She bumps me with her shoulder.
“Hell, dumbass. Remember when you took me there?”
“Yeah. That was brilliant. I almost got you killed.”
“You almost get everyone killed. It’s one of your charms.”
“Thanks, I guess?”
“What I mean is that even though things get scary, it’s never boring with you.”
I look at her.
“You’re bored?”
“I didn’t say that. I just mean that, with all of your problems, it’s nice having you back in L.A. again.”
“It’s good being back.”
“You never told me much about what happened when you were . . . gone.”
“Dead. I was dead. You can say it.”
“Right. You never talk about it.”
I take a deep puff of the Malediction.
“I spent a year on the road doing nothing but killing every single day. That’s all there is to tell.”
“I know there’s more to it, but I won’t press you.”
“Thanks.”
She turns and gives me a sly grin.
“Janet seems nice.”
I knew this was coming. I drop my head onto my folded arms.
“She is. They is. They are.”
“Interesting stutter you have there. Is there something you want to tell me?”
I look up as the light begins to fade. Hold out my hand and pull Candy to her feet. We stroll through Little Cairo’s trash-covered streets.
I say, “It won’t be long now.”
“Until the spooks come out to play?”
“That’s what I’m told.”
We turn a corner and Little Cairo suddenly gets worse. Dried blood on the pavement. Overturned cars. Luggage and furniture thrown out of windows. Smart Abbot. He didn’t tell me quite how bad it was so I’d have to see for myself. Smart, but an asshole.
Candy peeks in the windows of some houses as we walk. I wait in the street until she says, “Weird.”
I go over to her and look into a wrecked living room.
Blood. Blood everywhere, especially on the walls.