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“He let me have one of his cigars, so he couldn’t have been too mad.”

She’s at her desk. She drops her head into her hands.

“Did he recognize you?”

“Our kind of ­people pretty much know who I am by now.”

“Our kind? You mean ­people who break into other ­people’s homes and threaten them?”

“No. I meant ­people who deal in hoodoo.”

She brings her head back up and looks at me.

“I can’t begin to tell you how many ways I’m angry right now.”

“Sorry.”

“That’s all you have to say?”

Candy crosses and uncrosses her legs nervously.

“What he means is this will never happen again. Isn’t that right?”

She turns to me.

“Yes. What she said. Never again.”

Julie blows out a long stream of air.

“Do you think this is going to come back at us? I mean, should I be talking to a lawyer?”

I shake my head.

“I don’t think Tamerlan wants everyone knowing how easy it was to get into his place. Plus, I kind of rearranged the architecture. He has that to take care of.”

Julie stares at me. I’m not explaining myself well.

“He laughed in my face. I don’t think he’s coming after you or anyone else ’cause he had too good a time with me. And he’ll have a better time telling his friends what a fuckup I am. Your agency is safe.”

“You better hope so. I’m not losing everything I’ve worked for because you can’t help playing cowboy.”

Candy says, “You have to admit, though, that he came back with some good information. We were still going page by page through old magic texts. How long would it have taken us to figure out the mark came from a talent agency?”

Julie purses her lips and looks away.

“That doesn’t get him off the hook for anything.”

She turns back to me. I nod, trying to look sorrier than I feel, part of my indentured servitude.

“I understand. But shouldn’t we follow up on this lead? The Evermore Creatives Group is right down on Wilshire.”

“What I should do is cut you loose right now, just to protect myself. You understand that, right?”

“If you want me gone, just say the word.”

“I didn’t say I was going to, just that I should. You still know things about the magic world that we need.”

She sits back, thinking.