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45

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Mort went up to the reception desk of the hotel that he was staying at. He was pleased to see that Gruber was on duty. "I need a favor, Gruber," Mort said.

Gruber looked up from his paperwork to see a disheveled Mort Corso with a broken pair of glasses and a mysterious girl standing behind him. "Certainly, Mr. Corso," Gruber replied, acting as though there was nothing wrong with Mort's strange appearance at all.

"I want you to look up a Ted and Amy Milner."

Gruber wrote the info down on a pad of paper.

"I want to know if they're staying at some hotel here in Paris," Mort added.

"It could take a little time, sir," Gruber replied.

"Of course. Start with the five-stars. They're your best bet," Mort said.

"Very good, sir," Gruber said, taking down a few more notes on the pad. He paused. "Are you feeling all right?"

"I've felt better. Thanks, Gruber. Let me know if you locate them," Mort replied.

Gruber watched as Mort and the girl walked to the elevators.

When they arrived in his room, Mort filled a bag with ice from a tray in the minibar as the girl sat on the bed with her head tilted back and Mort's bloodstained handkerchief to her nose.

"Put this against the back of your neck," Mort said, sitting down beside her and handing her the improvised ice pack.

She applied it to the nape of her neck, lay back and shut her eyes.

"You were great down there by the way. I haven't thanked you for that," Mort said.

She opened her eyes and smiled at him.

"Like to tell me what's going on?" Mort asked.

The girl shrugged. "Someone's after your book."

Mort sighed. She was a nice girl, but he really hated her vagueness about everything.

"They didn't have to kill Fargas to get it. They didn't have to mutilate his copy, either. They tore out the engravings and ditched the rest. There's got to be more to it than that," Mort explained.

Her nose had stopped bleeding. "Do you believe in the Devil, Corso?" She asked.

"I'm being paid to. Do you?" Mort replied.

The girl smiled. "I'm a bit of a devil myself..."

She reached up, removed his glasses, and placed them on the bedside table. Mort eyed her uncertainly.

Her nose began to bleed again.

She put her fingertips to it and inspected the blood on them. Then she put them in the blood some more, reached up, and gently drew four vertical lines down his face from forehead to mouth, where her fingertips lingered.

Mort's face approached hers. They melted into a passionate kiss. Then she pushed him away and down on the bed roughly.

He looked up at her, confusedly.

She looked down at him and began to unbutton his shirt. She parted it away from his chest and rested her palms on it. Playfully, she ran her finger over the imprint of Liana's teeth.

The girl smiled mischievously. "Would you know a devil if you saw one?"