the cops on our asses won’t make things any easier, ”

she said.

“We could meet with Katayama, ” Wyrdrane added. “See how he

responds. If he becomes difficult, we could use a spell to cloud his

memory and make him forget he ever met us.”

“I don’t like resorting to that, ” said Merlin. “It’s an easy solution,

but spells of forgetfulness often tend to cause psychological