“Good. In the meantime, maybe you’ll encounter the doppelgänger again, and get some answers.”
“Last time I ‘encountered’ the doppelgänger, he tried to kill me.”
“Are you certain? He was chasing you, but perhaps he just wanted to chat.”
I gave him a look. He grinned in return.
“Obviously you need to be careful. But if this is a true doppelgänger, it’s here for a reason.”
“You said it might be here for me. You don’t think it just wants to kill me?”
“No. After all, if that was what it wanted, why didn’t it kill you already? Why go after Tristan in the guise of your boyfriend?”
“Fiancé,” I corrected him automatically. “Or... what if it isn’t a real doppelgänger? What are the other possibilities?”
“Endless. You could be hallucinating after eating LSD-laden baked goods.”
“Very funny. Patience was with me; she saw him, too.”
“Not to mention a shop owner in Chinatown.”
“And witnesses at the hotel the night Tristan was killed. Speaking of which, would you be willing to go back there with me, see what we can see?”
“So, is it Oscar or Sailor who will come back to work for me?”
I blew out a breath, but didn’t respond.
“Anyway, you have a day to figure it out. I have another obligation tonight. When you figure out which one will come back to work for me, we can go to the hotel tomorrow. Ask Patience if she’ll go with us.”
“Why Patience?”
“We need a necromancer.”
“Hervé’s a better necromancer. Though she did see something when she was in the lobby...”
“Bring them both, then. The more the merrier.”
• • •
Hervé’s voodoo supply shop closed at eight. I just barely made it to Valencia Street in time. Caterina gave me a cool smile when I entered, then ducked into the back and sent Hervé out to speak with me.
“I think we need to go back to the hotel,” I said. “But this time with backup.”
“Who is our ‘backup’?”
“Aidan, Patience, you, and me.”
“So two witches, a Gypsy psychic, and a voodoo priest walk into a hotel... ,” began Hervé with a low chuckle, shaking his head. “Sounds like the beginning of a joke.”
“Yes, but I’m not sure if I’ll like the punch line.”
“Lily, I’ll go with you if you need me, but I believe I did all I could last night. If Patience is half the psychic she’s cracked up to be, she’ll be able to make contact with any latent spirits.”
Caterina reappeared through the beaded curtain that separated the shop floor from their privatequarters. She was carrying a canvas shopping bag, which held two smaller brown paper bags. She set it on the counter in front of me.
“One of your friends forgot this when they were checking out earlier,” she said without preamble.
“Oh, um, thank you,” I said.
