“We can do subtle," I assured her."It's our middle name," Andrea added.For some odd reason Rene didn't look convinced.”

“Rene looked at Grendel. “What in the world is that?”“That’s our mutant attack poodle,” I told her.“Is he chewing on a gun?”

“Saiman picked up a coffee mug, stared at it, and hurled it against the wall. It shattered into a dozen pieces. We looked at him. “Your date appears to be hysterical,” Rene told me. “You think I should slap some man into him?"Saiman stared at me, speechless. I had to give it to Rene—she didn't laugh. But she really wanted to.”

“Andrea raised her eyebrows. "Look at you, all high-speed.""Yeah, you'd think I was a detective or something."Andrea held her hand out. "You'll jinx it.”

“Are you sure you know where you're going?" Andrea frowned."Would you like me to pull over and ask that bamboo for directions?""I don't know, do you think it will answer?"We peered at the bamboo."I think it looks suspicious," Andrea said."Maybe there is a heffalump hiding in it."Andrea stared at me."You know, heffalump? From Pooh Bear?""Where do you even get this shit?”

“I have a vamp body for you," Andrea said. "It's in the freezer."I gave her a nice smile. "You shouldn't have.”

“Your date appears to be hysterical," Rene told me."You think I should slap some man into him?”