My eyes snapped up to him but I got a hold of them pretty quick. I shouldn't have been surprised he'd heard about it. The outfit is big for an outfit but small for anything else.
I nodded. 'You heard about it, huh?'
'Yeah, and I heard you were working on it. I heard Jamal was one of the guys that was killed.' He was looking at me like we were playing a poker hand.
'Yes, he was. His parole officer said Jamal was hanging out at the club. That's why I was down there that night.'
Adan nodded, but his eyes didn't leave mine. 'And after that?'
'After that, what?'
Adan just looked at me.
'I'm not here because of work, Adan. Is that what you think?'
'Maybe you think I'm involved somehow, because I knew Jamal.'
'Jamal and the other guy were squeezed, Adan. It was a ritual execution, a hit. The killer is a sorcerer. You couldn't have had anything to do with it, and if I thought you did, this isn't the angle I'd take.' I wished it were true, all the way around. I hoped my wishing would make it sound less like bullshit than it did to me.
'Yeah, okay. I didn't really think so, obviously, but I wanted to hear you say it.'
I nodded as small as I could and smiled, and felt like shooting myself.
'If you want to ask me anything else about Jamal, I don't mind.'
'If you know anything you think might help, I'll listen.'
'Well, it's like I told you, I really didn't know him very well. Maybe a little better than I told you, that night.'
I just nodded.
'We hung out after the club closed sometimes.'
'You picked up girls at the club.'
'Yeah, I guess. Jamal showed me his graffiti, too. He tried to explain how it worked, but I couldn't understand half of it. It was cool, though.'
He looked up at me and I nodded again. 'Jesus, Domino, you're still not going to ask any questions?'
'Nope.'
'Okay. The thing is, I was at his apartment the night he was killed. Earlier, I mean. We were pretty drunk and we wanted to smoke some weed.'
'What happened when you got to his apartment?'
'Finally a question. That's the thing, though, I don't know. I guess I drank too much and I blacked out. I woke up here the next morning and I couldn't remember much about it.'
'You must have been pretty drunk,' I said. 'Shouldn't have been driving. Do you think Jamal drove you home?'
'I just don't know, and you're right, that's never happened to me before. I don't see how I could have made it home by myself.'
'Maybe he drove you home and caught a cab back to his place.'
'Yeah, I guess. When I heard about it, though-Jesus, it was like a bad movie. I thought maybe I did have something to do with it, you know, and just couldn't remember. Like temporary insanity or something.'
'What did you do? Did you go to your father about it?'
'No fucking way. I only found out about Jamal yesterday. One of the guys called me. He said there had been two murders, and I knew I didn't have anything to do with the other one. Anyway, I didn't really think it was me. It was just weird, you know?'
'Yeah, I'll bet.' I remembered how freaked out he'd been after the episode in his loft the night before, when I'd broken in. He'd had plenty of weirdness the last few days, and I was amazed how well he was holding it together.
'That's about it,' he said. 'You know, I just didn't want there to be any secrets.'
'I'm glad, Adan,' I said. 'No secrets.' I almost gagged on the words.
'So do you have any idea who did it? I mean, if you don't mind me asking. Do you think it was those guys I told you about? Papa Danwe's outfit?'
'I don't mind, but there isn't much to tell. That's what I'm working on, and that's why I have to go.'
The look in his eyes said he'd noticed I didn't answer his question. 'Do you think Manfred is involved? The reason I ask is, you know, he didn't like Jamal very much. And he could have followed us that night.'
'It's possible. He couldn't have done the ritual, but he might have been involved. Either way, it wasn't your fault.'
He nodded uncertainly.
'Jamal wasn't a random victim, Adan. Whether Fred was in on it or not, Jamal got squeezed. You don't set something like that up on a whim. Whoever did him had a reason for it, and that's what I'm trying to find out.'
'I hope you do. Jamal was a cool guy. It's fucked up what they did to him.'
'Whoever did it, I'll find him,' I said, standing up. 'I don't have the juice to bring Jamal back-no one does-but I can make sure it doesn't happen to anyone else.' I sort of did have the juice to bring him back, as it turned out, just not in the way I meant.
'Be careful, Domino. Look, I know you can handle yourself, and it'd be pretty ridiculous for me to get protective. But be careful. Promise me.'
'I promise,' I said, and kissed him goodbye.
The promise was broken when it came out of my mouth. It was too late to be careful. I had to stick with reckless and try to finish the job before anyone noticed.
When I got home, Honey was waiting for me with an interrogation lamp and a rubber hose. We went through twenty questions and I ignored the ones I didn't want to answer. That was most of them. She was concerned or jealous or both, but she wasn't angry. I told her the potion seemed to have worked. I told her I was ready for training.
I went into my bedroom to change clothes and was momentarily defeated. What exactly is proper attire for shadow world training in kung-fu magic? Finally, I decided it didn't matter since my clothes wouldn't really exist in the Between anyway. I opted for running shorts, a sports halter and cross trainers. Honey said I looked like I was ready for yoga class.
If I'd have known where we were going, I'd have chosen a different outfit. Honey wouldn't say. After we crossed over and were ignored by Mrs. Dawson, Honey told me to follow her into the mist.
'How do I follow you? We don't actually go anywhere, as far as I can tell.'
'If we both have the same destination in mind, we'll show up there together. Otherwise, we have to stay in physical contact and you have to focus on staying with me. Think of this as the first part of your training.'
Honey zipped off down the street and I went after her. When we reached the mist, she grabbed my ear and pulled me in after her. I focused on staying with her.
The L.A. Coliseum didn't suffer much in the Between. It didn't seem to be missing too many colors, the way other buildings might. It was drab and ugly in both worlds.
'The Coliseum?'
'Sure. What better place to learn how to fight? It's kind of a neutral ground and there are real fights here sometimes, but usually at night. Let's go!'
Honey zipped through the north entrance of the sprawling stadium, down a couple of ramps and out onto the field. There wasn't much grass to it, just hard-packed dirt. There were certainly no yardlines or goalposts anymore.
The stands were filled with ghosts. I stood in the middle of the field and turned a full circle. They were different from the ghosts of the Goth kids I'd seen standing in line at the Cannibal Club. They were loud, belligerent and I saw more than one brawl rippling through the densely packed crowd.
'What's with the peanut gallery?' I asked.
Honey shrugged. 'Raiders fans. They're always here. I guess they're waiting for the team to come back.'
'The Raiders went back to Oakland in ninety-five.'
'Yeah, I guess that's why they're so pissed.'
