The Getaway God (Sandman Slim 6)
Page 172
“You don’t owe me anything, Bill. Take care of yourself. We’ll see each other again down the road.”
“Make it a good long time.”
“That’s the plan.”
He pours me a whiskey and we have a drink together.
“That little Cindil gal’s been asking about you. You should go and see her.”
“I will. Bye, Bill.”
“Take care, son.”
I go out into the hall and knock on the next door.
Cindil opens it.
“I thought I heard you in with Bill. I’m glad you’re all right.”
“I’m fine.”
She pulls me inside the room. Touches my shirt and takes a step back.
“You’re still hurt.”
“I’ve got a friend who can fix me up, but I wanted to see you first.”
“Why?”
“You heard about how everyone can leave now, right?”
She nods.
“Yeah. Everyone is excited.”
“That’s what I wanted to talk to you about. I still feel bad about what happened to you back home.”
“You saved me down here. And now I get to see Heaven. That’s not so bad.”
“How would you like to come back to the world?”
When she speaks, her voice goes up a little.
“What? How?”
“There’s a woman back on Earth and there’s nobody inside her. No soul. No mind. Nothing. I can give you her body.”
She sits on the bed.
“I can come home?”
“Understand, this isn’t an ordinary body. It’s kind of a mess. If you come back you won’t have any past or any ID. You won’t be pretty, but you won’t be any worse than me. And you’ll be alive.”
“Yes,” she says. “Please. How will you do it?”
I take out the key and show it to her.
“It doesn’t look like much, but I can use it to kind of possess you into the body.”