“Wait,” I say. “It gets better. The angel who used to be Lucifer? He’s a friend of mine. I’ll introduce you sometime.”
“I’m not sure I want that.”
“He’s fun in his own fucked-up way. And he always knows the best places to eat.”
They pick a bit of lint off the blanket. Seeing it relaxes me. The cleaning elves or whatever aren’t perfect after all.
Janet says, “You really do seem to know a lot about it. But I’m not sure if you’re telling the truth or if this is one of your funny stories.”
I put a hand on theirs.
“Stick around and I’ll tell you the biggest joke of all—about when I was Lucifer.”
“Now you really are just telling stories.”
“Maybe. But think about sticking around anyway?”
They rub my hand and nod.
“I will. I am. Do you want me to get you something?”
“How about a drink?”
“All
egra said that you don’t get to drink today.”
“Now you’re just cruel.”
They pull their lips into a single tense line.
“I’m sorry about Vidocq.”
I find another piece of lint. I wonder if the elves leave them for me to find?
“He was one of a kind.”
“When’s the funeral?”
“Tomorrow night.”
“Can I come?”
“Are you sure? You barely knew the guy.”
“He saved me and died for it. I owe him. Instead of telling me about the Devil, why don’t you tell me about him?”
“That I can do.”
“But you should rest now.”
“I will, but I want to tell you something.”
They look at me.
“It’s not good, is it?”
“That’s for you to judge. After Vidocq died, I went back to Dan and Juliette’s house.”