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head for Platform 9 and ¾ and catch the Hogwarts Express.”
    Nick looked blank. He’d never been much of a reader.
    â€œForget it,” I said. I pushed past Nick, noting that he was neither cold nor nebulous. Maybe the bone-freeze was a night thing, too.
    Maybe I was out of my freaking mind.
    â€œHe was your cat when you were a little girl,” Nick wheedled, following me. “I thought—”
    I made it to the kitchen, wrenched open a cupboard door and ferreted around until I found a can of tuna with a fairly recent expiration date. “Do dead cats eat?” I asked, furious with confusion.
    â€œI don’t know,” Nick said uncertainly. I jumped when I realized he was standing directly behind me, peering over my shoulder into the cupboard. “Are those Oreos?”
    I grabbed the package of cookies off the shelf and thrust them at him. “Yes. They’re old, but what the hell. It’s not like you could be poisoned.”
    â€œYou could be a little kinder,” Nick pointed out, affronted. But he took the cookies.
    â€œ Excuse me,” I snapped.
    He stuck his nose into the Oreos, sniffed with decadent appreciation. His eyes rolled closed in ecstasy, the way they used to do when we had serious sex.
    â€œDelicious,” he said.
    The can opener whirred jarringly as I opened the tuna. I dumped the contents onto a saucer, crumbled them with a fork and set the whole shooting match down on the floor.
    Chester nosed the food with interest, but didn’t eat.
    I looked up at Nick.
    He was holding a cookie in one hand and staring at it as though it had just tried to bite him.
    â€œDamn,” he muttered.
    I glanced at the cat again, partly to make sure he was still there and partly to see if he would eat.
    â€œProblem?” I asked, shifting my attention back to Nick.
    â€œI bit into the thing, and nothing happened.”
    â€œI’d like to see that,” I said. “Do it again, while I’m watching.”
    Nick did his ironic look. “This is not a performance designed for your amusement,” he told me.
    â€œDuh,” I shot back. “I am definitely not amused.”
    Just then, a familiar knock sounded at the outside door.
    Nick arched an eyebrow. “Company?”
    â€œDisappear or something,” I whispered. “It’s Tucker!”
    Nick folded his arms. “Oh, well, if it’s Tucker— ”
    â€œI mean it, Nick. Go back to the train station or whatever it is.”
    He didn’t move.
    â€œBoogie!” I ordered, and made for the hallway.
    Tucker let himself in, since I’d forgotten to lock the door when I encountered Chester on the mat, and we practically collided. By that time, I was wishing I hadn’t told Nick to get lost. I would feel a lot less crazy if somebody else witnessed the dead-husband demo.
    â€œCome in,” I said cordially. “I was just about to whip up a grilled cheese sandwich.” The last thing I wanted to do was eat, but I knew if I didn’t, I’d get sick. My stomach needed something to digest besides its lining.
    Tuck looked surprised by my reception. He’d clearly expected a rebuff, given our agreement to take a step back, not to mention the bristly meeting downstairs, and he’d probably had some speech all prepared, like Ten Reasons Why We Should Have Sex.
    No way was I doing the deed with the Great Decease-o watching.
    Sometimes I wish I were a little less principled.
    The biker-cop followed me into the living room, and I waited for him to acknowledge Nick, who was standing in the middle of the room, his arms still folded, grinning like an idiot.
    Tucker didn’t react. Not to Nick, not to the cat.
    They might as well have been invisible.
    â€œHe can’t see us,” Nick said.
    â€œShit,” I said.
    Tucker gave me a wounded look. “I didn’t expect you to be glad to see me,” he said, “but you don’t have to