"Dangerous?" "Girl, please." "I'll tell you what's dangerous..." "leaving this project till the last minute, losing my scholarship, and never working for Chanel." "Oof." "Girl, I got New Orleans' finest right here." "Watch where you're going." "That's a choice." "Do you think I'm pretty?" "No." "I think you're crazy." "Stop... hands up!" "Now!" "Hold it." "Drop the weapon!" "What?" "Oh, no, no, no." "Oh." "Nothing's coming to me." "Well, then, try again." "I've been trying for two hours and all I've gotten is a migraine." "What if my powers are slipping?" "A migraine's good." "Pain's good." "It's how you build muscles." "Just find something that just guts you and do it over and over again." "That's how Chas learned how to cook, isn't it, Chas?" "I've got the burn marks to prove it... well, metaphorically." "What is that thing, anyway?" "A zoetrope." "Belonged to Queen Victoria." "Her court magician used to use it on his séance guests to induce a hypnotic state." " Does it work?" " Uh, the wheel was stuck, but..." "Ah." "Result." "Gather round, it's story time." "Zed?" "Zed?" "Are you in there?" "This is weird." "Nicely done, Jimmy." "If he comes at you again when he's drunk, what do you say?" "Slow and smooth." "Smooth is fast." "And squeeze." "What was it?" "What did you see?" "I was... out in a field, and... there was a woman teaching a boy how to shoot a gun." "Hang on." "Incoming." "Back in business." "I was worried Old Faithful had dried up on us." "Are you talking about the map?" "Maybe." "But no matter." "Seems we've opened a psychic connection between you and the map, which is what I wanted." "So, Chas, where we headed?" "New Orleans, Louisiana." "According to the police report, this is the spot." "A woman in a surgical mask stabbed a person to death with fabric shears yesterday." "Then she vanished." "Spirit of darkness between matter and time, cast thy shadow before me, reveal forces past." "Blue." "Means there was a spirit here recently." "Our killer is nonhuman." "Or ex-human, anyway." "Green means it's in the vicinity." "What about red?" "We wouldn't still be standing here if this thing was glowing red, luv." "News said the cop on the scene fired to subdue the suspect, but he missed." "Well, if he missed, the bullets would've hit someone or something, but these walls, they seem pretty smooth to me." "Very good." "Uh, think I got a couple of junior detective badges back at the station." "Jim Corrigan." "NOLA PD, Homicide." "And you are?" " Here to help you, Jimmy boy." " Jimmy?" "John Constantine." "This is Chas and Zed." "We're investigating the occult phenomenon that happened here last night." "Whoa." "Occult investigators?" "Con men don't normally introduce themselves as con men, that's..." "Well, that's novel." ""Slow is smooth, smooth is fast."" "And squeeze." "Where'd you hear that?" "Was that your mother teaching you to shoot?" "What?" "Don't mind her, she's, uh, psychic." "So, this stabbing... is it your case?" "I was on the scene when it happened." "Fired a full clip into that killer, but she just kept going." "Now I'm out of the field." "They think I'm crazy." "Am I?" "You're not crazy, Corrigan." "Just up against a different shade of evil than the usual New Orleans street crime." "That's, uh, our department." "Be nice to have an ally in blue." ""Master of the dark arts."" "Wow." "We'll, uh, have a little kip and then we'll hit it fresh in the morning." "Where's Chas staying?" "He prefers chain hotels." "He's racking up the points." "Thanks." "I'll be right back with both the keys to your rooms." "Thank you." "Two rooms?" "Oh, I'm flattered, luv, but we really ought to keep this professional, yeah?" "Yeah." "Does that mean you do respect me?" "I respect everyone I sleep with." "But I usually like to get to know something about them first, if you know what I mean." "Hmm." "If you want to know something about me, just ask." "Where do you come from?" "Why are you running?" "And how bad was it that risking your life on the daily with me seems like a pleasant alternative?" "Can I offer you complimentary champagne in your rooms?" "No, thank you." "I don't like champagne." "Now you know something about me." "Where you headed, son?" "The city." "Will you take me?" "All right." "What's your name?" "Philip." "Are you cold?" "Yeah." "Cold." "Maybe we could get you warmed up some." "Whoa." "That zoetrope still working on you, eh?" "It's not bad." "I'm in the woods." "Just remember what you see, now." "No detail's unimportant." "Hey." "Hey, hey, you all right?" " Uh, yeah." " You okay?" "Uh-huh." "There was a... big tree with scars." "You