Coop poured bourbon into his lukewarm coffee and reheated it. He and Bayliss drank in silence for a few minutes. Coop put Singin’ in the Rain in the DVD player and turned the sound off. Bayliss watched, sipping her drink. The pizza arrived and Coop brought in plates for them.

“You feeling better?” he said.

Bayliss nodded. “I’m fine. I was just caught a little off guard. More than ever, I’m looking forward to seeing this through.”

“Me, too.”

Bayliss looked past Coop to the TV. “I wouldn’t have guessed you were a fan of musicals.”

“I’m not,” he said.

“Then why . . . ?”

“Don’t ask or I’ll tell you and spoil your pizza.”

“I might need another drink before I go.”

“Me, too.”

Coop picked up his phone and dialed another number. Sally Gifford picked up.

“Hey, Coop. What’s shaking? You ever get laid?”

“Hi, Sally. As a matter of fact I did, but what I’m really calling about is a job.”

“What a busy beaver you are these days. Tell me about it. How much are we going to get?”

“Here’s the good news,” he said brightly. “There’s absolutely no money in it.”

“Huh,” said Sally. “It sounds like you said no money. What aren’t you telling me, Coop?”

“I need your help. Someone took Morty and Giselle, and won’t give them back.”

“Wait. That chick who dumped you? Who would kidnap Morty?”

“Very bad people who’ll get even worse if you don’t help me.”

He heard Sally sigh. “I don’t know, Coop. It sounds like maybe you’re talking about a gun situation. I like you and I like Morty, but I like my body, too, and I try to avoid things that are going to put holes in it.”

“It’s not just about Morty,” said Coop. “The truth is, if this doesn’t work, we’re all going down. You, me, Morty, Giselle, Tintin, and even that little cat of yours.”

“My cat?” said Sally.

“I’m afraid so. But now here’s the good news. If we do this job, even if there’s no money, we get to fuck over a lot of rich and important people.”

There was a second of silence on the line, then “Cool,” said Sally. “I’m in,” an edge creeping into her voice. “Nobody threatens Purr J. Harvey.”

“Great. Come by around five and I’ll tell you the whole weird story.”

“Not at that shitty bar you like.”

“No. Come by Morty’s place.”

“See you then.”

“Was that one of your criminal friends?” said Bayliss.

“Yeah. You’ll like her,” said Coop. “She shot her partner once, too.”

Bayliss coughed, choking on her pizza. “She shot someone?”

“Don’t worry. She didn’t kill him. He got a little handsy with her, so she put a forty-four pistol to his balls and pulled the trigger.”

Bayliss swallowed. “What happened to him?”