The disappointment is immediate.
“Oh.”
“But.”
Her head lifts.
“But?”
“There's definitely something weird going on.”
She nods slowly.
“I figured.”
“The timeline doesn't make sense unless you look at the date of the dance.”
“And the punch,” she adds.
“Yeah, yeah. Anyway, the donor withdrawals all came after.”
I tap the steering wheel.
“And something stinks.”
“That's encouraging.”
“It should be.”
“Why should that be encouraging?” Mary asks.
Because I can't stop.
Because I need her to believe this.
Because seeing her carry all this alone pisses me off.
“Because it means we're closer to figuring it out and reversing everything.”
The words leave before I can stop them.
Simple.
Certain.
Like a promise.
Maybe it is.
Mary goes quiet.
She turns toward the window.
Watching the lights slide past.
Then she smiles softly.
“I don’t know why this should mean so much to you, Kai, but I want to thank you all the same.”
