The Book of Death (Bourbon Kid 4)

laughed a fake yet
hearty laugh. ‘Hahaha! I want you to be that evil sonofabitch too. You were far
more interesting back then. These days, if you don’t mind my saying, you’re a
bit dull. Something of a nonentity, by all accounts.’
    ‘Having a soul and a conscience will do that to a man. That shit, it
ain’t for me.’
    ‘Glad to hear it.’
    ‘So can you make it happen?’
    The man in red sat back with both his
hands on the hood of the car. He crossed one leg over the other. Then he took
off his red hat and placed it on his lap. Underneath the hat he had a thick
head of curly black hair.
    ‘Of course I can make it happen,’
he said. ‘You see, you and I share a common interest.’
    ‘Which is?’
    ‘Hell dodgers.’
    ‘What?’
    ‘Hell dodgers.’
    ‘I heard what you said. What’s
your point?’
    ‘It’s the vampires. I can’t
stomach those hell dodging weasels. The werewolves too and most of all, that
fucking mummy! You know, that Rameses Gaius, he was stuck in Purgatory for
centuries until you lifted that curse on him. I really thought he was gonna be
mine one day. And I gotta tell ya, I’m still aching to have him at my table.’
    ‘Good for you.’
    ‘But Jessica, she’s the one.’ The
man in red became very animated as he spoke of Jessica. He was clearly
passionate about her in some way. ‘She’s eluded me for as long as I can
remember. And boy oh boy, there have been times when you so nearly delivered
her to me. Honestly, how she’s evaded me for so long really is nothing short of
a miracle.’
    JD was surprised by the man’s
revelation, but pleased to hear it none the less. ‘So you’ll help me kill her?’
he asked.
    ‘I’ll give you back what you had,
and I’ll even up the odds for you,’ the man replied. ‘But I can’t help you kill
her. That’s all down to fate.’
    ‘Fate won’t kill her. I will.’
    The man in red shook his head. ‘If
you were gonna kill her, you’d have done it already.’
    ‘What’s that supposed to mean?’
    ‘Just think about that when you
come face to face with her.’
    ‘Enough with the cryptic bullshit.
What do you want from me in return?’
    From behind him JD heard Jacko
speak up. ‘It’ll be something you won’t like,’ he warned.
    The man in red slipped his bowler
hat back on and slid off the hood of the car. He walked towards JD. ‘On the
contrary,’ he said, ‘it’ll be something you’ll love.’
    ‘So what is it?’
    The man in red placed a warm hand
on JD’s shoulder. ‘All in good time,’ he said. ‘But, first of all, before I
give you what you want, I’d like a little something from you. A deposit if you
will. Non refundable, of course.’
    ‘Okay.’
    ‘Your wheels.’
    JD looked at him suspiciously. ‘My
car? If I give you my car, how the hell am I gonna get back to Santa Mondega?’
    ‘Oh my boy, I’ll get you there
quicker than any car!’
    ‘Fine.’ JD reached into his pocket
and pulled out his car keys. He tossed them to the man in red. ‘I just gotta
grab a few things out of the trunk though.’
    The man in red took the keys and
carried on grinning. ‘You don’t need anything from the car. Everything you
need, you’ll find down that road,’ he said pointing up at a signpost by the
crossroads. The missing signpost with its four white wooden panels pointing in
different directions was back where it belonged at the roadside. It now had a
destination painted in black lettering on the panel pointing West. It read one
word, PURGATORY.
    JD turned back to the man in red.
‘What the fuck is in Purgatory?’ he asked.
    ‘A test of sorts,’ said the man in
red with his usual smug grin. ‘While I go and draft up a contract for you to
sign, you go pass the test.’
    JD looked back down the deserted
highway. ‘Where’s the test?’ he asked.
    He heard no reply. Instead he
heard the sound of a car door opening. He turned around and was dismayed to see
that the man in red was already in the driver’s seat of the black V8
Interceptor. The engine roared into life seconds later. The man in red winked
at him and revved the engine a few times before inducing a loud screeching wheelspin,
which blew up sand and dust in all directions. JD watched on as the car sped
off down the road towards the area where the Hotel Pasadena once stood.
    He turned back to see Jacko behind
him. The blues man had taken his guitar out of its case. He now had the sleek
black blues guitar hanging around his shoulders, ready to