“My brother-in-law is going to give me a ride.”
“You never told me you were married.”
“I’m not. He’s really my ex-brother-in-law but I like him a lot better than my ex-wife.”
I get up and look around for Allegra.
“You take care yourself. Heal up before you reopen the bar.”
“I’m going to make so much money I’ll buy a Cadillac to drive me to my Lexus and drive that to my other Cadillac to drive to work.”
“I’ll catch you later, man.”
“Later.”
Candy disappeared into the back of the clinic right when we got here, but Allegra is putting things away in the treatment room.
“Welcome home. Candy says you two had an adventure today.”
“The other guys had an adventure. We had a car wreck.”
“And walked away with a couple of scratches. I’m jealous. Remember that time you took me with you to meet the dead man Johnny Thunders? I miss that kind of thing.”
“Maybe you should train some people to take a few of your shifts.”
“I am. You met Fairuza, the sweet Ludere, the other day. She’s my chief apprentice.”
“Cool. I’ll drag you and Vidocq along when the right kind of craziness comes up.”
She smiles and wraps two chunks of what look like pearly rocks in dark blue silk. Divine-light glass from the beginning of time. God broke a star and dropped the glass to Earth. One of his original fuckups. It wasn’t all bad. It turns out it heals a lot of wounds. Doc Kinski once used it on Allegra.
“You don’t know anything about the other Stark, do you? You’re a doctor. Maybe he’d tell you something he wouldn’t tell other people.”
“No. Sorry. He never told me anything.”
“Have you been getting some stabbings in here?”
“Are you talking about the girl? No. No stabbings. From what I hear, if she cuts you, you die. I heal people. She kills. There’s no point in me treating the dead.”
Candy comes in and crooks her thumb over her shoulder.
“Can I talk to you a minute?”
“Sure.”
We walk outside into the cool, crisp L.A. afternoon. The sky looks a little strange. Clouds are rolling in fast and it’s like the light is strobing behind them.
“I have to take a rain check on your suite. Rinko got a taste of blood last night and now she’s kind of in withdrawal. I need to take her home.”
“I understand.”
“Sorry. I keep seeing you and running off.”
I shrug.
“Maybe I deserve it. I ran out first. Anyway, you have to do the right thing by your friend.”
“Doing the right thing usually sucks.”
“Almost always.”
