Joey was surprised to find himself in the confessional. How had he got here? Last thing he remembered he was in his room with a .38 up the side of his head. Had he pulled the trigger? Were his brains all over the peeling paint? Was his body sprawled across the bed?

'O.K. Let's go, I haven't got all day.'

The voice through the grill sounded like Jack Nicholson, and Joey wondered if he was having some kind of weird dream. Maybe a bad trip or something.

'Lookit. You got something to tell me or what? I got cremations. I'm a busy guy.'

Joey didn't have much experience with priests, he'd seen a couple in old movies, Spencer Tracy and all, but he didn't recall ever having spoken to one, not even when he went to his sister's wedding in Vegas, and this guy didn't sound like any regular man of God.

'Er, I think I've killed myself.'

'You think? You don't know? What kind of an idiot are you anyway? Don't answer that. If you are too dumb to know if you are dead or not, you ain't gonna be able to handle difficult questions. Come on, ain't you got any regular Venial sins, I only do Cardinal Easter and Thanksgiving.'

'What's a Cardinal sin?'

'You a Catholic?'

'Kinda.'

'Kinda? What the hell sort of an answer is that? I oughter kick your sorry butt outta here. Send you to the Methodists or something. Give me something, for Cryssake. You been jerking off? Coveting your neighbour's ass? She's got cute ass, ain't she? Goddamit! What do you do for a woody? Read the Wall Street Journal? J, M and J. I heard of miserable sinners, but I ain't never met one before. You surely are one sad son of a bitch.'

'Sorry. I guess I thought being miserable enough to kill yourself was good enough reason to seek spiritual solace.'

'Not in my book it ain't. Besides, suicides ain't miserable, they're angry, and anger is a Cardinal sin, but I only do Cardinal...'

'Easter and Thanksgiving, you said.'

'So, who are you so mad at you want to kill yourself to get back at them?'

Joey thought for a moment.

'Er, God.'

'Oh, Him. Listen kid, get in line, it ends somewhere in Wisconsin. O.K. here's the deal. Why don't you just whack some citizen. Get your eye in. You don't want to screw up the big one do you?'

'You've got a point.' said Joey. He pointed the .38 at the wooden partition and pulled the trigger five times.

'With that kind of attitude you'll fit right in, kid.'

'Fit in? Where?'

'Hell, of course.' said the Devil.