didn't happen to see a woman in a surgical mask behind the wheel, did you?" "No." "You must be picking up a second signal." "Well, why have one case when you can have two with twice the trouble, eh?" "Where's that copper's card?" "I've an accident to report." "You nervous?" "I just want to get out of here." "Will you take me to the city?" "Yeah, I'll take you to the city." "Just a branch." "So, uh, anyone waiting for you there, Philip?" "In the city?" "No, sir." "You sure?" "No one's waiting on you?" "You said you would get me to the city." "Help me." "Help me." "Police scanner said it should be right about... here." "Well, you might want to keep the car running, mate." "What are you gonna use?" "The Interpol bit?" "Paranormal division?" "I thought I'd just wipe his mind." "I got this one." " Step back, ma'am." " My sister." "She was supposed to be home by now, and she's not answering her phone." "And then I heard there was a crash and..." " Oh, my God." "That's her car." " Ma'am, it's okay." "There was no woman in the car." "It was a man." "Are you sure?" "You see, I told you, luv." "She probably just forgot to charge her cell phone." "That poor man." "What happened to him?" "It's hard to say." "EMTs pulled the driver out of the wreck and kept asking about a hitchhiker. "Where's Philip?"" "There was no one around." "Driver died in the ambo." "Third time in two weeks I've had to babysit an accident" " around this tree." " Well, that's strange." "It's not a blind corner, and the road's in good condition." "Well, Jim Corrigan." " You'll want to hear this." " You're under arrest." " What the bloody hell for?" " Anyone who calls the police about an accident before it happens isn't a psychic... he's a murderer." "Ah." "You two, divide and conquer." "Zed, dig into the bail fund." "Chas, patrol downtown." "Keep our not-so-friendly ghost from killing again." "You got it." "You three are some act." "Yeah." "Well, it's no act, super cop." "See, the police, they're looking for a living killer in that alleyway stabbing," " and they're not gonna find it." " Uh-huh." "Based on what I saw in the alleyway and out here on this road, you got two perps on the loose, and they're very possibly dead." "Or undead." "Can't believe I gave you the time of day." "Out here you're looking for a dead hitchhiker, name of Philip." "He's causing accidents." "Three of them so far." "And that stabbing," "I'll bet it wasn't the only death by scissors." "Instead of looking at lineups, you need to be looking at obituaries." "Get in the car, con man." "Just check your bloody reports." "You'll see I'm right." "Sir." "You need to get out of there!" "Watch out!" "Run!" "Do you think I'm pretty?" "Yeah, you're pretty." "How 'bout now?" "Am I pretty now?" " Am I pretty now?" "!" " Yes." "You're pretty." "Then why don't I make you pretty like me?" "What did I shoot?" "In that alley?" "I was right, wasn't I?" "You ID'd the killer, and it was a-a dead woman." "What... did I shoot?" "A ghost." "You're struggling, Jimbo." "Catholic, right?" "There's a heaven and a hell and they keep themselves to themselves?" "Well, now you know better." "No." "I don't know anything right now." "I certainly don't know who to arrest." "Well, you know who not to arrest." "Don't push your luck." "I checked with the M.E.'s office." "We've had two dead..." "You mind?" "We've had two dead bodies in the past month with wounds consistent with a pair of shears as the murder weapon." "And suddenly three murders is the work of one killer, right?" " Misaki Ross." " Ooh." "Wouldn't kick her out of bed." "She was a model." "Until she had her face slashed ear to ear by another model." "Here's a picture of Misaki the day she came out of the hospital." "Lost her moneymaker." "And her life." "Took a bottle of pills in her French Quarter apartment." "The other model," "Tammy Fraser, she was indicted for felony assault." "It was all over until..." "Until Misaki started killing." "This bird, Tammy Fraser, she still in prison?" "Out in four." "Good behavior." "We need to talk to her." "And, uh, what about our hitchhiker?" "First person to die on the road was Philip Carlberg." "Age 19." "Hitched a ride and was killed, car versus tree." "He leave behind" " any family?" " Grandmother." "We'll need to talk to her as well." "What good is talking gonna do?" "Look, mate, I am fishing." "I admit it." "But... what I want to know is why now." "You see, Misaki died five years ago." "Philip, three." "They were resting in peace until..." "Whatever happened to wake 'em." "Congratulations." "You're part of the act now as well." "How do you live with