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right?”
    “Funny, detective.”
    She nodded and handed me a card. It had her name, department, and phone number on the front. I flipped it over and saw an address near Pioneer Square in Seattle.
    “I got your authorization for one day. When can you be there?”
    “Call it five. You guys like the nightlife, right?”
    “Yeah. We like to boogie .”
    “Hey , detective. If I give you this woman’s name can you run her for me? You know, tell me if she has any priors.”
    “I’m one of the best detectives in Seattle and my skills don’t come cheap, Phineas.” She grinned and turned away.
    When she was halfway to her car I reversed the spell.
    “Asshole!” She spun and y elled before dashing for her vehicle, but it did turn her shirt into something form fitting. I settled for the cheap thrill.
     
    **
     
    I tried to wrap my head around the case. I knew it wasn’t a demon and I knew it wasn’t a man. Sure someone could construct some claws that would emulate what I suspected, some sick Freddy Krueger shit, but this was made by something less exact. These wounds were done in anger, not for need. Not as part of a hunt.
    I flipped the pictures out and looked them over. I lined them up by date and then studied each one, looking for clues. There wasn’t much to go on so I probed deeper, tried to get a feel for the images on the paper. I sought out any hint of a soul, any last residue that might remain after death. It’s better to look at a body up close, to study the wounds and taste the essence of the person who passed on , but sometimes I can fake it.
    This was not one of those times. Any residue would need to be extracted at the source.
    I gathered them up, put them back in the envelope, and went back to bed. Fifteen minutes later the dog started barking so I had to go rescue it from Bilbo.
     
    **
     
    I buzzed Carlisle before heading out.
    “I got a job in Seattle. ”
    “What kinda job? I didn’t send no job.”
    “I know. The cops came to me.”
    “Cops! What the hell are you running, Cavanaugh?”
    “Would you quit the hardass act and listen to me for a second?”
    “Sorry , Phin. I got my reputation and all.”
    I shook my head.
    “It’s no big deal. Just heading into Seattle to check out a few murders. Probably back before you go to bed at eight. Don’t worry. I plan to cut you in on ten percent.”
    “Very funny , and it’s thirty! I make thirty.”
    “You make thirty if you send the job my way. You didn’t do shit , but I thought I’d show some respect. Capiche ?” I added with a roll of my eyes.
    “Fine. T wenty.”
    “Carlisle, I am hanging up this phone, and when I hang up you aren’t getting anything. Got it?”
    “Fine. Ten percent.”
    “Did you hear anything from the Whitfield woman?”
    “Her check bounced. You believe that shit? What kind of a world do we live in when you can’t even trust a sweet old lady?”
    “That’s because she wasn’t an old lady.”
    “What are you talking about? She had grey hair, glasses, and a cane. Spoke real slow – you met her.”
    “I met someone. I asked the cop about it and she sai d there was no murder in Alear Park.
    “ Lemme do some checking around. See what I can find out on the old … whatever she was.”
    “She was working for someone. The whole thing was a setup. Someone left a summoning pentagram and a surprise for me. And when I say surprise I don’t mean a gift. It was a demon.”
    “All this occult crap freaks me out, know that Phin? I like you and all but I try not to think about the magic and stuff like that.”
    “You’re a wonderful pimp, you know that?”
    “Phineas, for the last time I’m not a goddamn …”
    “Hey Carlisle. Does this sound like a p hone hanging up?” I clicked off.

    Chapter Three
     
    B efore I left for my trip to Seattle, I took the dog to a kennel for a couple of days. It was the least I could do considering the little runt played some part in the mystery I’d been tricked into and I had