“Yeah,” she says. “I don’t know if I could go on without her. I’ve worked serial cases before, but I’ve never fit the victim profile.”

“Leave town,” I say. “Take an extended vacation. I did piss somebody off when I was down in Mexico, and if it were just some cartel boss I wouldn’t be worried about it. If it was just Sastre coming after me, I wouldn’t be worried about it. But there is more going on here than you know, and if you get in its way, you’re gonna get hurt.”

“Eric, this is my wife.” She points to the ring on my finger, even though she’s conspicuously missing one of her own. “You understand that, right? Help us,” she says. “Help me.”

If I laugh I’ll have to explain my being railroaded into marriage with a death goddess and we’ll be here all day.

“Okay, say I throw in with you and your politician buddies. What’s the plan? And don’t say to just do what I would normally do until she shows up, except that you’ll be following me.” She doesn’t say anything. “It is, isn’t it? Goddammit.”

“But you’ll be surveilled,” she says. “And you’ll have a wire. There will always be someone nearby, another mage.”

Aside from the fact that having anybody looking over my shoulder freaks me out, what happens if Quetzalcoatl goes after whoever’s watching me? And how do I know whoever she has watching me isn’t blaming me for these murders too and takes a shot?

“No,” I say. “It’s a stupid plan. It’ll get me killed, whoever is watching me killed, and probably several bystanders. I’ll keep you updated when I find anything out, but it’s better if nobody knows where I am.”

My phone rings in my pocket, cutting off whatever she was about to say. It’s Gabriela.

“A little bird told me you had a car accident on the way to see your honey bunny,” Gabriela says.

“Please don’t call her that,” I say. “I’d like to keep my breakfast down. Yes, I did, and no, I haven’t seen her yet. But I did find some things out.” I fill her in on Sastre, taking care to circle around Quetzalcoatl, and the lighter.

“I take it you’re not alone,” she says, catching on.

“Ran into an old high school acquaintance. She helped fill in the blanks.” Letitia gives me a questioning look, but I ignore her.

“And her knowing that gods are involved might not be prudent?”

“I’m still figuring that one out.”

“Got it. Come on by the warehouse when you get a chance. All this Secret Squirrel shit over the phone gives me a headache.”

“I’ll see you later tonight.”

“Who was that?” Letitia says as I slip my phone back in my pocket.