“I’ve saved a lot of people in my life. Kids and adults, even whole families. But I couldn’t save them all. Sometimes, I was too late. I once had to tell a father that he’d never see his children again.” Given what his kids had been transformed into before they died, not seeing them had been a blessing. “Another time, I helped the police stop a murderer, but not until he’d killed four other people. Do you know what both of those cases had in common?”
Her breathing had tightened, and she was fidgeting with her fingers. “What?”
“My clients kept secrets. They thought they were protecting the people they cared about, but what they were really doing was making it harder for me to do my job. If they’d been honest with me from the start, I might have been able to save their loved ones.”
Ava’s eyes filled with tears.
“Mom—” Blake began.
I raised my index finger to silence him, never taking my attention off Ava. “Whatever you’re not telling me, is that secret worth Sage’s life?”
She jerked back, her eyes wide.
“That’s enough,” said Blake.
It was more than enough. Blake was angry now, but he couldn’t be as angry at me as I was at myself. This was the same thing I’d always done with Blake. It was why I’d failed as a parent—one of the reasons, anyway. I cared more about the job than I did about being a decent, caring human being for the people I loved. I’d been a PI first and, on a good day, a mother second. On a bad day,mothermight have come in fourth or fifth place.
Now I was doing the same thing again, using words to batter my own granddaughter to tears in the hope that she’d give me a lead in a case.
“I’m sorry, Grandma,” whispered Ava.
I wanted to hug her and say it was all right. I wanted to reassure her that if anything did happen to Sage, it wasn’t her fault. I wanted to promise her I’d find him, whether she told me everything or not. Instead, I simply waited, letting the silence eat away at her.
“He’s been jumpy for a week.” Ava sniffled. Hobbes padded over and rubbed his face on her leg. She scooped the cat onto her lap. “He talked about shadows spying on him. Then when he was over here on Thursday, he tried to give me a weird pill.”
Blake stopped breathing for several seconds. When he spoke, his words were terse. “Ava, did you—”
“No, I didn’t take it, Dad. I’m notstupid. Why would I take something when I don’t even know what it is?”
His face darkened. “Why didn’t you tell me—”
“Did Sage say where he got it?” I asked. Blake and I had swapped roles. Suddenly, I was the calm, reassuring one trying to keep him from losing his cool. It was disconcerting.
Ava shook her head. “He just said the drugs make you stronger and let you see other worlds. He got weirder when I wouldn’t take one. He said I’d never see what was really happening in the world. Even in my own house.” She looked at her father, and her tone turned accusatory. “Do you know what he meant by that?”
Blake didn’t answer.
“Ava, sweetie.” I held out my arms. She hesitated for less than a second before falling against me and sobbing. Hobbes barely jumped free in time. “Thank you for telling me the truth.”
“Will it help you find Sage?”
“It absolutely helps, yes.” I pulled her tighter.
My son was like a statue, except for his face, which cycled through worry and anger and confusion and fear.
“Blake, will you please take me to Sage’s house so I can speak with his parents?” I asked.
Slowly, he nodded.
“Thank you.” I kissed Ava’s head and told her, “I’m glad you called me. You did the right thing.”
“I just got your text. The incident with Ethan and Noah and Isaiah at the Gauntlet was bad enough, but I thought you had a better head on your shoulders. R’gngyk’s glory isn’t for everyone. Maybe I wasn’t careful enough in deciding who was worthy. Losing your stash to a twelve-year-old boy? It’s carelessness, pure and simple. And you can’t even tell me when he found the pills or where he might have gone? I’m not angry, and you were right to tell me, but I’m very disappointed in you, Morgan.”
CHAPTER10
Jenny
“What the hell is that?” Ronnie pointed to a squirming, squawking bundle of brown and white feathers in the grass strip behind our parking lot. He parked the van, turned off the engine, and grabbed a wooden cudgel with iron bands from beside his seat.
