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“Exactly.”

I look around the deck. It’s nice here by the water. Smells better than dead corn. I still dream about that crap.

“That’s okay, Willem. I forgive you.”

“Don’t talk to me like that. I don’t want anything from you.”

“I know. But I’m tired and I don’t want to fight with you anymore, so I’m just going to stand here quietly and think deep thoughts.”

He gives me a look and goes into the cabin.

A minute later he and Abbot come out.

Abbot gives me a big smile and shakes my hand with both of his. We go inside.

“I thought for a while we’d lost you,” he says. “I’d already started the paperwork to transfer your stipend to Chihiro.”

“I had a feeling I could trust you. It was unsettling.”

“Don’t worry. I spent most of your time away eating babies and overthrowing third-world governments.”

“So, you admit it.”

“Guilty as charged.”

He gets us drinks. I haven’t touched liquor since I got home. The whiskey tastes good.

He crosses his legs. His pants have a crease you could cut diamonds on.

“So, did you finish what you set out to do?”

“Mostly. We rounded up all of Wormwood Downtown. More important, we destroyed their entire supply of black milk. I don’t know how much there is up here, but they won’t be getting any more of the raw product.”

“That’s great news. How did you do it?”

“Do you really want to know? I mean this is Wormwood we’re talking about and what they were up to in the toilet of the universe.”

He sets down his drink.

“We’re in this together. I want to know everything.”

“Well, I didn’t use the word ‘toilet’ a minute ago just to be colorful. It pertains to what I found out.”

I tell him everything. About finding Quay and Wormwood and Panzerschokolade. I tell him about how they use kids and about the souls sitting outside Heaven’s gates because of the war Wormwood prolonged. Abbot might be a blue blood, but he’s Sub Rosa and a scryer. He must have seen some strange things over the years. It takes him a couple of minutes to absorb it all, but he seems to take it pretty well.

“You’ll be happy to know that we found Abigail.”

“The other missing kid?”

He picks up his drink.

“Yes. She’s back at home with her family.”

“That’s great news.”

He looks at me.

“I have the awful feeling that you’re holding out a little on me. Maybe there’s something you don’t want to say. Something you think I won’t be able to handle?”