The Getaway God (Sandman Slim 6)

“Yes, sir.”

Julie leads me behind some storage crates where there are a lot of deep shadows to leave through.

“Are you going to be all right?” she says.

“I just need to get out of here awhile and think.”

“I’ll probably be here all night, so I can brief you on anything that happens tomorrow. Okay?”

“Yeah. Sure.”

I’m about to step into a shadow when my phone rings. I check the caller ID. It’s Allegra. I hit the talk button.

“How is she?”

I don’t her anything for a minute.

“Allegra? How is she?”

“I don’t know what to say. I was only gone a minute.”

“What’s happened?”

“Candy hadn’t moved, hadn’t changed since you left. I went to the closet for some supplies.”

“Is she alive?”

I must have shouted, because I startle Julie.

“I think so. I’m so sorry. I heard a noise while I was out of the room. When I came back, Fairuza was on the floor and a window was broken. She’s gone, Stark. She’s gone.”

I hang up.

“What’s wrong?” says Julie.

My mind is going a million miles an hour.

“He did this.”

“Saint Nick? What did he do?”

I push past her, pulling the Colt. Julie gets in front of me.

“Stop. Talk to me. What’s happened?”

“Candy is missing, and I know that motherfucker had something to do with it.”

“Then what good is it killing him? Think about it.”

I do. I start for the cells again.

“Stop,” says Julie. “What’s your plan? Kill Saint Nick? Tear up the city looking for Candy so you’ll feel in control? The Vigil has resources you wouldn’t believe. We can find anyone. What do you have besides anger? Be smart for once. Let me handle this. You go home. I’ll call you when we find her.”

I look at her. Is this more Vigil bullshit? Is she on their side or mine?

“Please,” she says. “If you kill him, there’s no coming back. You’ll have the Marshals Ser­vice, Homeland Security, and the Vigil after you.”

In my mind I can see Mason’s head exploding. It feels even better than the first time.