Marlowe runs his fingers around the hilt, over and around the blade. He sniffs it. Presses the blade to his forehead.
“That’s weird.”
“What’s wrong?”
“There’s nothing on here, and I mean nothing. You’re not even on here and you just handed it to me.”
“Can you tell me how old it is or where it came from?”
He takes a gulp of his drink.
“What did I just say? There’s nothing here. I’ve never felt that before. It’s a complete blank.”
“Could someone do that with hoodoo?”
“Of course, but I’ve always been able to read through magic. This thing is wild. I might know buyers for something this special. I do consulting and appraising for some of the auction houses.”
I take back the knife.
“It’s not for sale.”
“Your loss,” he says, and finishes his drink. “Even though I didn’t find anything, it still counts as a reading, you know.”
“Sure. Bill me.”
He puts down his glass.
“This is pissing me off. Let me try it one more time.”
I hand him the knife.
“I want to try something.”
“Whatever you need to do, Kreskin.”
He holds the knife with the tip straight up and just stares at it for a minute. Then puts the blade to his mouth, licking it from the hilt to the tip in one motion.
Carlos looks at me. I don’t know if I’m getting my money’s worth out of Marlowe or just feeding some secret knife fetish.
“If you’re going to popsicle that knife, it better be for business reasons.”
“Fuck,” he says, and hands me back the knife. I take it using the utility rag and wrap it up without touching it. I’ll have Vidocq chamois it off again later.
“There’s nothing on there,” he says. “I get the slightest trace of you, but nothing else. It’s like that thing is a black hole, sucking everything in. You’ve got to tell me where you got it. Are there any more like it?”
“No, I don’t, and I don’t know. Just bill me for your time.”
“Where should I send it?”
“Bring it to Max Overdrive.”
“Or he can leave it here,” says Carlos.
“I think I’d be more comfortable here. That friend of yours with the metal hands creeps me the fuck out.”
“He was even worse when he didn’t have a body.”
“What?”