“A friend of yours?” he said.

“She acted in the silents. She was gone and buried long before I was born.”

“Live fast, die young, and leave a star where drunks can piss on you. I guess there are worse ways to be remembered, but I can’t think of any off the top of my head.”

“An ex-con who blew a promising career because he was a—”

“Don’t say it.”

“Fuddy-duddy.”

“At least I don’t have strangers peeing on me on New Year’s.”

“When do you have strangers pee on you?”

“Keep your fantasies to yourself, please.”

“Oh, and for your information, Catherine isn’t gone in the ectoplasmic sense,” said Giselle. “If you’re lucky, I’ll get to introduce you.” She knelt down by the star and pressed the movie camera. It sank about an inch into the sidewalk until Coop heard a click followed by distant echoes. Giselle reached down and opened the star like a trapdoor. Coop looked around.

“Excuse me, ma’am, but aren’t you being a little indiscreet, magic-wise? We’re right out in the open.”

“Relax,” she said. “No one’s seen us for a block. I’ve been clouding everyone’s mind for five minutes.”

“So, I could go into one of these stores and steal a bottle right now and no one would know? Think about it. The Roosevelt has a great lobby. We could have a few drinks and go back and tell Salzman we didn’t find anything.”

She looked at him. “Are you afraid to go to Jinx Town?”

“Not afraid. Just cautiously trepidatious.”

“Those are ten-dollar words for ‘afraid.’”

“I’d just like to have a better idea of what’s down there. You never told me.”

Giselle pushed the star back on its hinges until it fell with a thud on the sidewalk. “You want to know? Climb in, cowboy.”

“I didn’t say I wanted to know. I said you hadn’t told me.”

“Seriously, Coop. The quicker we get going, the sooner you can run back home with your tail between your legs.”

He peered down into the hole. “Is that supposed to motivate me? You taking a shot at my male pride?”

She smiled. “Did it work?”

“No. But I do like that idea of this being over with. Let’s go.”

“You first,” she said and pointed down into the sidewalk.

He took a small step back. “I have a feeling I’m not the first to say this at this moment, but no fucking way.”

“One of us has to go first, and it’s not going to be me.”

“Why not?”

She pointed to herself, then him. “Me agent. You flight risk. Now climb.”