Thicker Than Water

I’d left a few bits and pieces there, but nothing I couldn’t pick up again on the move. My coat was on my back and my whistle was in my coat. The rest was just details, really. I knew where I had “ew t nto go, and more or less what I’d do when I got there."

"I took a cab back to Pen’s, found her still out on the town, so I borrowed an overnight bag from her wardrobe and left her a note. But while I was writing it, I thought of another piece of unfinished business that was hanging over me. And since I didn’t know how long I’d be away for, now seemed like the best - if not the only - time to do it.

I went down to the kitchen and found Pen’s car keys where she always left them, in the bowl of dusty imitation fruit on top of the Welsh dresser. Ten minutes later I was driving around the North Circular towards Wembley.

I called Juliet while I was en route to tell her where we were going, and who we’d see when we got there. She didn’t ask for any further details. ‘I’ll be ready,’ was all she said.

Juliet and Susan live in a minuscule terraced house in Royal Oak that had formerly belonged to Susan’s mother.

When I knocked on the door, Susan Book answered. Her face was a little troubled.

‘Jules is just coming, Felix,’ she said. ‘But are you sure you need her for this? It’s very late.’

I reflected for a moment on the implications of this: that succubi tend to prefer early bedtimes, possibly with a mug of cocoa, and might get peaky and over-tired if they stayed up past midnight. Of course, being the person who shared Juliet’s bed was bound to give you very strong opinions about how much time she spent in it.

‘It was kind of her call, Sue,’ I said. ‘I’m visiting an old acquaintance, and Juliet told me a while back that she wanted in.

Susan still didn’t look altogether chipper about the whole deal, which made me wonder if she’d already quizzed Juliet about it and failed to get a straight answer.

‘It shouldn’t take us long,’ I promised. ‘I just want to deliver a message.’

Susan looked at me doubtfully. ‘But who to?’ she demanded.

‘Someone who isn’t going to want to sit still and listen. But there shouldn’t be any trouble.