The Bad Weather Friend

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of graphic violence, death, child death, and child abuse.

Despite the house’s humble exterior, the inside is covered in priceless art by Francis Bacon and Jackson Pollock. Benny, Harper, and Spike follow the dog into the severe black-and-white kitchen. An austere woman in her fifties sits at the kitchen island with the expression of a judge. The woman, Llewellyn Urnfield, says that Upton warned her that someone was working on behalf of Benny Catspaw. Spike informs her that Upton is dead, but she does not care. She states that she controls this conversation and that they may only speak when she permits it. She explains her superior power, wealth, and wisdom, and she also goes on to describe the process by which her people identify potentially dangerous individuals like Benny and eliminate them before they can gain too much wisdom or influence.

When Spike tries to interrupt, Urnfield threatens to kill Harper if he speaks again. Then, she asks Benny who Spike is. Recalling Clerkenwell’s warning never to reveal Spike’s true nature, Benny refuses to answer. Spike, however, is allowed to reveal his own secrets, and he offers to do so.