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Brigitte comes in with a blonde. She waves to me. The blonde raises her hand to wave, but Brigitte gets between us and steers her to the bar.
On the plus side of things, Audsley Ishii has disappeared. I’ll probably have to kill him sometime, but not tonight. Tonight is eggnog and reindeer games. Ho ho ho.
I pour another shot.
When I look up, Julie is standing by the table.
“Can I sit down?”
“You own me. Why not?”
“Don’t complain to me. You’re the one who wanted a favor.”
“According to Carlos, I’m the Krampus. A total Christmas sinkhole.”
“Is it because of Candy or because of me?”
“I lost a girlfriend and gained a boss. You tell me.”
“You didn’t lose her. You just lost a version of her. I bet she’s here right now. Isn’t she?”
“You tell me.”
I owe Julie a lot. So does Candy. More than either of us can ever repay, but I guess I’ll try playing second fiddle now that she’s reopened her detective agency.
“I don’t see her.”
“Good. That’s the idea.”
She pours herself a drink in Carlos’s glass.
“I hear through the grapevine that Wells mi
ght not go to prison after all. I put in my report about possession and mind control and someone back east believed me. They’ll want your report too. To corroborate mine.”
“To help Wells?”
“You said you would.”
“I say a lot of stupid things.”
She holds up her glass. I clink mine against hers.
“I’ll do it this week.”
“Tomorrow.”
“Yes, boss.”
The best-dressed man in L.A. bellies up to the bar and asks Fairuza a question. She points to where I’m sitting and he heads in our direction.
I lean over to Julie.
“You can stay for this or you can leave. If you stay, it’ll be weird. If you go, you’ll be sorry.”
Julie squints at me.
“I hope you aren’t going to write your reports in riddles like that.”
