“Me, too,” said Coop. “Who the hell are you? And what did you do to Eddie?”

“Was that his full name?” said the mystery man.

“Fast Eddie.”

“Unusual. I’ll say a prayer for him later, but I don’t have time right now.”

“Why’s that?” said Giselle.

“I need to talk to this man next to you. My name is Qaphsiel. What’s yours?”

“Barney Rubble. And what was it you said you did to Eddie? I didn’t see a gun or anything.”

Qaphsiel shook his head. “No, I don’t carry weapons, Barney. And I don’t have all of my old powers, so I just discorporated him.”

“You blew him up.”

Qaphsiel looked around the room. “It was a bit messy, wasn’t it? Sorry. Maybe this will help with the cleanup.” He bent over and dropped a handful of gold coins onto a dry spot on the coffee table.

Coop and Giselle looked at each other. Coop said, “Hold still,” plucked something red from her hair, made a face, and tossed it away.

“What was that?” she said.

“Don’t ask.”

Coop looked at the gold and then Qaphsiel. “That real?”

“Of course. I’m sure it’s more than enough to cover the damages.”

“I would have taken a check.”

Qaphsiel put his hands together. “I know this is a lot to take in at once, Barney.”

Coop realized that he and Giselle were holding hands. He let go and picked up a couple of the gold coins. He gave one to her and turned one over in his hand. “What’s to take in? You bust in, blow a guy up, and now you dump a load of gold on me? It’s just another night in Hollywood, right?”

Qaphsiel glanced over his shoulder and closed the front door. “I didn’t actually break in, you see. The door wasn’t closed all the way. When I tried to knock, it swung open, and I saw what was about to happen.”

“Why would you want to get involved?” said Giselle. “Most people would have run away.”

“Yes. Well. That. You see, I’m not most people,” said Qaphsiel. “I’m an angel.”

Coop sighed. “You know, in the last few days, I’ve taken orders from a dead man, hung out with poltergeists, vampires, werewolves, people with tentacles, people with gills, and seen the inside of a turd submarine. After all that, I shouldn’t be surprised when someone tells me they’re an angel, but you know what? I am.”

Qaphsiel brushed some Eddie off the beanbag chair and wiped down the seat with the sleeve of his letter jacket. He pulled the chair over to where Coop and Giselle sat.

“There’s something you need to know, Barney.”

“My name isn’t Barney. It’s Coop.”

“You lied? I envy you that. Angels aren’t supposed to lie. It would make my life here a lot easier if I could.”