"I always took it as a matter of self-preservation,"

Lilah speaks in a solemn tone to signal that she is not being the least bit serious.

"The dead have better means of eavesdropping," she explains, "and if they find out what you said, they can haunt you. And they're much harder to get rid of than a living nuisance."

She smiles.

"Exorcisms are a bitch."

She looks politely at the wine list, and agrees with Sloane's suggestion. In her current state, her senses are almost nonexistent, taste and smell particularly. They could literally be drinking horse piss, and she probably wouldn't even notice. Still. Appearances.

"So is Los Angeles your home base these days, Mr. Sloane? I had heard something about Zurich --" With a nostalgic smile, she says, "California is nice, of course, but I do sometimes feel a tug for the days of my own Grand Tour."

There is actually some truth to this statement -- she did enjoy the months she spent in Europe as a young woman. She also remembers that the condition of "nostalgia" was once identified as a disease.