Meanwhile, back in LA...

As the Fang Gang turned to leave the penitentiary, one more obstacle presented itself. A hostile LAPD detective glared at Angel. “I might have known you’d show up here,” she said. “So are you here to bring her back in, or did you help her break out?”

Angel glared right back. “Leave our personal issues out of this, Detective Lockley,” he growled. “I want Faith back behind bars as much as you do. For her sake as much as anyone else’s.”

“She’s not the victim here,” Kate Lockley said.

“I think she is.”

Kate stared a moment, then **** herself to calm down. “Explain that.”

Angel pulled Kate aside. “I think Faith’s the victim of a spell,” he whispered. “She was acting perfectly normal last night. Then… this.” He pointed to the scrawled names covering the wall.

“Romani ite domum,” Kate said.

Wesley stared. “I wouldn’t have taken you for a Python fan,” he said.

Kate didn’t bother to look at him. Still facing Angel she replied “there’s a lot you don’t know about me. I went to Catholic school, and no one who learned Latin from nuns doesn’t appreciate that scene. Now, who or what is Xandra?”

“Alexandra Harris. She lives in Sunnydale. She and Faith had a fling,” Angel said.

“You don’t think this is an obvious red herring?” Kate asked. “She seems to be trying very hard to get us looking in that direction.”

“I would, but she’s not the only one suddenly obsessed with Xandra—” Angel began.

“Other people who knew her are also suddenly thinking about her for no reason,” Cordy interrupted. “There’s a lot of it going around, though no one else has hopped on the crazy train like Faith. Of course she’s got a season ticket,” Cordy added, unselfconsciously mixing metaphors.

“Alright then,” Kate said. “Let’s go to Sunnydale.” At the others’ uncertain looks she explained. “You’ll need someone to coordinate with local law enforcement. And besides, if you’re right and someone else set her off like this, I want a piece of the bastard who unleashed that much crazy on the world.”

There was really no arguing with that. “Let’s go,” Angel said.

Two hours later in a diner just outside Sunnydale Angel and Wesley finished briefing the others on Sunnydale, Xandra Harris, and Faith’s dark history with the town.
Kate finished her coffee and nodded. “You’re right, even if Faith hadn’t scrawled Xander’s name everywhere her history with this Summers girl would point us in this direction.” She turned and called for the check, then growled in frustration. “Where the hell is our waitress?”

Looking somewhat flushed, Cordelia stepped out of the ladies’ room just in time to hear Kate’s question. “She probably had to help out in the kitchen or something. I think this place is understaffed.” At that moment the waitress stepped out of the bathroom, the buttons on her blouse misaligned and perspiration matting her hair to her forehead. “I told you to wait a few minutes, Cordy whispered to the waitress while staring at the Fang Gang with a **** smile.

“I gotta get back to work,” the waitress replied. “Call me.”

“Cordelia…”

“We were just talking!” Cordy insisted. Six identical sets of raised eyebrows told her she wasn’t fooling anyone. “Fine. Let’s just go.”

They paid their bill and headed out to their cars, Cordy discretely tucking a phone number into her pocket. She and Wesley rode with Kate while the others piled into the Angelmobile.

“Cordelia, you really must control yourself better,” Wesley scolded. “With Faith on the loose we don’t have time for such delays.”

“I’m sorry!” Cordy whined. “It’s the spell, okay? I just had to relieve the pressure. Now I’m fine, totally focused on the job at hand.”

“Speaking of hands, please take yours off my thigh,” said Kate as she merged back on to the highway.

“Sorry,” said Cordelia.