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PAUL STAGGERED slightly as
he caught his foot coming in his front door. He had no
idea why he was dragging his only clean suit jacket along
the dusty floor like a pull-toy; maybe he'd remember why
in the morning. He stumbled again as he entered the bedroom. A shape rose from the bed and was silhouetted against the moonlit window. As Luszeit flicked on the light, the shape wagged its tail and bounded off the bed. <<Easy, easy girl>> Luszeit said unsteadily. <<Down, Ninja, down!>> he continued as he managed to pat his rottweiler on the head on the third try. He threw his jacket in the general direction of the bed and submitted himself to the frantic and loving attentions of the dog. After a couple of minutes he rose and led the dog through the townhouse, downstairs, and out into the pocket-sized yard that attempted to live under his deck. Ninja stopped at the door and looked at Luszeit reproachfully; this was the shortcut he took on occasions when he got home too late and too drunk to navigate the length of Paradise Lane for a real walk. Leaving Martha to her explorations of the yard, Luszeit wove his way back to the telephone and answering machine. The machine was blinking steadily: once, twice, three times as he eased himself onto the bed. But as he lowered his head, the room began to rotate in slow, lazy circles. Bad idea, he thought as he reached for the play button on the answering machine. He shook his head and tried to remember when he'd last gotten this drunk. The reason wasn't a real mystery; Day had spent the entire night pumping him for information about the hang-up calls. Luszeit had left the bar abruptly when Day, after his fourth or fifth drink, had offered the suggestion that the caller was Luszeit's girlfriend, Andrea.
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