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“Right. Apparently he was in touch with other groups too, but there are no records of which ones.”

“So really, all you know is that this Townsend, a straight-­arrow banker type, was a member of a group that wanted to ascend to higher planes and turn themselves into Nazi X-­Men. Do I have that right?”

“Essentially.”

“Guess he didn’t ascend fast enough. But why is Death walking around in his skin? And what happened that made him burn his association with the White Lights off his body?”

“I’m sure the two are connected, but I don’t know how. Maybe killing and mutilating Townsend was punishment for leaving the group.”

“Sounds right for bully boys like that. They don’t like quitters and they’d probably see anyone who wanted out as a potential rat.”

“This is all assuming that the White Lights have anything to do with this at all. We don’t even know if the White Lights are the ones who killed him. And even if they did, it could have been another group that used him as a vessel for Death.”

“Like Dead Heads?”

“Exactly.”

“I saw Tamerlan Radescu headed to the Augur’s place when I left just now.”

“That’s interesting, but again, we don’t have any concrete connections.”

“Maybe we should look for them.”

“Maybe. We need to talk to Death about this. He might have heard or remembered something.”

“Have you found anything about the abandoned building where he said he woke up? Sub Rosa like trashed buildings where they can hide their mansions inside.”

Like a miracle, traffic begins to open up. I can touch the accelerator without feeling like a storefront preacher praying for rain.

“I’m working on that now. I have some ideas, but I need to do more research.”

“This is all too strange. I like my Nazis young, bald, and dumb. I don’t like clever fascists. I knew one once. His name was Josef. He did a lot of bad things to nice ­people.”

“Is he still around? Maybe I could talk to him.”

“Good luck. I cut off his head.”

The line goes silent and I wonder if the call dropped. Then I hear Julie’s voice.

“Sometimes it’s hard to tell when you’re kidding.”

“Of course I’m kidding,” I say, but I’m not. I burned Josef and his skinhead dogs out of their clubhouse, and when he came for me, I took the fucker’s head off with the black blade. It wasn’t a hard choice. Josef was a Kissi. But Julie would never understand that, and sometimes a little white lie saves a lot of time. So I just say, “Josef really is dead. There was a fire at his group’s compound and I heard he went down with the ship. Besides, he was smart. He’d smell the cop on you and laugh in your face.”

“You’re probably right. Stop by the office when you get back to the city. I want to hear about the Augur and Radescu.”

“I should be there in less than an hour. We’re finally moving. Cross your fingers it stays that way or you’re going to be there till the Rapture.”

“I’ll light a candle for you. Get here as soon as you can.”

“You got it.”

As the road opens up more, it occurs to me that I’m an idiot. I had the perfect opportunity a few minutes ago. I mean, if anyone could get me brass knuckles it would be the Augur. Now I’m going to have to ask for knuckles and a jet pack.

IT’S PAST ONE when I get back to Julie’s office. She didn’t have anything new on Death’s case, but she was plenty interested in the Augur and his floating mansion. I couldn’t tell if it was professional curiosity or if she’s just fascinated by the idea of the Sub Rosa world because she’s never been quite so close to it before.

It’s two before I can pry myself loose and head home. The whiskey at Tommy’s place is coming down on me. I’m out of practice morning drinking. I need coffee and food and bed, not necessarily in that order.

But things never quite turn out the way you want, do they?