"Taking the long way home?"

"I beg your pardon?"

"Didn't think your lot were much for bus travel" Crowley looked over to the boy. "hanging about in the gloaming, hopping the wag are you?"

"I am reading my mail. I do not need to converse with you. So, I won't" Edwin took a look at the postcard at the top of the pile.

"Rude" Crowley grabbed the papers "Let me take a dekko"

"No time to footle" he grabbed for them back, but missed.

With a wave of his hand, the demon froze the ghost.

It was dusk and the pavements were strangely quiet. Even if he could shout, no one could hear.

Edwin sighed and watched Crowley go through the latest mail.

"The missing man is on a mates sofa." dropping the paper to the ground. "The rabbit has been living under an assumed name, on a roundabout in Tooting." he flipped the card into the road. "You should tackle the Ogre in the underground case. Detective." He handed the three pages to the ghost, who looked fearful. He had worked out what the other man was.

Crowley twitched his hand upwards, unfreezing Edwin.

"I won't go back" defiant words.

"Good for you. Me neither."

A bus stopped. Edwin and Crowley looked up. The door opened and closed and moved off.

"Wait... Detective? You know who I am?"

Crowley nodded. "There was a BOLO when you escaped. Be glad you all look the same to your average demon. You look just the same as the poster. Down to the dicky bow"

"I'm not going back"

"You stuck in a echo?" he turned to look at the boy. "Fine, Good for you. Me neither. This could get tiresome. Repeating myself until the bus gets here"

Another bus passed without stopping. Crowley looked up to the electronic display, then back to the lad. "Anthony J Crowley" he held out his hand "Hell's rep on Earth, retired"

Edwin blinked and stared at the hand. His brain caught up with his eyes "Edwin Payne, Dead boy detective" he shook his hand. "Is this where you get a promotion for taking in the big fish? Into the boss's good books?"

"You are a funny ghost. One, I have no boss. Bit like you and Charles. Freelance. My ex boss is away canoodling with the ex- archangel. Two, Big fish? Pipe down pipsqueak!"

"Rude." Edwin straightened his bow tie. "I take it our meeting is more than happenstance. What do you want buck demon?"

Crowley peered over his sunglasses. Yellow eyes sparkling over dark lenses. "Nothing that you wouldn't mind getting paid to do, young hawkshaw."

Edwin shuffled a little away on the bench. "So, in exchange for my services, you forget what I look like?"

"Not like that. Easy money it won't be, but honest. Ish" Crowley pushed his glasses up again.

A red double decker pulled in to the stop. "This is me" Crowley stood and waved to the bus. "Toodles" as the door opened, he turned. "Bit of advice, Ogre's name is Nigel. Probably low blood sugar. Hense the slightly bloody rampage, not sure anyone uses the word hense? Don't know why I'm asking you?"

"Getting on mate?" the driver asked.

"Soho?"

"Sign on the front says Soho, hense, that is where we are headed"

"Wizard" Crowley waved his card over the reader. He spun on his heel, as the doors closed, "Don't try booze, he is a proper pop-wallah. Anything with sprinkles."

"Nigel, sprinkles. Aces" Edwin wrote in his notebook.