“You’re kidding.”
“No. He jumped at the far end, so the conductor was able to stop in time.”
“Buffoon.”
“Yeah. It might have been easier that way, but he didn’t deserve to choose his death. None of his victims got that luxury. Why should he?”
She tucked her hair behind one ear when it caught in the wind. “So what did you do?”
“I took him to Sambah’s.”
Blue sat up. “You didn’t.”
I grinned like the Cheshire cat. “I did. But I don’t know what happened. I told Sambah about his son, about the case, and he understands the secrecy. I don’t think a man of his position is going to tell our secrets.”
“No. He wouldn’t want the law getting involved in his affairs. Men like him handle their own business, and that’s the way the Councils prefer it.”
“I don’t think there’s any reason to tell the other families what happened. It would cause more pain than it’s worth. Graham’s gone now, and we’d also have to admit that we lied to them. They’d be looking for someone to blame and hiring bounty hunters to find Graham.”
Blue stared at the grass. “Yeah. Some of them probably just got over the loss. They need to move on.”
“Do you ever really get over losing someone you love? A son? A father?”
She stood and brushed off her hands. “No. You just reach a point when you stop crying at the drop of a hat. When you can wake up and they’re not the first thing that comes to mind. And that fills you with a lot of guilt, but it’s how we move on.”
I hopped up and squinted from the bright sun. “Why do you think Viktor doesn’t let the kids swim in the pool?”
She strolled toward the house. “I suppose he doesn’t want them drowning. Imagine fifteen kids in the water all at once.”
The thought made me laugh out loud. Poor Switch and Kira would have a heart attack. “Do you feel like doing anything today? I was thinking I might pop over to my dad’s house and see how he’s getting on with that dog.”
“No, I’ve got something important to do. You should come along.”
“Where?”
“Sambah’s.”
I stopped in my tracks. “What for?”
Blue turned and put her hands in her pockets. “Wyatt said that before King went into the light, he asked us to take the children to his father’s house. He wants Sambah to care for them. Wyatt ran a check on his pride and found nothing. In fact, Sambah has high praise in the community and donates to several charities. He’s a regular saint. King loved his father, so how could I deny a son his last wish?” Blue stopped near a rosebush. “They won’t all fit in the van, and we returned the rental, so I need another driver. Wyatt and Claude drive small cars, so that leaves Shepherd.”
“I’ve got a pickup truck. Sambah doesn’t live all that far, and if we take the back roads, I can drive slowly. I’m heading out anyhow.”
“Aren’t there laws about children in trucks?”
“Are you serious? That’s how I grew up. Bouncing around in the back of a pickup truck and on my father’s bike. That’s how you learn that when things get dangerous, you gotta hold on tight.”
“You’re the strangest former human I’ve ever met. So many of them follow the rules.”
“Those are thechosen ones,” I said facetiously, making air quotes. “I live for danger.”
“Yes, the Mageri certainly like an obedient Mage. I guess that’s how they make sure they don’t wind up with a thousand anarchists.”
“One is probably enough.” I watched a bee hovering near one of the pink roses. “So Sambah didn’t have reservations about adopting fifteen kids?”
She cleared her throat. “I haven’t asked him yet. We’re paying him a surprise visit.”
“You’re kidding. He won’t agree.”
