Yes, it was all well and good that he was such a small-souled miserable little schemer. Better that than a god on a rampage, certainly. As for me, what did I plan to do?

The house in Georgetown, the car, these things meant nothing! I’d told him the truth. I wanted to be alive! Of course I would need some money for food and drink. But seeing the light of day cost nothing. Indeed, the experience need not involve any great material comfort or luxury. I wanted the spiritual and physical experience of being mortal flesh again. I saw myself as wholly unlike the miserable Body Thief!

But I had one remaining doubt. What if ten million wasn’t enough to bring this man back with my body? Perhaps I should double the amount. To such a small-minded person, a fortune of twenty million would truly be an enticement. And in the past, I had always found it effective to double the sums which people charged for their services, thereby commanding a loyalty from them of which they had not even conceived.

I called New York again. Double the sum. My agent, naturally enough, thought I was losing my mind. We used our new code words to confirm the authority of the transaction. Then I hung up.

It was time now to talk to David or go to Georgetown. I had made a promise to David. I sat very still, waiting for the phone to ring, and when it did, I picked it up.

“Thank God you’re there.”

“What is it?” I asked.

“I recognized the name Raglan James immediately, and you’re absolutely right. The man is not inside his own body! The person you’re dealing with is sixty-seven years old. He was born in India, grew up in London, and has been in prison five times. He’s a thief known to every law enforcement agency in Europe, and what they call in America a confidence man. He’s also a powerful psychic, a black magician—one of the most crafty we’ve ever known.”

“So he told me. He worked his way into the order.”

“Yes, he did. And this was one of the worst mistakes we’ve ever made. But Lestat, this man could seduce the Blessed Virgin, and steal a pocket watch from the Living Lord. Yet he was his own undoing within a matter of months. That’s the crux of what I’m trying to tell you. Now, please do listen. This sort of black witch or sorcerer always brings evil upon himself! With his gifts he should have been able to deceive us forever; instead he used his skill to fleece the other members, and to steal from the vaults!”

“He told me that. What about this whole question of body switching? Can there be any doubt?”

“Describe the man as you’ve seen him.”

I did. I emphasized the height and the robust nature of the physical frame. The thick glossy hair, the uncommonly smooth and satinlike skin. The exceptional beauty.