Page 93
“You couldn’t afford them.”
“That must have been nice for you. Me being dead, you didn’t have to pay my salary all this time.”
“But I have been paying it. To Candy.”
“What are you talking about?”
“You really never read the paperwork when I put you on retainer, did you?”
“Not a word.”
He sets down the glass.
“Aside from health insurance, which it looks like you could use right now, there was a wrongful-death provision. Audsley Ishii had been an employee of the Augur’s office. Even though he’d been dismissed, he killed you over a disagreement that stemmed from that job. When he killed you, it initiated the wrongful-death payout. Candy, being the closest thing you have to a next of kin, has been getting your salary the whole time you’ve been gone.”
I study his face, and this time I’m sure. Abbot is telling the truth.
I say, “Thanks. You could have been a bastard about it, but you weren’t. I appreciate that.”
Abbot picks up his glass.
“We had a deal and I honor my deals. Now that you’re back, I’ll start the paperwork to reroute the money to the account we set up for you.”
Maybe this is part of what Kasabian meant when he said they’d been doing great without me. Having my Sub Rosa money without me around to break things or bring trouble down on the store could be one of the things that helped turn the store around.
I have a little more bourbon and think.
“Don’t do it,” I tell him. “Keep sending her the money. I only have a day or so before I might die again. She can use the money more than me.”
“If you don’t die, do you have any of your own money?”
“Not a cent.”
“Do you have a place to live?”
“The bus station is a place.”
Abbot leans forward again.
“We have an apartment near Universal City that we keep for out-of-town dignitaries. You can use it until we figure out what to do with you.”
“What do I need an apartment for? I just told you I’m probably going to be dead soon.”
Abbot puts his hands on the table.
“Don’t talk like that. We’ll figure something out. I have the best magicians, the best necromancers, the best of everything at my disposal. What kind of spell did they use to bring you back?”
“I don’t know. No one will tell me. But it’s supposed to be pretty obscure.”
“That’s not much to work with. But I’ll get people looking into it. If you find out anything, get in touch as soon as possible. You still have my phone number?”
“Yeah. But why are you doing this? You don’t owe me anything.”
He looks at me hard.
“Is it so inconceivable that someone might do something for you not because they owe you something but because they simply want to?”
“Yeah. It’s a little weird.”
Table of Contents
- Page 1
- Page 2
- Page 3
- Page 4
- Page 5
- Page 6
- Page 7
- Page 8
- Page 9
- Page 10
- Page 11
- Page 12
- Page 13
- Page 14
- Page 15
- Page 16
- Page 17
- Page 18
- Page 19
- Page 20
- Page 21
- Page 22
- Page 23
- Page 24
- Page 25
- Page 26
- Page 27
- Page 28
- Page 29
- Page 30
- Page 31
- Page 32
- Page 33
- Page 34
- Page 35
- Page 36
- Page 37
- Page 38
- Page 39
- Page 40
- Page 41
- Page 42
- Page 43
- Page 44
- Page 45
- Page 46
- Page 47
- Page 48
- Page 49
- Page 50
- Page 51
- Page 52
- Page 53
- Page 54
- Page 55
- Page 56
- Page 57
- Page 58
- Page 59
- Page 60
- Page 61
- Page 62
- Page 63
- Page 64
- Page 65
- Page 66
- Page 67
- Page 68
- Page 69
- Page 70
- Page 71
- Page 72
- Page 73
- Page 74
- Page 75
- Page 76
- Page 77
- Page 78
- Page 79
- Page 80
- Page 81
- Page 82
- Page 83
- Page 84
- Page 85
- Page 86
- Page 87
- Page 88
- Page 89
- Page 90
- Page 91
- Page 92
- Page 93 (Reading here)
- Page 94
- Page 95
- Page 96
- Page 97
- Page 98
- Page 99
- Page 100
- Page 101
- Page 102
- Page 103
- Page 104
- Page 105
- Page 106
- Page 107
- Page 108
- Page 109
- Page 110
- Page 111
- Page 112
- Page 113
- Page 114
- Page 115
- Page 116
- Page 117
- Page 118
- Page 119
- Page 120
- Page 121
- Page 122
- Page 123
- Page 124
- Page 125
- Page 126
- Page 127
- Page 128
- Page 129
- Page 130
- Page 131
- Page 132
- Page 133
- Page 134
- Page 135
- Page 136
- Page 137
- Page 138
- Page 139
- Page 140
- Page 141
- Page 142
- Page 143
- Page 144
- Page 145
- Page 146
- Page 147
- Page 148
- Page 149
- Page 150
- Page 151
- Page 152
- Page 153
- Page 154
- Page 155
- Page 156
- Page 157
- Page 158
- Page 159
- Page 160
- Page 161
- Page 162
- Page 163
- Page 164
- Page 165
- Page 166
- Page 167
- Page 168
- Page 169
- Page 170
- Page 171
- Page 172
- Page 173
- Page 174
- Page 175
- Page 176
- Page 177
- Page 178
- Page 179
- Page 180
- Page 181
- Page 182