“The other night I was walking around East L.A. and for a second I thought I saw Mason.” “You didn’t. That’s impossible.” “Then he’s down there. You’ve seen it.” “I don’t have to see it. I know.” “From Lucifer?” “I just know.” “That’s not good enough. I need to know what’s happening. Lucifer is here for a reason and it’s not to make a damned movie.” “Can’t help you. Speaking of movies, shut up. The two traveling doctors are about to open Barbara Steele’s coffin and bring her back to life.” When you make a threat, make it big. When you make it big, make sure you’re prepared to go all in if someone calls you on it. I go to the table and hit the power switch on Kasabian’s monitor. “Hey, I’m watching that.” I grab Kasabian and his deck under one arm, pull open the door, and carry him downstairs. He stage-whispers, “Put me down! Take me back!” I carry Kasabian straight out the back door to the alley. If any customers caught a glimpse of a head on a deck, they would just think I was throwing away a mannequin or an old movie promotion. Kasabian is pretty discreet considering his situation. He doesn’t start screaming until I close the back door. “What the fuck are you doing, man? Take me back inside.” “It’s time for you to leave the nest, Tweety Bird. The world is your oyster. I saw a ‘Help Wanted’ sign at Donut Universe. With your managerial skills, you’ll be running the place by the end of the week. Vaya con Dios, Alfredo Garcia.” “Are you out of your mind? What if someone sees us?” “People will pay big bucks to see you. Maybe you should go to Griffith Park and sign up at the petting zoo. Hell, you’ll be their star attraction.” “Is this about the money? I wasn’t embezzling. I was investing it for us. The store is on its last legs, man. We’re going to need a stake when it goes under.” “It’s not the money or the attitude or you shitting beer out your neck hole. You’ve outgrown the place. You’re a lone wolf, not a team player, and I don’t want to hold you back.” I reach into my pocket, wad up one of Lucifer’s hundreds, and toss it at him. “Go buy yourself some platform shoes. Tall people always get the best job offers.” When I go back inside, he’s still sitting there with his mouth open, the hundred lying at his metal feet. I pull the door closed and wait. Right away I hear scratching, like a stray cat trying to get in after it got locked out of the house at night. Kasabian is cursing me through the door, but not loud enough for anyone else to hear. He doesn’t want that. The kicking and cursing goes on for thirty or forty seconds, getting louder the whole time. Then it stops. I listen. Nothing. Okay. That’s something I didn’t count on. That moneygrubbing jack-o’-lantern isn’t crazy enough to go around to the front, is he? I run up the stairs far enough that the customers can’t see me, and step through a shadow into the alley. At first, I don’t see him. Then I hear a scrabbling from overhead. Fuck me. The little centipede is halfway up the wall, climbing for the bathroom window on his prehensile legs. He’s slow, but he’s moving steadily. I had no
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