"I know you must hate it."
"Hate doesn't come close to it."
"I heard about your fight with Parker."
"Everyone has, apparently."
"Did you know Jayne-Anne is dead?"
"When?"
"Last night. Parker did it. At least, that's what I heard."
"That's why you need my help. I go after Jayne and Parker kills her because she probably has information that could lead to Mason. TJ and Kasabian are already out of the picture. That just leaves you."
"Will you help me?"
"Give me a reason."
"I know where Mason is."
I walk back to the bar and away from the music. I don't want to miss any of this. "I don't believe you."
"The reason no one can find him is that he isn't in this reality. He's somewhere else. But I guess that if you got back here from Hell, you can find a way to get to him."
"How do I know that Mason isn't standing next to you right now, telling you what to say?"
"How do I know you won't shoot me in the back like you did Parker, once I've told you where Mason is?"
Mason or Cherry. If she's telling the truth, it isn't much of a choice. Especially after today. I wouldn't mind giving bloody noses to some nosy Sub Rosa hall monitors, but with Parker and Mason dogging me, it's dumb to go begging for unnecessary trouble.
"Okay," I say. "It's a deal. When and where should we meet?"
She doesn't say anything for a few seconds. "Someone's coming. I'll call you later."
I put the phone in my pocket and go back to my food. Carlos has already refilled my glass.
"Let me guess. You were talking to a woman. I don't need to hear the words. It's all in the tone," he says. "They call when they want something, then they're the ones who cut you off."
"It's not women. It's humans. Can't live with 'em. Can't kill 'em all."
I go back to my food, and wonder about Cherry. Her breathing sounded nervous on the phone, but I can't be sure. I guess my new Spidey senses don't work over wires. But if she's setting me up, wouldn't she have suggested a time and place to meet right away? I can go round and round like this forever, looking for secret meanings in every syllable and pause in the conversation. If I am being set up, I want to go in with an edge so I don't end up eating one of Parker's fireballs. Normally, about now, I'd go and ask Vidocq for advice or maybe a protection charm. Today doesn't seem like the day for that.
It takes me a minute to notice that the music has changed. It's shifted from tiki drums and bird calls to something more somber. All slow bass and breathy sax. Then a singer.
"It's dreamy weather we're on
You waved your crooked wand
Along an icy pond with a frozen moon
A murder of silhouette crows I saw
And the tears on my face
And the skates on the pond
They spell Alice."