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Part One

1

“What’s her angle?” Ivy asked, walking around the table with her arms folded Today, she wore her blonde hair in a severe bun, which was stuck through with several dangerous-looking pins

I tried, unsuccessfully, to ignore her

“Gold digger, perhaps?” Tobias asked Dark-skinned and stately, he had pulled a chair over to the table so he could sit beside me He wore his usual relaxed suit with no tie, and fit in ith this roo and piano music “Many a woman has seen only Stephen’s wealth, and not his acumen”

“She’s the daughter of a real estate nate,” Ivy said with a dis out of her nose” Ivy leaned down beside the table, inspecting my dinner companion “A nose, by the hich seems to have had as much work done on it as her chest”

I forced out a s to keep my attention on my dinner companion I was used to Ivy and Tobias by now I relied upon them

But it can be da

“So” said Sylvia, my date “Malcoave ht black dress, Sylvia was an acquaintance of a mutual friend orried about me far too much I wondered howto the blind date

“A detective?” I said “Yes, I suppose you could say that”

“I just did!” Sylvia replied with a chittering laugh

Ivy rolled her eyes, refusing the seat Tobias pulled over for her

“Though honestly,” I said to Sylvia, “the word ‘detective’ probably gives you the wrong idea I just help people with very specialized problems”

“Like Batman!” Sylvia said

Tobias spat out his leh Sylvia—of course—couldn’t see it

“Notreally like that,” I said

“I was just being silly,” Sylvia said, taking another drink of her wine She’d had a lot of that for a un “What kind of problems do you solve? Like, coic problems?”

“Yes All three of those, and then some”

“Thatdoesn’t sound very specialized to me,” Sylvia said

She had a point “It’s difficult to explain I’m a specialist, just in lots of areas”

“Like what?”

“Anything Depends on the problem”

“She’s hiding things,” Ivy said, arle”

“Everyone does,” I replied

“What?” Sylvia asked, frowning as a server with a cloth over her arm made our salad plates vanish

“Nothing,” I said

Sylvia shifted in her chair, then took another drink “You were talking to them, weren’t you?”

“So you have read up on me”

“A girl has to be careful, you know There are some real psychos in the world”

“I assure you,” I said “It’s all under control I see things, but I’m completely aware of what is real and what is not”

“Be careful, Stephen,” Tobias said froerous territory for a first date Perhaps a discussion of the architecture instead?”

I realized I’d been tapping ainst my bread plate, and stopped

“This building is a Renton McKay design,” Tobias continued in his cal way “Note the open nature of the roons in ascending patterns They can rebuild the interior every year or so, creating a restaurant that is half eatery, half art installation”

“My psychology really isn’t that interesting,” I said “Not like this building Did you know that it was built by Renton McKay? He—”

“So you see things,” Sylvia interrupted “Like visions?”

I sighed “Nothing so grand I see people who aren’t there”

“Like that guy,” she said “In that movie”

“Sure Like that Only he was crazy, and I’m not”

“Oh, yeah,” Ivy said “What a great way to put her at ease Explain in depth how not crazy you are”

“Aren’t you supposed to be a therapist?” I snapped back at her “Less sarcashtful”

That was a tall order for Ivy Sarcash she was fluent in “stern disappointood friend Well, iinary friend

She just had a thing about me and women Ever since Sandra abandoned us, at least

Sylvia regarded me with a stiff posture, and only then did I realize I’d spoken out loud to Ivy As Sylvia noticedat her, she plastered on a smile as fake as red dye 6 Inside, I winced She was quite attractive, despite what Ivy claiot terribly lonely

“So” Sylvia said, then trailed off Entrées arrived She had chic lettuce wraps I’d chosen a safe-sounding chicken dish “So, uhYou were speaking to one of theinary person?” She obviously considered it polite to ask Perhaps the proper lady’s book of etiquette had a chapter on how to ical disabilities

“Yes,” I said “That was one of them Ivy”

“Alady?”

“A woman,” I said “She’s only occasionally a lady”

Ivy snorted “Your , Steve”

“How many of your personalities are female?” Sylvia asked She hadn’t touched her food yet

“They aren’t personalities,” I said “They’re separate fro, I’m schizophrenic”

That is a subject of soists Despite my hallucinations, I don’t fit the profile for schizophrenia I don’t fit any of the profiles But why should thatjust fine Mostly

I smiled at Sylvia, who still hadn’t started her food “It’s not a big deal My aspects are probably just an effect of a lonely childhood, spent mostly by myself”

“Good,” Tobias said “Now transition the conversation away fro about her”

“Yes,” Ivy said “Find out what she’s hiding”

“Do you have siblings?” I asked

Sylvia hesitated, then finally picked up her silverware Never had I been so happy to see a fork move “Two sisters,” she said, “both older Maria is a consultant for a ia lives in the Cayman Islands She’s an attorney”

I relaxed as she continued Tobias raised his glass of leratulations Disaster avoided

“You’re going to have to talk about it with her eventually,” Ivy said “We aren’t exactly sonore”

“Yes,” I said softly “But for now, I’ll settle for surviving the first date”

“What was that?” Sylvia looked at us, hesitating in her narrative

“Nothing,” I said

“She was speaking about her father,” Tobias said “A banker Retired”

“How long was he in banking?” I asked, glad that one of us had been paying attention

“Forty-eight years! We kept saying he didn’t need to continue on”

I s my c

hicken as she talked

“Perimeter clear,” a voice said from behind me

I started, looking overa busboy’s uniforh, and square-jawed, JC is a cold-blooded killer Or so he claims I think it means he likes to murder amphibians

He was a hallucination, of course JC, the plates he was carrying, the handgun he had holstered inconspicuously under his white server’s jacketall hallucinations Despite that, he’d saved my life several times

That didn’t mean I was pleased to see him

“What are you doing here?” I hissed

“Watching out for assassins,” JC said

“I’m on a date!”

“Which means you’ll be distracted,” JC said “Perfect time for an assassination”

“I told you to stay home!”

“Yeah, I know The assassins would have heard that too That’s why I had to coinary, but he felt perfectly real to me “She’s a looker, Skinny Nice work!”

“Half of her is plastic,” Ivy said dryly

“Sarinned at Ivy, then leaned down to me “I don’t suppose you could” He nodded toward Ivy, then raised his hands to his chest,motion