it?" "The knowledge that all this could be... real?" "How?" "It marks you." "For life." "But it doesn't change who you are." "Check his pulse." "I got nothing." "Sir, are you okay?" "I-I think I just... hit my head." "I'll be fine." "You don't happen to have a spare shirt in that ambulance." "We were models together." "We walked the same runways." "We dated the same photographers." "And then one day..." "Misaki just blew up, and... her walk shut down every show at Fashion Week." "And..." "I don't know." "I just... snapped." "I understand now that I didn't have any coping mechanisms." "I have a mental illness." "Oh, um, they haven't sent me all the files yet." "I'm... just trying to get ahead of myself, you know?" "Meeting my new parolees." "I got out six months ago." "I work half the week in a rehab clinic and half the week here." "Sounds like you're hell-bent on a path to redemption, luv." "I can never get rid of the guilt for what I did." "Every time I help someone, I ask" "Misaki's spirit for forgiveness." "I know this is painful, but can you please tell me why your grandson was hitchhiking that night?" "Philip flunked out of high school." "I had talked the junior college into accepting him." "And every day he'd pack up his backpack." "I thought he was going to class, but he was out smoking weed, playing video games with his buddies." "It must have been rough for you." "When I found out, I just..." "I just had it." "I-I kicked him out." "Tough love, you know?" "I thought if I would cut off his support, it would scare him straight." "It scared him away?" "He hitched a ride into the city that night." "Police said that the driver lost control of the car, and Philip... he died." "A lot of my clients are, uh... haunted by the people they've hurt with their crimes." "What about you?" "You mean am I haunted by Misaki?" "I don't know." "Are you?" "It's, um... it's funny you'd ask that." "What kind of magazine story did you say you were writing?" "About how, um, people survive the loss of a child." "And how they find the strength to move on." "I didn't have any strength." "I was gonna end it all." "But then I talked to him." "You talked to Philip?" "I went to see someone." "A man." "And he said that he could help me contact Misaki's spirit to ask for her forgiveness." "Right." "Like a... medium?" "He can call to the spirits in heaven, so you can ask 'em questions." "Who's this man?" "He calls himself" " Papa Midnite." " Papa Midnite." "That's what she said?" "He tried to kill you back in Chicago." "No, I can handle Midnite, luv." "You handle" "Dead Man's Road, okay?" "Put up a flare." "Don't let anybody crash into that tree." " Are you gonna be okay?" " Of course." "Voodoo's nothing but a magical excuse for a party, isn't it?" "Attention!" "Why do you wish to speak to your husband?" "Clarke had cancer." "He died at home in our bed, and I wasn't there." "I didn't..." "I didn't get a chance to say good-bye." "I-I w..." "Papa Legba..." "Maddy." "Maddy, are you there?" "I'm here!" "Clarke, I'm here." "What's happening?" "I can't see you." "I'm so sorry." "It shouldn't have ended like this." "I should have been there." "I just wanted to hold your hand..." "Maddy." "I miss you so much." "Oh." "I miss you, baby." "Papa Midnite." "Hell of a party, mate." "Sorry I came empty-handed." "It's kind of hard to find a dessert that pairs with pig's blood." " Oh, Constantine!" " Who are you?" "I'm the man that's gonna keep your husband where he belongs, luv." "You can thank me later." "You would trespass here?" "Now?" "While I'm helping people?" "Wow, is that what you call it?" "Resurrecting the dead's bad form, Midnite." "Not a resurrection spell." "Well, then, your magic's out of control." "You think you're talking to the dead?" "You're raising them." "Flesh and bone." "Sending them on a killing spree." "What's he talking about, Papa?" "He's a liar and a parasite." "And he recently cost me a very valuable piece of music history." "If you didn't owe me for that acetate, you'd be a corpse yourself." " I'm sure." " You think you can run your game on me?" "You just talk to one of your clients, all right, just one of them, and you'll be back here begging me for just..." "Get in there." "Keep it going." "Detective Corrigan, what are you doing here?" "Probably the same thing you are." "Off duty?" "My sergeant banned me from the streets near the stabbings." "Said I needed some rest." "She's probably right." "You know, I thought I'd seen it all, but you and your partner have me more than a little freaked out." "It's a bigger world than we ever dreamed, Detective." "Call me