I stood there, the half-coin in my open palm. I saw her eyes dip down to see it nestled there.

‘I found his inhaler,’ I said numbly.

I looked back down at Wallace and saw he had woken up again. I watched as his eyes moved from the set of drawers to my hand, working it out. He looked suddenly a great deal more sober than just a moment before.

I lowered my hand until he could clearly see the half-coin. ‘Wallace,’ I asked, forcing myself to remain calm, ‘can you tell me where you got this?’

‘I’m sorry,’ he said, and leaned to one side before noisily throwing up on the floor close to my feet. I stepped back quickly, just avoiding the flow of liquid as it hit.

‘Fuck,’ shouted Rozalia, her face twisted up in disgust.

Casey’s eyes were on the broken I Ching coin in my hand. His gaze moved up to meet mine, and he gave me a look I couldn’t decipher.

‘I’ll get some tissues,’ he said, his tone flat and emotionless, and stepped out of the room.

‘Jerry,’ said Rozalia, once Casey was gone, ‘will you please tell me what’s going on?’

Wallace made a moaning sound. I was just about to tell her when Casey returned, clutching an enormous wad of paper towels and carrying a bucket. He pushed past me, kneeling down carefully before making an attempt at cleaning the mess up.

I stared again at the half-coin grasped in my hand and tried to think how it could possibly have come into Wallace’s possession. There had to be some rational explanation: something that would make perfect sense and chase away all the paranoid fantasies yelling for attention in the back of my head.

Maybe. But somehow I doubted it.

Casey stood back up. ‘Maybe you should go now,’ he said, his tone wooden. ‘Thanks for your help and everything, but I think I’d better stick around and keep an eye on him.’

I glanced down at Wallace, who had drifted off into a more peaceful sleep, snoring more quietly this time.

‘Does he still need his inhaler?’ I asked, handing the shrink-wrapped device over to Casey.

‘Mostly he just needs to dry out,’ the other man replied. He nodded curtly to me. ‘Thanks.’

There were so very many questions I wanted to ask Wallace, but I knew they would have to wait. Some instinct told me not to say anything while Casey was around.

Rozalia gave me one last, long questioning look before she followed me back outside.

We walked for maybe half a block before Rozalia stepped in front of me, a determined look on her face. ‘Spill,’ she said. ‘What the hell just happened back there?’

I held the coin up so she could see it more clearly. Its Chinese characters glistened softly under the moonlight.