A Dead Man's Favor

Now that he's back home in San Diego, life is looking up for John Smith, hapless P.I. and supernatural mediator. Business is booming (sometimes literally), his girlfriend is fantastic, and their mutual boss/acquaintance is thousands of miles away where she won't be able to do too much damage.

And sure, there may be a few flies in the ointment, like the little matter of an ongoing goblin war, the disappearance of John's chief mediator rival, and an ever-growing list of questions about the suspicious events of the past few years, but those are all topics for another day.

It's wedding season and the sun is shining, the weather is perfect, and the early fall air is thick with the scent of—Wait. Is that rotting flesh? Yes, yes it is.

You see, a year ago, John traded away a favor for help on a case, and the owner of that favor is calling it in. San Diego's zombie prince, Simon, may be long dead, but his descendants are still around and kicking, and one of them, his great-great granddaughter, just went missing outside the town of Ghost Falls, New Mexico. Now, Simon wants John to track her down. Failure is not an option.

John has never worked across state lines before, but clearly that's going to change. And while New Mexico might not be quite as blissful as Catalina Island, it still sounds pretty sweet. A scenic drive, a week or so chasing down leads in a picturesque town, and all the Hatch chiles he can eat? It's the perfect couples vacation, really.

After all, John and his friends have already survived gods, witches, werewolves, and the terrifying guacamole shortage of 2013. What sort of challenge could this case possibly offer by comparison? He's about to find out.