“You’ve got Calliope,” a chipper voice said.
“Callie, we need some information on a charity,” Atticus said, earning a surprised look from both his father and Jericho.
There was the sound of heels clicking on tile and then a chair squeaking in protest.
Finally, she said, “Okay, shoot.”
“It’s called Helping Hearts.”
“That sounds like some fake shit to me,” Avi murmured.
Atticus agreed. He was about to turn his attention back to Calliope when a thought occurred to him then. A way to possibly get into Felix’s good graces. He pushed the thought to the side, making a mental note to talk to Avi before he left.
There was the tell-tale sound of rapid-fire typing. “‘Helping Hearts is a non-profit organization dedicated to connecting those without access to healthcare to the care they need.’” Calliope said, clearly reading it directly from a website.
“Sounds pretty innocuous,” Thomas said, looking at the two of them.
“Yeah, except the woman said they provided meals to the homeless. What does that have to do with medical care?” Atticus asked.
Jericho spoke up then. “Can you pull up a list of employees or volunteers? Looking for a woman who goes by the name of Sister Agnes but who’s apparently got no religious affiliations.”
“Sounds shady to me,” Asa said, earning a solemn nod from Avi. “What kind of psycho wants to cosplay a nun?”
“The kind that might con a clearly mentally ill man into donating a kidney and then convince him that aliens did it,” Atticus said, voice grim.
“What?” Thomas asked.
“I’ve got my guys out there questioning people. Seven said—”
“Seven? You got a guy named Seven?” Avi asked.
“Is that pertinent to the story?” Thomas asked, leveling his dad stare at him.
“No, I guess not,” Avi mumbled.
“Seven talked to a homeless man named Benny. He sits outside the coffee shop. He’s crazy but harmless. Benny showed him a scar on his abdomen and told him aliens had done it when they abducted him.”
“Couldn’t he have done that years ago and is just conflating the two events?” Thomas asked.
“Possibly,” Atticus agreed. “But there was something about the way that woman steered him away from us. I want to know who she is.”
More furious typing. “Agnes Walker-Young. She’s listed as the Donor Relations Manager and Eligibility Screener. Up until fifteen years ago, she was…she was the donor coordinator for the hospital.”
Jericho looked at Atticus. “That can’t be a fucking coincidence.”
“So, what exactly does she screen for at Helping Hearts?” Avi asked.
“I’m sure she’d like the world to believe she screens for patients in need of help,” Atticus said. “But I’m guessing that’s not the case.”
Jericho frowned. “And why did she lie to us about what the charity does?”
“She could just be out there doing her good deed for the week? Some people have a need to help others,” Thomas reminded, reclining slightly in the plush office chair. “But I sincerely doubt it.”
Atticus shook his head. “Yeah, she’s no do-gooder. She’s like us.”
Thomas’s brow furrowed. “Like you?”
“She’s a predator. There was something missing in her eyes. We recognize each other,” Atticus said.
