“Nothing like that. You just walk on out of here and don’t ever walk in again. You and I will settle this in time, but right now the grown-ups have bigger fish than you to fry.”
He gets up and nods to someone, then heads back to his office. When I turn around, six of his people are spread out in a semicircle around me. No one is pointing a gun at me, but together they look like little Grim Reapers reincarnated as bouncers at a Beverly Hills yuppie bar.
“Admit it. You used canned olives in your martinis.”
Nothing. Tough room.
Maybe Wells is right and it’s time to pick a side. If I’d said yes to him, do you think any of these dour cocksuckers would have cracked even a polite smile? I’m not holding my breath. Lucifer wouldn’t have laughed either, but at least he wouldn’t be morally superior about it.>“What does ‘not wandering the streets’ mean?”
He shrugs.
“They pop up every now and then, like any dark magic. But they’re always contained, not strolling to Whisky A Go-Go.”
“When was the last time someone used Drifters to settle an argument?”
“The last I heard about was when Regina Maab and Cabal Ash were going at each other. I don’t know about what. It sounded like it was old-world stuff. That’s maybe why it escalated so far. You know how those Europeans get. Some Cossacks stole Grandma’s beets five hundred years ago and they’re still bitching about it.”
“Where’s Regina Maab now?”
Ritchie shrugs.
“Gone. No one’s seen her in years. Whatever the argument was about, I think Cabal won.”
“Ash is into Black Sun hoodoo. You think he’s hooked up with Drifters?”
“Not directly, but chaos magic attracts a lot of freaks. He wouldn’t be above hiring an alcoholic Deadhead who can’t pay his rent. God knows there are enough of them around.”
Lucifer is examining the drugs in Ritchie’s cabinet, pretending he’s not listening to us.
“You ready to hire me to get on this?”
He doesn’t say anything for a minute.
“I’m more interested in who shot at us when we were leaving the Geistwalds’ party. Find me something on that.”
“You’re the ones with cop connections. They do hit men. I do monsters.”
“Who says they’re not connected?”
“Hire me and we’ll find out.”
He slips a bottle of pills into his pocket and puts the rest back.
“Go talk to Cabal and then call me. I’ll decide then.”
“Fine. You want to hang here or do you want me to ride back to the hotel with you?”
“I’ll stay here for a while. You’ll find the Ash clan in the Linda Vista Hospital. You’ll love it. It’s been closed for years, but they still shoot movies and television there. You get into Cabal’s place through the big freezer in the morgue.”
“I’ll come by the hotel after I talk to him.”
“Call first. And take a shower and change your clothes before you come over. Smelling Cabal every decade or so is quite enough. And one more thing.”
“Yeah.”
“Take your new partner with you. Cabal can be difficult, but he’s an important man. Maybe your friend can keep you from shooting his place up.”
“She carries a gun, too, so I wouldn’t count on it.”