"That's very sweet of you, Miss Sinnett," Belli replied, duly touched by her offer. Of course, he saw it as warranted. She should by all rights have been long dead, and were it not for him, she would have been. But they'd made their own deal, once upon a time, and it pleased him to see her still so willing to uphold her part. Play her role. Adelaide's strong desire to live -- and more specifically to live her own life -- was one of her most attractive personality traits. He'd always been fond of that in her.
There'd been a similar intensity of spirit in the McBrayer gentleman... a potential for a soul that could be reused later. Again and again, so long as its ingrained resentment and hatred towards the rest of the world was appropriately nurtured. Pity, really, that Belli would have to let that one go. Still, one couldn't be too greedy.
"I won't require too much, I promise," he assured her. "The busybody I mentioned happens to live in the same apartment complex that your new host resided in. A distastefully fat young woman by the name of Annie Thompson. Woefully accusatory. We'll need her dealt with definitively. The young man... well, if you have the time to go take care of him, I'd be grateful for it. I'd just hate to think that he try to might track you down. Cause trouble for you. Or try to tell anyone what he's done. That type of boy has a bad habit of wanting to confess."
He tapped his chin for a moment, considering. "Not that anyone would likely believe him, of course." A shrug, accompanied by a soft chuckle. "Still, better safe than sorry. If you're not interested in keeping him around as some sort of pet, then he really should go."