“They’ve got their hands full.”

“You’re not the Shroud, Virgil.”

Virgil put on his jacket. “Someone has to be.”

“There!” said Javier, jabbing a finger at him. “That is exactly the sort of line you’d utter right before an act break! For God’s sake, you’re an old man. You understand me? We can talk and talk about how we’re still relevant, how we still matter – and you know what? We’re one hundred per cent right about both those things. But we are old. Our bodies are slower and our minds are clogged with so much experience that they’re starting to spring leaks. Your mind, Virgil, in particular has started to spring some pretty major ones.”

“He killed a boy,” Virgil said. “The Narrow Man.”

Javier nodded. “Yes. He killed a bully. You heard what Austin told us. A thug. A psychopath in waiting.”

“Still a boy, Javier. In many ways, still a child. Those others – Ronnie and Kelly and Linda and Warrick, Milo and Amber – yes, they’re young and strong and they do this sort of thing a lot … but they didn’t prevent that, did they? It slipped away from them, and the Narrow Man killed a child.”

“It’s not your responsibility.”

“I saw Oscar Moreno kill my neighbour. I’ve known who the Narrow Man is for the past week. If it’s not my responsibility, then whose is it?”

“I … I don’t know, Virgil. But you can’t do this. He’ll kill you.”

“If he does, I’ll be sure to take him with me.”

“No, you won’t. He’s a monster. He’ll kill you without thinking about it. You won’t get near him.”

“But I’ll try,” said Virgil, folding the mask and putting it in his pocket. “I’ll try, goddammit.”

Javier shook his head and walked away, and Virgil picked up the hat, but didn’t put it on. The clothes felt good. Maybe a little tighter in some places, maybe a little looser in others, but they felt good. Felt right.

He visited his collection of props and costumes from the show, and very carefully folded a coat and slipped it into an overnight bag. Then he did another check of the windows and doors, and Linda came looking for him.

“You’re looking dapper,” she said.

“One does one’s best.”

She smiled. “Milo’s back.”

He nodded. “I’ll let him in.”

He left the overnight bag in the kitchen and went into the garage, waited for the Charger to pull all the way in, and then he shut the garage door. Amber got out first and he stepped back, quite involuntarily. This was the closest he’d got to her when she was in demon form, and she was quite intimidating. Still, he was glad to see her.