The Parisian Codex

32 - Not in the Nude

Mathieu came while I was in the shower.

After robbing the Louvre and running all over Paris to lose the police, I thoroughly deserved that shower.

When Mathieu started banging his fist against my carefully locked office door, I decided to let him stew. Then he started shouting particularly vicious insults, with enough volume for the whole building to hear. I promised myself I'd make him pay for that with the rest, and left my wonderful shower.

"What?" I bellowed, opening the door wide.

Mathieu's eyes widened, and he took a step backward. "Oh my! Could you get dressed? At least grab a towel!"

"What do you want from me? Your men must have told you that I didn't do anything to..."

Mathieu raised a hand to interrupt me. "I see where the misunderstanding comes from. I'm not Monsieur Mathieu. I'm Zagan."

I stared at the man for a moment, and he smiled back. Not the usual shark grin, but a real smile with real emotions behind it. A smile the likes of which Mathieu had never managed.

"Damn," I said. "You killed Mathieu?"

"He was getting on my nerves with his possessive tendencies. You know he's exploiting more than a dozen girls in that horrible club?"

"I gathered. And he owns other such establishments."

"And you didn't do anything?"

"The guy..." I was about to reveal how Mathieu had me, thanks to a video of my vampire exploits. But if that evidence was distressing in Mathieu's hands, it would be catastrophic in Zagan's. "The guy's a psychopathic mobster with dozens of henchmen at his beck and call, and no doubt as many cops in his pocket."

Zagan nodded with a greedy smile. "All the more reason to occupy his carnal envelope! That said, I'd prefer to continue this conversation once you're presentable."

"You murdered my master, you've cursed me for eternity, and you can't bear to see my d..."

"Hello?" a female voice called out.

Romane was coming down the stairs. Had that girl put my office under surveillance, only to barge in at the worst possible moment?

I slammed the door in Zagan's face and dressed in a flash. Romane was getting on my nerves, but she didn't deserve to see me in the nude.

I opened my office door again and announced: "I know what to do!"

Romane was standing by the stairs, arms crossed, and face closed. Zagan had retrieved the grimoire of necromancy and seemed absorbed by its contents.

"I hope it's quick," he said without looking up.

"Are you afraid the burglars will rob your bank again?"

I stepped aside and beckoned them in.

The demon passed me by with a snap of his tongue. "Worse: they've reported me to the police for trafficking in antiques. I barely had time to retrieve the codex, and only because the agency director knows Mathieu's reputation. He's more afraid of him than of the authorities."

"Cops rarely murder bank managers," I said.

Standing on the threshold, Romane gave me a panicked look.

"Come in," I said. "It's Zagan."

She didn't move an inch.

"Zagan is a demon," I reminded her. "He used to occupy the body of Olga, the dancer. Now he's changed, and he's..."