Aidan and I gave him our attention.
There was a long pause. I was about to ask Oscar if he’d forgotten what he was going to say when he drew himself up to his full three and a half feet, puffed out his chest, and declared: “I’m thinking very seriously about getting a pet. A baby bat, maybe. Or a duck. A duckling! I’m gonna name it Pumpernickel!”
And then he fell back onto his butt and sniggered.
Aidan met my eyes, raised his eyebrows, smiled, and inclined his head. “There you have it. Shall I put on some Bob Marley?”
“So he’ll be all right, then?”
“He’ll be fine. Let him sleep it off.”
“What a relief. Thank you.”
There was an awkward pause. “Lily, I don’t wish to be inhospitable, but I have some work to do, and if I’m not mistaken, you have a boyfriend to exonerate, despite the fact that several eyewitnesses put him at the scene.”
“You heard about that?” Ofcoursehe’d heard about that. As Oscar would say if he hadn’t been currently snoozing in the corner, Aidanknewthings.
“I know he’s not your favorite person,” I continued, “but I may have to ask you for help. Sailor didn’t kill Tristan Dupree.”
“Of course he didn’t.”
“You believe that?” I searched Aidan’s face forindications that he was being ironic, but he looked sincere. Then again, with Aidan, one never knew.
Aidan looked impatient. “If you’re asking me if I think Sailor is capable of killing someone, then my answer is ‘Yes, he is.’ If you’re asking me if I think Sailor killed this particular someone, then my answer is ‘No, he did not.’ Satisfied?”
“But the question is, how do I convince the SFPD of that?”
“Looks like you have your work cut out for you.”
“Does that mean you won’t help me?”
“If I help you, what do I get in return?”
This was the response I’d anticipated. Aidan’s assistance always came with strings attached. “That depends. What do you want?”
“Sailor. Or Oscar. Your choice.”
“What?”
“Both of them used to work for me, if you recall. Before you managed to wrest them from my... influence.”
“Aidan—”
“Nothing in this life comes free, Lily. Haven’t you learned that by now? There’s always a price. And my terms are not unreasonable—I’m just asking Sailor to work for me. I’ll pay him handsomely, and help him to increase his natural talents. Surely he would prefer that over rotting in prison.”
“Um... I can’t speak for Sailor. Or Oscar, for that matter.”
“Then speaktohim, Lily. I will gladly help Sailor, but my offer is contingent upon the terms stated.”
“I’m going to have to ponder that one.” I would be able to see Sailor tomorrow morning. He was going to just love this. “In the meantime, could I ask for some advice? Or does that have a price tag, too?”
Aidan inclined his head graciously. “As you know, Lily, talk is cheap.”
“Patience Blix and I were just chased by someone who’s a dead ringer for Sailor—during which I lost my Hand of Glory, by the way, but I’m hoping Carlos can get it back for me.”
“Carlos?”
“I told him some of what happened, and he was going to go over to Sailor’s apartment to check it out. He’ll try to retrieve my stuff. I dropped a backpack full of supplies, too. And my keys.”