Jim." "So, what's your plan here?" "Trying to keep people off the road, Jim." "In case he comes back." "I have a better idea." "Instead of stopping other people from picking him up... why don't we pick him up?" "I wasn't just going to let him walk away, dear sister." "Not after he cost me the bluesman's hell song." "The English dog doesn't know when he's whipped." "He had the gall to disrespect me." "But, Cedella... in the underworld you can see all." "I have to know, is Constantine telling the truth?" " Keep it running." " Yes, sir." "Sleeping Beauty's waking up, huh?" "If nothing else, mate, then just turn down that bloody reggae, will you?" "Papa, I just don't know how to thank you." "I mean, I always know your ritual was gonna work and allow me to speak to Clarke." "I just didn't know it was gonna bring my baby back to me." "This was not the miracle" "I intended." "It won't end well, Madeline." "Excuse me." "Excuse me." "She'll be fine." "She'll be fine, Papa." "I'm taking care of her now." "Pop the trunk." "I need to question him." "Have at it, mate." "Ask me anything you like." "The driver's in the boot." "He's taking a bit of a kip, in case you're wondering." "Was I right?" "Did you drag that poor woman's husband back from the grave?" "He's killing her, draining her energy." "I could feel it." "Oh, marriage can be hell, eh?" "There's something wrong with my magic." "Another force is working against me." "It's the rising darkness." "I'm surprised it's taken you this long to notice." "It's causing havoc everywhere." "We have to stop this." "We have to put these spirits" " back down." " Right." "So, it's, uh, "we" now, is it?" "I could help you for sure, but, uh... but I'm going to need something from you." "Your debt is erased." "Ta for that." "And, uh, I have a question for your sister." "Only if we're successful." "Good enough." "You've been driving for a while." " Want to let me take a turn?" " Why?" "Are you tired of looking?" "Is this your first stakeout, Detective?" "First time staking out a ghost." " Mine, too." " I thought" " you people were experts." " That would be Constantine." "Afraid it's all new to me." "Huh." "Couldn't tell." "That whole psychic thing... that... that threw me." "I don't blame you." "I sure wouldn't want anyone reaching into my mind." "Of course not." "Considering what you're running from." "What are you talking about?" "Finally figured out why you're so familiar to me, Zed." "When did you change your name?" "There he is." "Lucky he didn't stop." " All right then." " Here we go." "Do you need a ride?" "Yes." "Will you take me to the city?" "Get in." "So, what's in the city?" "I don't know." "I just know I need to get there." "It must be hard to leave home, isn't it?" "It was for me." "Why did you leave?" "It was time." "Is that why you left, Philip?" "Where'd he go?" "In front of you." "What are you doing?" "Watch it!" "Stop!" "You know, there are better ways we can do this." "I will perform a ritual tonight and ask the Loa to rest these spirits." "You know that old song about the hammer" " that thinks that everything is a nail?" " No." "You may be grand poobah of voodoo, mate, but that's one very specific, very narrow modality." "And what do you know, jackass of all trades, master of none?" "What I know is, my people are out there playing Whac-a-Mole with the newly risen." "Misaki, Philip, Devereaux." "They need to be put down at the source." "Age before beauty, mate." "Here lies Clarke Devereaux, first of the three bodies we're snatching today." "Your turn." "This is disrespectful." "Those people came to you for closure, mate, and you took their money without thought of consequence." "Because of you, they've got more blood on their hands." "That's disrespectful." "And you're the one to lecture me on guilt and responsibility?" "Are you sure only three bodies have risen?" "Only three I know of, mate." "What is this spell?" "Relictum spiritum expurgationis." "We bless each corpse, bring them back to your ritual place and burn them." "Should release their ghosts from this plane." "I don't like it." "It's sloppy." "You're like a child with your father's spell book." "The only magic my old man ever did was making a pint disappear." "Now, talking of dead weight, give us a hand, will you?" "He disappeared." "The car went right through him." "Each one of these ghosts is operating by their own set of rules." "They must have something in common other than Papa Midnite." "What did the hitchhiker's grandmother say to you?" "She feels responsible for Philip's death." "Yeah, Tammy's the same." "She's riddled with guilt." "That bird did