My head pounded. I was still more drunk than hung over. I’d lost a bundle to a bunch of ghouls down at the Black Cat Club. They always cleaned me out because I drank and they didn’t. They’d bide their time until I was sloshed and then start hammering at me with outrageous bets they knew I couldn’t turn down. Fuckers.

I decided to retrace my steps and head back to the Black Cat for a little breakfast drink. It was a crappy D.C. day. Rainy, soggy, and warm. Nothing kills a buzz as fast as a faceful of humidity. Outside was the black sedan, but I didn’t pay any attention—even when it pulled away.

I got distracted by Brent, the postman/ghoul, on his daily rounds. He was a nice guy, well over a century old and as creepy as they come. He never crammed my mail into its narrow slot either. He’d always go the extra mile and climb the stairs to place it on my step.

“How’s it going?”

Brent stopped and nodded as he shuffled bundles of mail. “Good, good,” he said. “Looks like I don’t have anything for you today.”

“Probably just be bills anyway, right?” I gave him a little punch in the arm. In typical undead style he looked at his arm, then at me, before he smiled. “Yes, sure. I suppose so.”

Most ghouls have the sense of humor of a dead slug. They aren’t big on jokes, kidding, irony, puns, or teasing. They did like riddles, but who likes riddles over the age of fucking five?

“You seen Mo’Lock?”

Brent shook his head. “Haven’t seen him for a few days.”

I looked around, giving the area the once-over. “Neither have I. That freak-ass ghoul’s always wandering off on me,” I said, then looked at Brent. “No offense.”

“None taken.” He walked off to finish his rounds.

I shagged ass in the other direction and hiked the nine or ten blocks to the Black Cat. The club looked like an old warehouse: a nondescript brick front with an unlit neon sign bearing its name. As I pulled open the door, I heard the blare of police cars in the distance, that sudden burst of noise that meant somebody, somewhere, was in trouble. I was just glad it wasn’t me.