Thebusjourneybackfrom midtown to low city seemed never-ending. Hallie wanted to be moving. She almost wished she’d gone with her first impulse and walked, but that would have taken longer, and with the icy wind coming in from the sea, she would have been cold to her bones long before she’d got to the edge of midtown let alone back to her part of low city.
As it was, sitting on the bus, staring out the window, a mix of apprehension and excitement curling through her, she had plenty of time to think. To wonder if she was doing the right thing, taking the opportunity that was being offered. While most of her was excited about it, there were still some doubts. She would be leaving everything that was familiar to her, and a job she was good at.
By the time she got off the bus, the nerves had settled. Hallie was not going to pass up the chance Peredur Roth was offering her. Which meant she needed to untangle herself from her current employment. A fresh wave of apprehension ran throughher. Aunt Gin was a formidable woman, and Hallie couldn’t imagine she was going to be pleased to lose her most lucrative skip tracer. When Hallie had been cut off from her blood family, but still tied to the family vine, Aunt Gin had been the only one prepared to employ Hallie, and not just that but to give Hallie a legal, well-paid job when she’d had nowhere else to turn. Hallie at the very least owed her aunt a face-to-face conversation. So, rather than heading home with the boxes of cakes she’d collected from the café, she headed for her aunt’s offices.
It was mid afternoon by the time Hallie reached the tracing agency’s door. The glass front gave her a clear look inside at her aunt, settled behind her desk, frowning slightly at whatever she was a reading. Gin looked up as Hallie opened the door, the bell ringing.
“Hallie. Did you forget something?” Gin asked, frown deepening. “I already filed the paperwork for this morning’s skip.”
“No.” Hallie took a moment to study her aunt. Regina Talbot had the strong bone structure and dark eyes that seemed to run in the family. She was growing out her hair, which she’d worn short for as long as Hallie could remember. It was past her ears, dyed a vivid auburn shade and arranged in soft waves that contrasted with her lean and no-nonsense face. She was a medium-height woman who kept herself in good physical condition. As a concession to the biting cold winter weather, her normal long-sleeved t-shirt was covered with a heavy sweater. Hallie knew that, hidden behind the desk, her aunt would also be wearing hard-wearing trousers and heavy boots. Gin always gave the impression that she was ready to get back on the streets and hunt fugitives, even though she now employed other people to do that. “I need to talk to you.”
“Oh?” Gin’s expression changed. Hallie couldn’t read the emotion, just that there was some feeling that her aunt swiftly suppressed.
“Yes,” Hallie said, and hesitated.
“It’s not my birthday,” Gin said, with a rare glimmer of humour. When Hallie looked confused, Gin tilted her head to the bag Hallie was carrying.
“Oh. No. Yes. I mean, I knew that.” Hallie dug into the bag and drew out one of the boxes. “I was at the Sunrise Café earlier. Did you know they do takeaway? I brought some cakes home.” The waitress had seemed utterly scandalised when Hallie had asked for no fewer than three boxes, each filled with a mix of cakes. Hallie suspected that most visitors took a couple of cakes home, at most. But she’d been thinking about Rosalia, and knew that her roommate would want as wide a sample range as possible. Now, standing in Gin’s office, Hallie realised that she’d also always planned to give one of the boxes to Gin. Some part of her had known she needed to come here, to face her aunt.
“That was kind of you, thank you,” Gin said, with a softening of her face. “But that’s not really why you’re here. Why don’t you sit and tell me what’s up?”
“Alright,” Hallie said, taking a seat on the edge of the visitor’s chair across the desk from her aunt. It felt strange, as if she were a client rather than an employee. But then everything felt strange just now, as if she was wearing clothes that didn’t quite fit. “Peredur Roth offered me a job,” she said, the words tumbling out. “Working for the Conclave Investigators.”
“I hope you said yes,” Gin said, startling Hallie.
“You don’t seem surprised,” Hallie said.
Her aunt’s mouth curved into a warm smile, face full of fondness as she looked at her niece. “I’ve been expecting something like this for a while. He might behochlen, butDirector Roth doesn’t strike me as a stupid man, same as that young man of yours. Abbott.”
“I don’t know what to say,” Hallie said honestly. “Aren’t you annoyed?”
“No,” Gin said. Hallie’s truth sense stirred, letting her know that her aunt was being completely honest. “You’ve made me plenty of money over the years,” Gin went on, the frankness making Hallie blink. “I’ve always known you’re too good to stay here forever. And now you’ve been severed from the vine, there’s nothing to hold you.”
Her aunt wasn’t trying to be cruel, Hallie knew. All the same, she was aware of a sting that her aunt could so casually, so easily, accept Hallie’s departure.
The way her aunt was talking told Hallie that Wilona hadn’t shared her effort to get Hallie back into the vine. That was completely consistent with Wilona’s relationship with her older sister. Gin was publicly loyal to her Magravine and the vine, but the two had never been all that close, from what Hallie had observed over the years. She had a moment’s temptation to tell Gin what her sister had been up to, but only for a moment. Gin had managed to walk a fine line over the years as Hallie’s employer, and Hallie didn’t want to upset that balance now. It felt like an insult to try and drag Gin into her own personal affairs or to put Gin in a position where her family loyalty might be tested. And Hallie also knew where Gin would land. It wasn’t even a question. Gin was still in the Talbot vine. Hallie was not. Whatever Gin’s personal views on her sister’s actions, she would always stick with her family vine.
“When do they want you to start?” Gin asked.
“As soon as possible, I think,” Hallie said. She grimaced. “Apparently Findo Trask has escaped their custody, so getting him back is likely to be my first assignment.”
“Findo Trask.” Gin repeated the name slowly, eyes half-closed as if she was trying to remember. “Oh, yes, the skip who escaped from police custody. I hope you told them we don’t give refunds?”
The practical question made Hallie laugh. “That topic never came up. He was in Conclave custody when he escaped this time, so nothing to do with us.”
“So we’re clear. Excellent,” Gin said. “Well, I’ve sent you the payment for today’s skip, and you don’t have any other jobs for me right now, so let’s call that even, shall we?”
“Alright,” Hallie said, that little bit of hurt back in her chest again.
“I will miss you,” Gin said, her face softening again.
Hallie managed a smile, the hurt vanishing. “I’ll miss you, too. It’s been a good job, and you’ve been good to me.” To her surprise and embarrassment she felt tears sting her eyes.
“None of that nonsense,” Gin said in a brisk tone. “Now, you’ve said your piece, and to my face, which I appreciate. But I’ve got paperwork to finish.”
“Thank you,” Hallie said, standing up, far steadier than she had been when she came into the office. “Goodbye for now.”
“Ay. For now,” Gin replied, another smile on her face.
