The mattress was stuffed with sheets and pillows to make it look like someone was sleeping in it. I intentionally stood there and stared at the bed, looking as dumb as I could. I even went a little slack-jawed, but what I was really doing was increasing the wolfishness of my ears and eyes just enough to read the room without looking around. Because, despite appearances, I wasn’t alone.

There was a closet to my right. I could feel Billy eyeing me through the wooden slats.

I decided it was time he had a little scare of his own. I took out my backup piece, a .45 with a handy-dandy silencer, then stepped over to the bed and unloaded the entire clip into the pile under the blankets. I riddled the fake body until the room was filled with smoke and feathers.

After the last shot, a whimpering gasp came from the closet.

I turned and leveled the gun on the closet. “Get out here.”

Billy Fuller came out. He was as skinny as a flagpole. His hair was long and greasy and acne covered his cheeks. He wore a Skid Row T-shirt. He was not only evil, but horribly behind the times.

Billy was shaking, but his eyes were darting from side-to-side. I could see he still had a trick up his sleeve. Even so, I was shocked when he came at me, stopping within a foot, raising an amulet of his own, and chanting.

“Ammul Kanna Keela!”

I yawned and showed him the charm around my neck. “Sticks and stones, punk,” I barked, slapping him so hard he flew against the wall. My hand had a thick coating of Clearasil across the palm. I walked over and lifted him up by his T-shirt.

“I’m gonna ask you this once, kid. If I don’t get the answer I want, I’m gonna shove the gun up your ass and play butthole roulette. Where’s the incantation you used on Sam Burnett?”

Billy peed himself. “I threw it away.”

The pipsqueak still had some fight in him. He was so small. I had to remind myself that he was also a killer.

“Don’t bullshit me, Billy,” I said, pulling his face close to mine. “I know if you throw away the incantation, the curse won’t work. I’ve been at this a lot longer than you, so don’t bullshit a bullshitter.”

I gave him a quick yank. Our noses touched, and for a single instant I allowed my face to shift to a wolf, then back again. I just wanted to give him a peek.

“Where’s . . . the fucking . . . incantation?”

He was beaten. The kid pointed to the bong. I threw him onto the bullet-riddled mattress and turned the bong over. Taped to the base was a small piece of parchment with some mumbo-jumbo scrawled on it. I took the paper and turned to Billy as I reloaded my piece.

“The body. It’s at Wayside Cemetery, right?”