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Cavuto nodded, picked up his spoon, and took a huge bite of stew and rice, still nodding as he chewed. He looked as if he were going to say something, then quickly took another bite, as if to stop himself. He appeared to be distracted by the game on television, and finished his lunch without another word.
Rivera ate his soup and sandwich in silence as well.
As they were leaving, Cavuto grabbed two toothpicks from the dispenser by the register and gave one to Rivera as they walked out into a beautiful San Francisco day.
"So you were following Asher?"
"I've been trying to keep an eye on him. Just in case. "
"And you shot her nine times for giving the guy a hand job," Cavuto finally asked.
"I guess," Rivera said.
"You know, Alphonse, that right there is why I don't hang out with you socially. Your values are fucked up. "
"She wasn't human, Nick. "
"Still. A hand job? Deadly force? I don't know - "
"It wasn't deadly force. I didn't kill her. "
"Nine to the chest?"
"I saw her - it - last night. On my street. Watching me from a storm sewer. "
"Ever think to ask Asher how he happened to know the flying bulletproof bird woman in the first place?"
"Yeah, I did, but I can't tell you what he said. It's too weird. "
Cavuto threw his arms in the air. "Well, sweet Tidy Bowl Jesus skipping on the blue toilet water, we wouldn't want it to get fucking weird, would we?"
LILY
They were on their second cup of coffee and Charlie had told Lily about not getting the two soul vessels, about the encounter with the sewer harpy, about the shadow coming out of the mountains in Sedona and the other version of The Great Big Book of Death, and his suspicions that there was a frightening problem with his little girl, the symptoms of which were two giant dogs and an ability to kill with the word kitty. To Charlie's thinking, Lily was reacting to the wrong story.
"You hooked up with a demon from the Underworld and I'm not good enough for you?"
"It's not a competition, Lily. Can we not talk about that? I knew I shouldn't have told you. I'm worried about other stuff. "
"I want details, Asher. "
"Lily, a gentleman doesn't share the details of his amorous encounters. "
Lily crossed her arms and assumed a pose of disgusted incredulity, an eloquent pose, because before she said it, Charlie knew what was coming: "Bullshit. That cop shot pieces off her, but you're worried about protecting her honor?"
Charlie smiled wistfully. "You know, we shared a moment - "
"Oh my God, you complete man-whore!"
"Lily, you can't possibly be hurt by my - by my response to your generous - and let me say right here - extraordinarily tempting offer. Gee whiz. "
"It's because I'm too perky, isn't it? Not dark enough for you? You being Mr. Death and all. "
"Lily, the shadow in Sedona was coming for me. When I left town, it went away. The sewer harpy came for me. The other Death Merchant said that I was different. They never had deaths happen as a result of their presence like I have. "
"Did you just say 'gee whiz' to me? What am I, nine? I am a woman - "
"I think I might be the Luminatus, Lily. "
