Predo pushes the drawer of the cabinet closed and walks behind the desk.

— The real question is how it got that bad in the first place. What was it that kept you from destroying the filth more cleanly?

— They were eating the kid's brain. I wasn't gonna wait until they gobbled the second one and went to sleep. I had to go at the Goddamn things while they were feeding. They fought back. It got sloppy. Next time I'll let them have the kid.

— Sloppy is an apt word, Pitt. It did indeed get sloppy, and has potential to get sloppier. The police are involved. And worse, the press. Such a grisly murder with Satanic and supernatural overtones, how can they resist? It must be quelled, Pitt. It must be hushed before it draws too much attention and there are prying eyes. It is exactly the kind of business we avoid, Pitt. It is exactly the kind of business you are meant to take care of. It is why we tolerate your independence. And am I to understand that on top of this mess, there is a carrier involved? And that you failed to destroy that carrier?

Fucking Philip! I should have known. That prick never calls just to lend a hand.

— I'll take care of it tonight.

— How will you do that, Pitt, with your neighborhood crawling with police and newscasters and the curious?

— I'll take care of it tonight.

Predo stares at me. He drops the file on his desk and finally sits in his chair.

— You will need to. Tonight and no later.

I wait for it.

— We have found a patsy.

— There was a witness, you gonna change what he saw?

— No we are not, Pitt. We do not need to. The witness is our patsy.

I close my eyes.

— The child whose life you saved will now return the favor by paying the price for this horrid crime. He, of course, has not volunteered to do so, but the evidence we have arranged will make his guilt a foregone conclusion by sundown. But for it to stick, you will need to see that there are no further incidents of this nature.