her time, but she's still in prison." "I'm gonna try to pick him up again, John." "I think I can get him to stay." "Good." "Keep him off the road." "I'm combining spells with Papa Midnite to put these spirits down for good." "Constantine, it's time." "Got to go, luv." "Hear us, gods, this spell is of our own creation." "We bow to you, united." "Well, if it's come to that, mate, these are dark days indeed." "Hi, Philip." "Do you need a ride?" "Yes." "Will you take me to the city?" "Hop in." "I met your grandmother." "I know she wanted you to be something you weren't." "And when she kicked you out, she did it because she loved you." "And you just wanted to get away." "You didn't know how to talk to each other." "Could you, um... could you pull over?" "Relictum spiritum expurgationis." "I call to you, Loa!" "Work through me!" "Aah!" "Bodies are barely bloody singed." "This is your fault." "Salting and burning the bodies does no good without the cooperation of the Loa." "Whoa, whoa, whoa... my part of the spell went perfect, mate." "You're the one that was jilted by your big bad" " bloody voodoo gods." " It's your lack of respect that keeps them away." "The Danse Vaudou is about letting go of your ego and allowing a more powerful" " force to enter you." " Yeah, well, I'm an exorcist, mate." "I spent half my life kicking demons out." "Why would I want to invite one in?" "You are a magpie of magic." "A thief of tradition." "You steal from other people's cultures and beliefs" " to suit your own purposes." " Oh, yeah?" "Well, whatever works, eh?" "It worked wonders on that little girl you sent to hell." "Well, at least it wasn't my own bloody sister." "I need to do this alone." "I'm the one with the power to raise the dead." "Bollocks!" "It wasn't even you." "If it wasn't for those women bringing their pain into your house, they'd be..." "Oh, Johnny boy," "Johnny, boy, you are such a..." "Give me the phone." "I know what went wrong." "Just give me the bloody phone." "Hey, kid, get out of here." "Do you think I'm pretty?" "I don't know, uh..." "Do you think I'm pretty?" "Do you..." "What do you mean?" "I wonder, d-do you think you're pretty?" "Do you think I'm pretty?" "Uh, do you think it's gonna rain?" "Do you think I'm pretty?" "Can you believe it's taken me this long to start asking you questions?" "Guess this is the right place." "Here's everyone you asked for." "Filled them in on the way." "Nice one, Corrigan." "What's going on, Papa?" "We tried a spell to put your ghosts down, but, unfortunately, it didn't work." "You see," "Midnite didn't raise those spirits." "Not really." "You three did." "How?" "All three of you... you keep the dead alive because you can't forgive yourselves." "Guilt is a very powerful emotion." "There's a lot of energy in that pain." "No." "I won't lose Clarke again." " I can't." " Madeline." "Look at me." "It was Clarke's time to go." "You understand?" "It's not your time." "Papa." "Okay." "Do it." "We have her consent." "All right, then." "Let's do this." "Great Loa, we have offered you something deeper than blood." "Please accept..." "I see them, Zed." "Maddy?" "It was right in front of me." "The lights of the city." "Good." "You're almost there." "Thank you for helping us... even if we sounded crazy." "I'm the one who's crazy." "Running after a ghost with a gun." "Won't make that mistake again." "A year or so back, I worked missing persons." "Terrible gig, but I was good at it, good at faces." "Hard to forget a face like yours." "You were reported missing by your... family." "You were never found, but you were spotted once on a security camera, shoplifting at a gas station mart." "It was an apple... and a stale cheese sandwich." "It was delicious." "That, um, missing persons file... does it still exist?" "Not anymore." "You okay?" "You okay?" " Yeah." " Yeah?" "I'm fine." "Our truce is over at the bottom of that glass, so sip cautiously." "Mm." "A rich man's Scotch." "It always comes with an aftertaste." "The sour taste is in your mouth, street wizard, because the old gods don't honor you." "Your magic isn't strong enough to raise the dead." "Oh, the dead are better left buried, mate." " Is that so?" " Mm-hmm." "Even if I offered you a chance to talk to your mother?" "Huh." "That's not what you owe me, is it?" "I'd like you to get on your hotline to hell, find out about this rising darkness." "The rule book's been thrown out." "I want to know what I'm dealing with." "Sister..." "Thank you, Cedella." "Well?" "All your efforts are in vain." "The darkness is coming, heralded by someone close to you, someone who will betray you."