“The gun just went click. Sally’s a polite person and always keeps the first chamber empty for moments like that,” said Coop. “I’m not saying you should do anything like that to Nelson, but I’m just putting it out there as food for thought.”

Bayliss set down her pizza. “Trust me. If I ever pull my gun on Nelson, it’s going to do more than click.”

“You’re going to do just fine tomorrow. You’ve got more crook in you than you know.”

Bayliss smiled. “Thanks.”

“To be fair, I feel that about every cop.”

“I assumed.”

After Mr. Lemmy hung up, he looked at his men lounging around his office, drinking his booze and coffee. They really pissed him off right then. He shouldn’t have to be dealing with this shit. That’s these monkeys’ job, he thought. But then, they didn’t know what the job was. Still. All he did was feed them, give them money, and listen to them belch and brag about girls. It wasn’t dignified. He wondered if he should have listened to his father and gone into the family snow globe business. He remembered how the biggest decision his father ever had to make was whether to stick to traditional plastic snow in his globes or switch to glitter. Mr. Lemmy sighed. I’d like to stick this bunch in a big goddamn snow globe and shake some sense into them, he thought.

“Here’s the thing,” said Mr. Lemmy to his men. “This Coop creep wants to meet someplace called Jinx Town. Anybody ever heard of it?”

“I have,” said Baker. His father had been a butcher. That always amused Mr. Lemmy. A butcher named Baker. It wasn’t much of a joke, but at shitty times like this you had to appreciate the little things.

Baker went on. “It’s supposed to be a bad place, boss. Full of crazy people and weird things.”

“What does that even mean, ‘crazy people and weird things’? Speak fucking English.” It’s like pulling teeth with these morons.

Baker blushed a little and looked at Mr. Lemmy’s other heavies. “People into all kind of dark stuff. Magic. Voodoo. And there’s supposed to be, I guess the only word for it is monsters.”

“Monsters.”

“You know. Vampires and shit.”

The men laughed and Mr. Lemmy stared at him. “You really believe that shit?”

“Lots of people have talked about it,” said Baker. “Even my grandma. And she heard about it from her grandma.”

Mr. Lemmy closed his eyes for a minute, picturing bloody snow globes. “It’s a fucking fairy tale. The bogeyman,” he said. “Something to keep you in line. Guess that didn’t work out so well, you crooked prick?”

The men laughed and shook their heads.

“If it’s okay with you I’m going to bring some garlic,” said Baker.