“Yeah, that’s the one. The elephant-head one with all the arms. The point is, the goddamn point of it all is … if there is a Devil, there must be a God, and if there is a God, there must be an afterlife. Christ. I don’t want to go to hell, Virgil.”

“Why would you go to hell?”

“I’ve sinned,” said Javier. “I’m a sinner.”

“We’re all sinners.”

“Then we’re all going to hell.”

“You may be a sinner, but are you a good man?”

“How the hell should I know? How do you figure out something like that?”

“Do you try to do good in your everyday life?” Virgil asked.

“I … I guess … I mean, I don’t try to do evil, so that counts for something, wouldn’t you say?”

“I would. I think you’re a good man, Javier. I think you’ve got nothing to worry about.”

Javier still didn’t turn round. Virgil didn’t blame him. If there was a God, and there was an afterlife, it wouldn’t be Javier descending into the fiery pits, it’d be Virgil. And, what’s more, he’d deserve it, too.

“It’s not your fault, you know,” said Javier.

“What isn’t?” Virgil asked, looking at Javier’s back.

“What happened between me and Darleen Hickman. Now, it didn’t help, of course it didn’t help … but it wasn’t your fault. She didn’t love me, and I … I guess I didn’t really love her, either.”

“But being called a goat-molester was—”

“It was the final nail in the coffin, yeah.”

“Right. Sorry.”

“And … and you know I didn’t actually molest that goat, don’t you?”

“Yeah, I know,” Virgil said. “It was brought on to set and it just didn’t like you. It happens. I shouldn’t have speculated as to the reasons.”

“Do goats need reasons to dislike anyone?”

“Probably not – though I should say I haven’t known a lot of goats.”

“I have,” Javier said wistfully, and he looked round and they both burst out laughing.

“I guess I owe you an apology,” said Javier.

“Me?” said Virgil, wiping his eyes. “Why, for God’s sake?”

“Cos I hated you,” said Javier. “I blamed you for things not working out with Darleen, and none of that was your fault. I was bitter, I suppose. I saw you with beautiful women hanging off your every word and there was I, standing in the background … Never got married. Never had kids.”

“Yeah,” said Virgil, “because I did such a great job with all that.”

Javier hesitated. “I was … I was real sorry to hear about your wife.”

Virgil nodded. “She was a good woman.”

“Yes, she was.”