"Maybe it's all the weed and blow, Moonie."

"Fuck that. They're the only reason I can smell anything at all, clear out my sinuses. So what is it you want me to smell?"

"Vampire," I said. "The prick was leaning on my car. I thought maybe you could pick up his scent, track him to his lair." I remembered the blanket I'd found in the canal, the one Fred had used to wrap up Jimmy Lee's corpse-the one with the vampire's juice on it. Damn.

"I can do that, but you got to get me something of his. Plus, I got to do it at night, once all the tourists clear out. I got to go doggy-style to track him. I go now, the assholes with the butterfly nets will be chasing me all over town."

"Okay. If I get something of his, could you track him later tonight? Maybe an hour or so before dawn, see where he goes to ground?"

"Yeah, Domino, I can do that."

"All right, I'll see what I can do. You going to be around here later where I can find you?"

"Sure, I can hang around."

"Okay, thanks, Moonie."

"No problem, thanks for the grub, Domino."

"Peace, Moonie."

"Fuck that, babe. I hope you stake his ass. I hate those undead cocksuckers."

Back at my condo, I paused at the door, keys in hand, and tried to prepare myself for what was coming. I took a deep breath, unlocked the door and went in.

"Hi, Domino," Honey said. She was wrestling with a gray squirrel on the sofa. The squirrel had one of Honey's feet in its mouth, and the piskie had an arm-lock on its bushy tail.

"Hey," I said. I went into the kitchen and set my remaining purchases on the breakfast table, taking care not to disturb the sizable nest Honey had made from grass, flower petals, newspaper and a couple strips of white cardboard.

The squirrel ran past me, leaped up on the windowsill and squeezed out through the crack.

I pulled the plastic-wrapped carnations out of the bag and went to look in the cupboard. I didn't have anything in the way of a vase, so I settled for a large sports bottle and filled it with water from the tap. Then I set the flowers on the windowsill where Mrs. Dawson could get a good look.

For a moment, it felt like someone was standing near me. I heard a delicate sniff, but whether it was the usual disdain or appreciation for the flowers, I wasn't sure.

I went back out to the living room, paused, looked around and then went back to the kitchen. I crossed to my bedroom and office and checked them, too. All of the walls had been painted in soft but vibrant shades-peach, mint-green, rose. A little girly maybe, but it was pretty. There was no smell of fresh paint. I went back into the living room.

"Nice paint job," I said.

"Thanks!" Honey said. "It's not really paint, just glamour. If you want, I can change it."

"Nah, it's pretty. Mrs. Dawson will love it. What's glamour?"

"Fairy magic." Honey threw out her hands and spun a circle in midair. A sparkling cloud of pixie dust winked and danced around her and then faded.

"Nice," I said. "Say, Honey, if you can paint the walls, why can't you use your glamour to give yourself some clothes? What was all that shit about fig leaves and garlands?"

Honey shrugged. "I like being naked. Anyway, you said I look good."

I nodded, threw open the French doors and walked out onto the balcony. Honey had started a garden. There was still room for one patio chair amidst the pots and planters of all shapes and sizes. There were flowers and herbs and other green things I couldn't identify. There were three healthy marijuana plants, each at least four feet tall. A dinner plate had been set out, and birds were flying onto the balcony and depositing seeds on the plate.

"Where'd you get the flowerpots and stuff?"

"Neighbors."

"They gave them to you?"

"Not exactly. I'm just borrowing them."

I nodded. "Okay, if someone calls the cops on us, you can deal with them. Same goes for the weed."

"Okay."

"I wasn't sure what you eat. Mostly I have alcohol and frozen dinners."

"Yeah, I saw that. I had a beer."

"Anyway, I took a guess and bought some honey."

"I want ice cream."

"Yeah?"

"Ben amp; Jerry's. Cherry Garcia or Chunky Monkey."

"Okay, I'll have to go back to the store."

"No hurry. I turned on the TV, but just to say hi. I told Mr. Clean he should have told you about your spells in the Between."

"What'd he say?"

"He said you didn't ask."

I grunted. It was true, I hadn't asked. Sometimes Mr. Clean will volunteer information, but only if it isn't directly relevant to anything.

"So you'll be living in the nest?"

"Yeah, I'm still working on it. I could use some cotton balls."

"In the bathroom, drawer under the sink."

"Okay, thanks. Did you find the vampire?"

"Not yet. I have someone working on it."

"What then? You said he was protecting something."

I wasn't sure how much I wanted to tell Honey about what I was working on. The fact was, I could only afford not to distrust her because she wasn't part of my world and didn't know my business. Then again, I needed her and if she was going to be rooming with me and working with me in the Between, she'd probably have to know sooner or later. Plus, I liked what she'd done with the place. At least she hadn't trashed it or stolen all my stuff.

A decent human being would have left it at that. I spun up a spell and got inside Honey's head. "If you tell the truth you don't have to remember anything," I said.

The piskie's mind was an untidy place, but it was easy enough to find what I needed. She didn't know anything about the murders, or about Adan. She wanted to return to this world, and she wanted it with a fierceness that was almost overwhelming. She needed me, too. She wanted to be my friend.

She trusted me.

I dropped the spell. Honey wouldn't remember what I'd done to her. But I would.

"I think someone is being possessed by an evil spirit," I said. "Someone in the organization I work for."

"Your gang. You're a gangster."

"Yeah, I guess. Anyway, this guy in my outfit is being possessed. I think the vampire is protecting the spirit in the Between."

"A guy?"

"Yeah, my boss's son. It's pretty complicated."

"What's his name?"

"Adan."

"What's he look like?"

"I don't know. He's good-looking, I guess."

"You like him?"

"Yeah, he's nice. You know, he's my boss's son."

"Is he your boyfriend?"

"No. Maybe. I don't know. We just met. Really, I just have to keep an eye on him because of the whole possession angle."

"Why do you think he's possessed? Maybe he's just an asshole."

I looked at Honey. She seemed cross. "Are you jealous, Honey?"

Honey laughed. "Of course not! Why would I be jealous?"

I shrugged. "I don't know, you just seem awfully interested in Adan."

"You're my roommate. I just don't want you to be taken advantage of by some asshole."

"Well, I don't think he's going to take advantage of me. He did threaten to skin me, but that was when he was possessed."

"Are you going to go out with him again?"

"Yeah, tonight. He's got to have something that belongs to the vampire. I need something of his to track him." I'd stopped by the canal on my way home, but there was no sign of Jimmy Lee's blanket.

"You need something for a spell?"

"No, it's hard for me to lock on to a vampire with my magic. Different kind of juice, I guess."

"Have you slept with this guy?"

"That's personal."

"You haven't."

I scowled. "Like I said, we just met. We've only had one real date."

"But you want to sleep with him."

"It's none of your business."

"You do. Even though he wants to skin you."

"He doesn't want to skin me. He was possessed by an evil spirit."