“I know. They cut his heart out. You were one of the assholes partying here that night, weren’t you? Did you see what happened?”
He nods.
“Part of it.”
“Want to elaborate?”
“Mostly it was over. They took his heart and put it in some kind of jar with a bunch of writing on it, then stuck the knife back in his chest. After that, they took the other guy and left.”
“What other guy?” says Julie.
The kid stares at her, then Vincent.
I come up behind him and drape an arm over his shoulder.
“What’s your name, kid?”
“Varg.”
“Sure it is. Varg, that lady is my boss. If you don’t answer her, I’ll be obligated to stir-fry your balls for her pet piranhas.”
Varg looks over at where he dropped his joint. He’s either regretting being high or wishing he was a lot higher. He moves his head in two jerking nods.
“Okay.”
He points at Vincent.
“But keep him away from me.”
I wave Vincent off. “Why don’t you grab some wall?”
He goes to the back of the room and stands in the corner watching us.
“Time to answer the lady, Varg. What other guy did you see?”
“The other stiff. They wrapped him up with the heart and took him away. They were a lot nicer to him than to that guy,” he says, nodding his chin at Vincent.
“What did the other people look like?” says Julie.
“I don’t know. I couldn’t see too good. They had some flashlights is all. I didn’t get a look at their faces. Except for the chick.”
“What chick?” says Candy. “What did she look like?”
“She was hot. Like you,” he says, trying to be charming.
Candy raises her eyebrows. “What did you fucking say?”
Varg squirms. I tighten my arm across his shoulder.
“Sorry,” he says. “But, I mean, she really was hot. A blonde. Pretty like a model.”
“Wow. It’s like she’s here with us right now,” says Candy. “What else did she look like?”
“I don’t know. One of the dudes called her Sigrun.”
“That’s a funny name,” I say. “Are you sure you heard it right?”
“I thought it was funny too. But the dude said it again. Sigrun.”