He gave me his very best phony smile. Ancient Japanese ritual, dating back to the Tokugawa shogunate. We get smashed and watch dirty movies, he said, and then he turned to leer at Deborah. We can get your sister to jump out of a cake.

How about if you jump up your ass instead? Debs said.

That’s very nice, Vince, but I don’t think— I said, trying to avoid anything that made my engagement more official, and also trying to stop the two of them from trading their clever put-downs before I got a headache. But Vince wouldn’t let me finish.

No, no, he said, this is highly necessary. A matter of honor, no escape. Tomorrow night, eight o’clock, he said, and, looking at Deborah as he walked away, he added, and you only have twenty-four hours to practice twirling your tassels.

Go twirl your own tassel, she said.

Ha! Ha! he said with his terrible fake laugh, and he disappeared down the hall.

Little freak, Deborah muttered, and she turned to go in the other direction. Stick with your fiancée after work. I’ll call you when I hear from Doakes.

There wasn’t a great deal left of the workday. I filed a few things, ordered a case of Luminol from our supplier, and acknowledged receiving half a dozen memos that had piled up in my e-mail in-box. And with a feeling of real accomplishment, I headed down to my car and drove through the soothing carnage of rush hour. I stopped at my apartment for a change of clothes; Debs was nowhere to be seen, but the bed was unmade so I knew she had been here. I stuffed my things into a carry-on bag and headed for Rita’s.