“I’m sure that can’t be the case.” Margaret put a hand to her chin, pondering. “Surely the vampire you’re with must know what you are. Maybe you should ask him if you haven’t already? I’m sure he’ll be able to enlighten you.”
It seemed I’d have the chance to ask Hans very soon. There was a knock on the door, and even though it was the ladies’ bathroom, he stepped straight on inside.
He looked from me to Margaret.
“Ah, you’re not alone?”
“How do you know that?” I asked him. “Can you see her? She really is here?”
“No, I can’t see her, but I don’t need to. I can tell from your expression. It’s plainly obvious that you’re speaking with her.” He paused, then addressed the empty space beside me. “Hello, Margaret, sorry I can’t see you in person, but I am pleased to hear you are well.”
“Hello, Hans,” she replied, then patted my arm. “Do thank him, please. For delivering my George to me. I know he was the one pulling the strings behind the scenes. George knows it, too. He was quite an angry sod when he first crossed over and saw his body at the bottom of the stairs, but he soon got over it when he saw me.”
Alrighty then. I took a breath and looked at Hans. “She says thanks. For… for killing George.”
He waved his hand. “I can’t take all the credit, Margaret. I only gave the nod.”
I couldn’t believe this. I was in some kind of alternate reality, acting as an interpreter between a ghost and a vampire. Just what the hell was going on?
Of course, Hans read my mind.
“It’s all right,” he said. “You’re bound to be a little bit disoriented. That’s totally understandable.”
“Understatement of the century,” I managed to say.
I was still wobbly. I leant against the basin, then looked Hans right in his stunning green eyes.
“Is Margaret right? Am I a witch? Or a psychic, or a ghost whisperer thingy?”
He tipped his head from side to side, as though he was pondering.
“Oh, go on, tell him to hurry up,” Margaret said with a chuckle. “I’m as curious now as you are.”
I very much doubted that was the case.
“What am I, Hans?” I said. “What the hell is happening to me?”
He took my hands from the basin and gripped them tight. Then he spoke to the space beside me.
“Leave us alone, please, Margaret,” he said. “I think this conversation should be a private one.”
“Of course, sorry.” She put her hand on my back before she walked away. “Good luck, darling. Enjoy the revelation. You’ll have to let me know how it goes.”
The bathroom door swung back open as she left, but Hans didn’t seem convinced.
“Did she leave?” he asked me.
“Yes,” was all I could say, staring blankly as the door closed up again behind her.
“Excellent.” He paused, and his expression was a serious one. “I really didn’t expect to be having this discussion in a club bathroom after you’d been talking to a ghost, so, my sincere apologies for that, Katherine, but I really didn’t believe George would be here so soon. It usually takes a lot longer for souls to adjust to the fact they are dead, let alone take a jaunt out to their local, but I guess he has Margaret to thank for that.”
I closed my eyes. “I don’t give a shit about the location, Hans. Just answer me, please.”
“Patience,” he said, and I’d have wanted to give him an uppercut if my hands weren’t so damn shaky and clutched in his.
My voice sounded so frantic when it launched from my throat.
“FUCK PATIENCE! What am I?! Am I a ghost whisperer, or a psychic, or a witch, or whatever else the hell is roaming around the place? Am I a werewolf? A human bat? A reincarnation of King Arthur?”