Finally, though, I heard a familiar screech of tires. Cassie's BMW careened into the lot and slammed into a parking space, almost riding right over the concrete bumper. When the car finally came to a full stop, I pulled down the brim of my hat, turned up the collar of my raincoat, and walked out into the weather to meet her. Something was wrong, all right. She was pale and shaky, and she'd had a little trouble getting the car door closed. Moreover, she was standing in a downpour trying to open an umbrella, when it was already too late.

"Run," I told her.

She jumped and looked over her shoulder.

"To get in out of the rain."

"I knew that," she said sharply. But she just stood there.

I took the umbrella, opened it over her head, gave her the handle, and waited.

"You look like a bat in all that black," she snapped.

I let her have that one for free, given the state she was in, and continued to wait.

"I was trying to sleep," she finally said.

"So was I, until you called."

"That's how it started, I mean. I was trying to sleep, and something came in through the window. I couldn't tell what at first. There was all this fog in the room. Then a vampire woman came and sat on my bed."

"A vampire woman?"

"I couldn't see the face. Just the fangs. But it was definitely a she."

I fought very hard not to think what I was starting to think. "Sounds like a nightmare. I get those."

"I was awake."

"OK," I said evenly.

"I can prove it. She told me to give you a message. She said to tell you, 'Revelation comes in many shapes.' She said you'd remember. She also said to tell you that she's going to get me too."

Silence. In the light from the restaurant window, I studied Cassie's face. She wasn't making this up, and she didn't have a clue.

"She said she's going to get me too, Devvy."

I smiled, or tried to. "But not on an empty stomach. Shall we?"

Then again, a little time on the terra firma of Fisher's might have helped. There was nothing exceptional about the place except its banality; it could have been any 24-hour diner in any city, down to the bored cop drinking coffee at the counter. It was also about as safe a place as there was in the middle of the night. If any goblin was fool enough to walk through the door, the lighting alone would burn it to ash.

"Sorry I was gone so long," Cassie said. "They don't have any paper towels in there. I had to dry my hair under one of those hand dryers." She slid into the booth, all the way into the corner. "Is that shake for me?"

I pushed the tall glass across the table. "Triple chocolate, with extra chocolate. That OK?"

"Perfect. But you're just having coffee?"

"Well, I ate your other cookie."

She laughed. "Leaving me to starve."

"You could stand to gain a few pounds. I'll order you more cookies, if you want."

"Are you trying to be nice to me?"

"No. I'm trying to get you to shut up for a few minutes." I handed her the spoon. "Here. Have at it. And while you're at it, listen, for once. I've got something to tell you."

"So that catches you up, as of last night. She was gone when I woke up--when you called. That's not unusual. She comes and goes as she pleases. But if you believe what I've been telling you, we both know where she was. What we don't know..."

"I believe you," Cassie said abruptly. "I told you she was a witch."

"Demon."

"You make a big point of that. Why?"

Good question. Because Monica did, I supposed. "Degrees of evil?"

"If she's that evil, she should work for the IRS."

Caught by surprise, I laughed. "It would serve the IRS right. You seem better."

"I am better. Things make sense now. This isn't scary now. It's just...Monica." Her voice dripped scorn.

"Don't underestimate her, Cass."

"Give her a message from me. Tell her not to underestimate me." She scraped the last of the syrup out of the bottom of her glass and licked both sides of the spoon. "Are you hungry?"

I checked my watch--a little past 4--and then checked out the window. It was still raining and foggy, and generally a good advertisement for staying at Fisher's a while longer. "I could eat. Too early for breakfast, though."

"Forget breakfast--it's still dark. I was thinking along the lines of..." She picked up a menu and pondered for a second. "...a double chili cheeseburger and fries, with onion rings on the side. And potato salad. And some kind of pie."

I raised both eyebrows.

"Or chocolate-chip ice cream," she mused. "Or maybe even..."

"All right, dammit. Me too." I signaled the waitress, who had been watching us with growing suspicion for the past half-hour. "I hope they have Alka-Seltzer in the kitchen."

"You're not shocked?"

"Should I be?"

Cassie smiled. "I should never go to restaurants with anyone else."

"At this hour of the morning," I told her, "you probably never will."

"Thanks for being here, Devvy. You're the best."

"You're welcome, and I am. But don't take this lightly."

"Don't worry." She seemed to hold on a little longer than usual before letting go. "See you at the coffee machine in a couple of hours."

We got into our respective cars and passed on the way to the exit. Cassie almost crashed again, for some reason. She waved me over to the side of the parking lot and rolled down her window; I did the same.

"When did you get a Miata?"

"You see it?"

"Yes. But..." Cassie's voice trailed off as she thought about it. Then she got it. "Monica."

"Welcome to the funhouse," I told her, and drove off.

So I couldn't let Monica get away with whatever she was up to with Cassie.

I lighted into her the second I got home from Fisher's. She was lounging in bed, watching MTV, wearing my Outback hat and nothing else, and she just laughed. That made me madder, which only made her laugh harder.

Finally, I stalked out of the bedroom and into the bath. There was no point; I couldn't fight this battle on two hours' sleep. Besides, it was time to get ready for work.

I'd just turned on the shower when Monica materialized inches away, causing me to drop the soap.

"You forgot to take your clothes off."

I checked quickly. She was right. So what? "I don't want to catch cold. Get out."

"Pride is a deadly sin. Very attractive on you. Do you like my outfit?"

"Get out of the shower. You're going to ruin my hat."

"I could ruin a lot more than your hat," she said, taking my shirt off.

"You could. But you'd better not. Leave Cassie alone."

"She's a grown woman. She can take care of herself." She unzipped my khakis. "Take your shoes off."

"I mean it, dammit," I said, trying to oblige.

"I haven't touched her. Literally or otherwise."

"Then don't."

"But I might. You're not jealous, are you?"

That had never occurred to me, and I didn't like the implication one bit. But I didn't want to dwell on it. "Don't waste your time. She doesn't even like you. Besides, she's not even afraid of you. She gave me a message for you, by the way. She said..."

" 'Tell her not to underestimate me.' I know. I promise you that I don't." She finished stripping off my soggy clothes and kicked them into a corner of the tub. "I won't hurt her, if that's what you mean. I won't hurt you, either, if you cooperate. Not seriously, anyway. Come here."

"Your word, Monica. No lies this time. Swear it."

She laughed. "What would a demon swear by?"

"Your word."

"Very well. If it will please you. I swear by sex, drugs, rock and roll, sex, advertising..."

"You already said 'sex.'"

"...Club West, and sex that I won't hurt your Cassie."

"She's not 'my' Cassie."

She pressed closer, eyes glittering. "We won't talk about it again. Now I advise you to thank me."

"Thank you for what?"

"For my word. For this, too."

What she did next almost made me black out...and/or drown, considering the location. I'd seen statistics about the high rate of death in bathtubs and wondered whether this was the cause. It was the death of my defense of Cassie for the time being, anyway. Among other things. Lying in bed an hour later, still dripping from the shower, I took a lighted cigarette from her and smoked it down to the filter.

"You'll hate yourself later," Monica assured me. "But doesn't it feel good?"

I was all the way inside the funhouse now. My guess was that Monica was going to have all the fun.

(c) 1999, ROCFanKat

Continued - Part 16