I grabbed myself by the collar and dragged me into the Dead Man's room before I soaked the carpet with drool.

She is attractive, is she not?

"Huh? You too." We lived in an age of wonders indeed. The millennium was at hand. He never said anything nice about persons of the opposite sex. But maybe Carla Lindo was opposite enough to touch even the dead.

You have something to report?

Report it may help you avoid hyperventilation.

"I already told you everything."

Oh.. So you did.

Somebody started pounding on the front door. The Dead Man didn't appear interested. I ignored it. Whoever might go away. It was time to uncomplicate my life.

I have been thinking, Garrett.

"Hey, that's great. I'm glad to hear it. Especially since that's what you get paid for."

Garrett! Time is of the essence.

"So quit wasting it. I've only got maybe thirty years left.''

I have been mulling this Book of Dreams. it occurs to me that Chodo Contague must soon, if he has not already, discover the nature of the root of all this excitement. It occurs to me that, then, his interest will intensify, passing beyond professional revenge.

"Huh?" He does go on like that "You lost me." Not really, but he does like to feel smarter than the rest of us and the best way to keep him moving is to appeal to his ego.

The more I consider this Book of Shadows, the more sinister and seductive it seems.

I made appropriate noises indicating awed curiosity

We all play roles all the time, Garrett. We all develop multiple faces we don according to the situation and companion of the moment and, perhaps, according to the advantage we hope to acquire. How terribly convenient it would be to have the ability to become whatever we wanted, filling the role to perfection, whenever that suited our whim. He sounded wistful. Having a Carla Lindo around can do that to anybody. How very convenient if we happen to be afflicted with terrible handicaps.

Like being dead, maybe? "I get you. But my inclination is just to squat here till we see how the wind's blowing"

Unacceptable. There is a balance that must be rectified. Not to mention the fact that we have undertaken to aid Miss Ramada. I must do some additional thinking on how best to proceed. While I do so, I suggest you cross the hall. Dean has installed Mr. Tate in your office. He appears to need reassurances.

"Willard Tate? Here?"

The same.

"The old boy never leaves his compound. What the hell is he doing here?"

You might ask.

Nothing like a subtle hint. "Yeah. Right." I headed for the office.

Tate had taken the guest chair. He didn't fit. Too small. Like a wispy gray old gnome. Dean had settled him with a pitcher He was working on that and flirting with Eleanor. I said, "Three minutes more and you wouldn't have caught me home " Just to suggest that I was a busy man.

He glowered. "Tinnie's taken a bad turn, Garrett "He gestured reassuringly, though. "Won't kill her, they tell me. But it's enough to leave me an emotional wreck. I came here to find out if you've learned anything new"

"Not a lot." I told him about my day

He shook his head slowly, angrily, looked at Eleanor as though he was talking to her "I'm wasting my time and yours. I know that. But I couldn't work. Couldn't sit still " As he spoke he changed, gaining an edge of steel. "I want to meet this woman who calls herself the Serpent. I want to tell her a thing or two."

"She's a witch, Mr. Tate. And not any tealeaf reader, either. Not easy to reach and big trouble if you do. Moreover, my partner has cautioned me that Chodo Contague should be developing a more than passing interest in her " I explained why.

Tate rose. He would have paced had there been room. "I don't like seeing Tinnie hurt, Garrett. Nor any Tate. Especially not for no reason. I won't endure it. Chodo isn't a problem. I have money. I have proven connections. I can buy myself a stormwarden if I care to."

"Sounds like the frying pan to the fire to me. Suppose you do buy you one. What happens when he figures out whatthe book is?"

"I don't much care

"You ought to. I do. We have obligations that transcend—"

"Crap."

"It's not quite law of the jungle and survival of the fittest out there, Mr. Tate. Not yet. And that's mainly because some of us do what's right. Listen to me. That book is evil incarnate. Even if every character recorded in it is as sweet and naive as Tinnie, the book is an instrument of darkness. Its only use can be to do evil."

Was this me speechifying? My oh my.

I'd started thinking about how I could use the book myself. I suspected anybody who heard about it would do the same. Human nature. How could anyone who possessed it resist abusing the power it would confer?

"Think about this. If the Book of Shadows didn't exist, would Tinnie be a step from death's door? How about all the people who've already died because of it? It's pure evil because it brings out the worst in everybody."

In his best moments Tate looks like he's noshirig lemons. This wasn't one of his best times. "I think you're splitting hairs, Garrett. That book didn't kill anybody. People made decisions and acted on them. Only then did people die."

"Those decisions were warped by knowledge of the existence of the book."

"You're quibbling. We're quibbling. Why? Are you trying to get money out of me? Why on earth are you sitting there talking to me at all?"

Best question he'd asked so far. "Courtesy, Mr Tate. Courtesy."

"Why don't you toss me out? I'm just art old pain in the ass who's keeping you from doing something useful."

He was in a mood, he was. "You have a suggestion what? Maybe I should rent a horse and go galloping around yelling ‘Come out, come out, wherever you are.'

His control had grown ragged, but he actually gave my question consideration.

"I'd like to do something, Mr. Tate. I want to do something. My style is to grab loose ends and keep picking till things unravel. But I'm having trouble finding any loose threads. All I can do is keep getting in the way and hope that leads somewhere. Meantime, I keep tripping over all these other people who're looking themselves."

Willard Tate wasn't a wealthy man because he let his emotions rule him. He clamped down. He thought. He told me. "You have resources. The girl. The dwarf chieftain. Those men who work for Contague. Find those two. Keep an eye on them. Let them do your hunting."

He was a storehouse of ideas, all right. Crazy ideas. Follow Crask and Sadler around? Why not just tie boulders to my toes and go for a swim? Save us all time and trouble.

"They're only men, Garrett. Chodo's just a man. You've faced down stormwardens. You've invaded a vampire nest. Did those things use up all your courage and leave you a crippled old man, too?"

He was a manipulator, that guy. "No. What did he want, really?" I hadn't yet gotten a real grip on the fact that he was here. Had he slipped his moorings?

"Money and contacts, Garrett. I've got them. Chodo Contague doesn't intimidate me. I want this Serpent creature. Get her for me Destroy her book if you want. It means nothing to me Just get me her. My mind is set. I'll pay whatever it costs. If you have to work through Chodo Contague, do it. Tell me what you need and I'll provide the tools. But don't sit there cringing."

I wasn't cringing, but wasn't going to argue. He'd started sounding like a candidate for the cackle academy. Having him behind me was all right but preferably far behind and not on any crusade.

How do I get into these messes? I glanced at Eleanor. "Why me?"

Hell. I should get out of this racket. Weider still wants me at the brewery. I could handle security there, work regular hours, and never worry about getting caught up in any wackiness.