"That's OK, I totally understand. I didn't know you had five kids, though!"

He made a wry face. "Why is it you think I work so many hours, eh? Now, before you go, you repeat for me what it is you will say if that murdering thief comes to se-duce you with his so-handsome face."

"Rene, Drake isn't going to—"

"Repeat it!"

"Chat echaude craint I'eau froide,"I dutifully re-peated. (It meant "A cat washed with hot water fears cold water," which evidently was the French way of saying once burned, twice shy.)

"You forgot to add the sneer to tell him you are so high above him. That is very important. Ah, well, you are im-proving.Bonne chance, Aisling. If you need me, call. I will come."

"Thanks." I gave in to impulse and leaned forward to kiss his cheek. "You're a doll."

Rene looked embarrassed by the gesture.

"She's not gettin' any from Drake," Jim explained in an annoyingly confidential tone. "She's kissing everyone. You should have seen her this morning, she was all over me—awk!"

"See you later," I said with a wave to Rene, ignoring the squirming demon struggling to free itself from the twisted hold I had on its collar. After it made a few pa-thetic gasps for air around its tightened collar, I let go of it and headed for Amelie's shop. "Behave yourself and I won't command you to silence."

"You're assuming I can talk after you brutally crushed my windpipe."

"Jim, you haven't evenbegun to see brutal," I warned as I walked toward Amelie's shop.

"That's what you think," it muttered behind me.

I was careful first to make sure there were no lounging policeman on surveillance. My Uncle Damian's warning rang in my head:Security every place, everywhere, all the time.

Suddenly, I was overwhelmed with a sudden sense of homesickness. What was I doing skulking around the streets of Paris at eight in the morning when I should be home getting chewed out by my uncle for allowing the aquamanile to be stolen from me? Why hadn't I taken Drake up on his offer to take my passport and run? Why was I putting my very life at risk by staying in a city that the police were probably scouring for me? And why did I feel like my heart was crushed in a vise whenever I thought about Drake betraying me?

"Because I'm fool, that's why. But I'm a fool who's got to clear her name, and by heaven, I'm going to do it." I marched forward to the shop, only to stop and stare first at the closed door, then down at my watch. "Rats. She doesn't open up for another hour. I forgot how early it is. Now what am I going to do? I can't stay lounging around here—Inspector Proust might send someone to watch the shop."

Jim peed on a lightpost. "Why don't we go to her apartment? You can talk to her there, and be off the street so the cops don't grab you."

"Brilliant idea, only I have no idea where her apart-ment is."

Jim nodded upward. "It's above the shop."

I looked up. The second floor of the long building that ran the length of the block held what looked like apart-ments—at least they had the same black wrought-iron railings at the bottoms of the windows that I had seen on every apartment building thus far. "How do you know she rives up there?"

Jim started off down the street. I followed. "Because, Einstein, I'm courting Cecile. You think I'm not going to find out where she lives? How can I serenade her at night if I don't know where she lives?"

"Jim," I said as we turned down an alley that ran be-hind the building, "you do realize that it's not quite nor-mal for a demon to be courting a dog, right?"

Jim shot me one of its disgusted looks. "Of course I know, but I'm not just any demon. I'm a demon plus. I'm superior to your average run-of-the-mill demon. Think of me as Demon: The Next Generation."

I didn't make a face at that thought, but it was near thing. Instead I climbed the rickety wooden stairs that led up to a small landing, pressing on the bell beneath the neatly writtenmerllain.

"Oui?"

"Hi Amelie, it's Aisling. If it's not too much trouble, I'd like to talk to you."

"Aisling?Nom de Dieu! Stay right there. Do not allow anyone to see you!"

Twenty seconds later I could see a figure approaching through the wavery glass that filled the upper half of the door. Amelie hustled me into a dank, dark hallway. "Quickly, I do not want my neighbors to see you."

She gave Jim a sour look, but allowed it to follow me. I trotted down the hall to the open door I could see at the end.

"What a lovely apartment," I said, looking around. Itwas lovely, although surprisingly modern. I don't know why, but I didn't expect her apartment to be filled with pop-art, fiber-optic lights, neo-Baroque furniture in pri-mary colors, and very pricey designer chairs that looked extremely uncomfortable.

"Baby!" Jim crooned, heading for a dog bed that was filled to overflowing with Cecile. "Daddy's home!"

Amelie waved my compliments away. "What are you doing here? No, you do not need to answer that—I can guess. You are seeking shelter, yes?"

"Yes, but—"

"You cannot stay here," she interrupted. "You must leave immediately. I cannot have you here!"

My shoulders sagged in disappointment. This wasn't quite the welcome I had expected.

13

It is not that I would not allow you to stay here if I could," Amelie said as she closed the door behind me. "But the police, they visited me three times last night, searching both my shop and this apartment."

"Oy," I said, slumping down into a scarlet chair. "I'm sorry about that. I thought they might watch your shop, but I never in a million years thought they'd disturb you."

"They said you murdered the Venediger." Amelie stood before me, her hands held tightly, her expression strained.

"I didn't. I swear to you, Amelie, when I arrived at his house, he was already dead. His body was cooling."

She stared at me for a moment, then put both hands on my head. I didn't know what she was reading—my thoughts or my emotions—but I fervently hoped she would realize I was innocent. "It is difficult for me to sense your thoughts, but I do not believe you are a mur-derer." She whooshed out a sigh as she collapsed onto one of the uncomfortable-looking chairs. "I had hoped you hadn't done it. I know you were frightened when you left, and the Venediger can be very . .."