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“Can we use yours?”

“I’m just a nephilim My blood might make things worse.”

“What are we going to do, then?”

I bring a chair to Vidocq’s body so Allegra can sit down.

“I’m going to find an angel. They’re going to give me their blood or I’m going to take it.”

“It’s that simple, is it?” she says, shaking her head. “What’s going to happen with Wormwood?”

“You let me worry about that.”

“Are you going to hurt someone?”

“I’m going to do a lot worse than that.”

She looks at me.

“Good.”

Candy comes back an hour later. She sits with Allegra.

It’s a long wait for sundown.

THE LA BREA Tar Pits are on Curson Avenue between Sixth Street and Wilshire.

I wait until three thirty in the morning before taking Liliane to Allegra’s Prius, where I dump the body in the hatchback and drive across town. I stop for all red lights. I drive the prevailing speed of the other traffic. I’m as solid a citizen as L.A. has ever seen.

I stop the Prius at Curson and Wilshire, out of sight of the streetlights and any security cams at the Tar Pits. After I whisper some Hellion hoodoo, the lights along the whole stretch of Curson blow out. I pop the hatch and grab Liliane’s body. The Prius I leave on Wilshire. There’s enough traffic on the street that the car won’t look too funny if cops come by.

With the body over my shoulder, I sprint to the Tar Pits. She’s heavy. There are a couple of stolen cinder blocks in the garbage bags with Liliane’s body.

The fence around the pits is about eight feet high. I toss the body over and climb in. The problem with tar is that bodies sink slowly. You have to toss them far enough out that they won’t get stuck on shallow ground and so they’ll look as inconspicuous as possible until they disappear.

I spin around like a discus thrower and toss Liliane into the middle of the pit. Before I left the clinic, I sliced a few holes in the garbage bags to let the tar in so the bundle would sink faster. I wait behind a palm tree until only the feet are left showing, then climb the fence and head back to the car. This isn’t the first time I’ve dumped bodies at the Tar Pits, but I hope it’s the last. I wish I could have had a few more minutes with Liliane to talk things over. Maybe I could have followed her into the Tenebrae if I had some Dream Tea, but I didn’t and I thought all the blood from the Metatron Cube ritual wouldn’t be good for Allegra to see. Anyway, I know where I can find more information and it will be more fun to get it that way.

BACK AT THE clinic, Candy and I go upstairs to the detective agency office. I have her run Charlie Anpu’s license plate. When I have the address, she goes back down to stay with Allegra.

“How is she doing?”

Candy takes a long breath.

“As well as you think. We can’t leave Vidocq here. We have to move him so they can be at home.”

“Kasabian can help. He won’t like it, but tell him I wasn’t asking politely.”

“What if I ask politely? He can be sweet if you talk to him right.”

“I’m not sure if we’re talking about the same guy, but do whatever you have to. Have you spoken to Fairuza?”

“She called a couple of times, but I got her to take some tranquilizers, so she’s out cold.”

“What did you tell the rest of the band?”

“I told them that Fairuza and I were both sick. They believed me.” She half smiles. “Alessa wanted to bring me chicken soup, but I told her it wasn’t a good time.”

“Smart. I have a lot of running around to do before sunup, so I’m going.”