Arisen part 3

Granger was polite enough, in spite of himself, to hold the door open for me. We were instantly seated, as we were the only people there. He requested a booth by the window which seemed to encourage his acute paranoia.
“So what is this about?” I asked finally, as he eyed his menu. I had no intention of eating anything.
“I’m having nightmares,” he stated plainly and almost to himself.
“How nice,” I replied. That has nothing to do with me, I thought.
“About vampires,” he continued dramatically.
“I’m not your mother,” I added, matching his dramatic tone.
He sighed deeply and put down his menu. Just then the waitress appeared, and asked to take our order.
“Shrimp Fettuccine, with extra garlic please. And salad, no soup,” he said enthusiastically.
“And for you hun?” she asked, turning to me and intrusively pressing her pen to her notepad.
“Just water is fine. Thanks.”
She nodded and walked briskly away, seemingly disappointed in my distaste for Italian food.
“Look,” Granger said with little breath, “I know what you do. It’s not like I think I am talking to some random person.”
I shook my head in agreement as he spoke.
“And what exactly is it that you think I do?”
He went on without answering my question directly.
“I am having the same dream over and over – that a vampire is breaking down my door and coming after me. But it isn’t a regular nightmare. And that’s the part I am stuck on. It’s being sent to me. Maybe as a warning.”
As he spoke he shifted around, and the necklace he was wearing swung widely around him. I stared at it as it caught my attention. It was a simple copper chain, and very old, and was accented by a small jewel in the center. The jewel was an odd gray-green with cracks running all through it, as though it had been shattered and very nicely super-glued back together.
“What’s that?” I asked.
“I don’t know for sure, but I think he should be sought out and destroyed.”
“No I mean the necklace, not the warning.”
His face turned angry and annoyed. It was wonderfully matched by the tone of his voice.
“Are you listening to me? I need something done, and soon, and you are asking me about a stupid necklace. How stupid is that? My life could be in danger! This is a necklace! For all you know it came out of a quarter machine!” he raged.
“Well what do you think I am supposed to do? You think you ‘know what I do’ but you are convinced I am going to listen to your dream and hunt down someone. That’s not what I do. That’s not even close. You are talking to the wrong person. I don’t work for a charity operation, okay?”
“I don’t have anyone else,” he pleaded.
“If you found me, there are a lot more like me out there that are just as easy to find. People who do work for strangers on a whim,” I replied coldly, standing and walking out of the restaurant. Granger stayed behind, and I hoped he would enjoy his pasta.