I dropped on to the hot sandy road.
“Better make sure you’re not heeled,” Franklin said, but he was grinning all the time. “Then you can go in.”
He ran his hands over my body. If he had told me to undo my overcoat I’d have been sunk, because he’d have seen the guard’s uniform. But he didn’t.
“Okay, hop in, and beat it,” he said, stepping back.
I got into the hearse and slammed the door. My left hand reached under Maxison and retrieved the .38. I slipped it into my pocket. I felt a lot better with that gun within reach.
We drove through the gate into a courtyard. I saw the dogs then. They were massive brutes that strained at their chains when they saw us, snarling and showing their teeth. None of them barked. Their silent snarling made them look like wolves. I was glad to get past them.
We stopped outside a steel grill. Four or five guards paced up and down on the other side of the grill. Each carried a rifle. One of them opened up for us.
“Okay, Maxison,” he said. “Go ahead. The doc’s just finished.”
I released the clutch and drove past the guard. I didn’t look at him.
We were in.