“Do you think city hall would take battling dragons as a excuse to waive a fine?”

“Never take an elevator in city hall.”

“Stealing, of course, is a crime, and a very impolite thing to do. But like most impolite things, it is excusable under certain circumstances. Stealing is not excusable if, for instance, you are in a museum and you decide that a certain painting would look better in your house, and you simply grab the painting and take it there. But if you were very, very hungry, and you had no way of obtaining money, it would be excusable to grab the painting, take it to your house, and eat it.”

“Marissa Rogers, I will marry you tomorrow if that's what it takes to show you that I'm committed. you say the word and we will go to city hall at nine a.m. and tie the knot with a couple of bums looking on.”

“Taking up marriage is a good excuse for taking up cursing, I think.”

“The least you could do is offer a little conversation.” Beckett dodged a pothole, keeping his eyes on the road.“You want me to talk?”“It would be the polite thing to do.”“Okay. Let’s talk.”“Any topic will be fine.”“I’m going to sit here and silently think of one. Might take a while.”