Glen Cook - Old Tin Sorrows

Watch.

Suddenly that fifth of a ton of dead meat was gone, and in his place was a guy named Denny Tate who was so real, we talked about things the Dead Man couldn't possibly know.

Solid proof. Rock solid. Denny Tate had been dead more than a year. A good choice by the Dead Man. I couldn't call it a trick. He wasn't somebody who could be sneaked in for a little sleight of eye. And Denny was one of the few people important to me who'd died untimely without violence. The silly sack had fallen off a horse and broken his neck. "Enough, Old Bones. I'm a believer."

Denny Tate vanished. What replaced him was ugly as sin but I didn't tell him so. Not today.

My mood hadn't vanished. I almost asked him to conjure Eleanor.

Man, a guy could set up a hell of a racket faking calling up the dearly departed.

Think about something else, the Dead Man suggested.

"I'd love to, Chuckles. But it isn't that easy." Hell. I couldn't do anything right. Not even get drunk. I was barely light-headed.

You need a distraction.

"Right." So conjure me a miracle, Old Bones.

Somebody hammered on the front door.

The Dead Man is dead. In the flesh, anyway. But I swear he looked like he was smiling.

Dean hollered, "Can you get that, Mr. Garrett? I'm right in the middle, here. I've got both hands full."

Muttering, I stomped down the hall and flung the door open without bothering to look first. "Maya?"

"Hi, Garrett." Bright, perky, like she'd never been gone, except maybe to step around the corner. She walked in like she belonged. Which she did.

As I started to close the door I caught a glimpse of Morley Dotes holding up a wall down the street, smiling.

That slick bastard. He'd sent Dojango ahead to set this up. I bet he knew where Maya was all along. Maybe they all had.

From the kitchen Dean called, "Welcome back, Miss Maya. Dinner will be ready in a minute." He never looked to see who it was.

Set me up good, they did.

Maya took my hand and led me down the hall. For a second I resented everybody ganging up on me. But I didn't spend a whole lot of time worrying about it. Maya was there.

I was distracted.