Chapter 14

C arter waited to exit her truck until I parked the wagon. Then she slid out, munching on cheddar puffs.

I knew the exact moment she spotted Kierce because I had to stuff my bowler bag full of supplies under my arm, rush over, and whack her on the back until she coughed a wad of orange goo onto the pavement. Even then, she wheezed as laughter left her with watering eyes and a runny nose.

"Are you all right?" Kierce approached her, hands in his pockets. "Do you require medical attention?"

"No," she gasped out, reining herself in. "Have you ever seen the film Death Takes a Holiday ?"

"Carter." I whacked her a little too hard for the jab at his Hawaiian shirt. "Be nice."

"I prefer books to movies. They age better." He studied the building. "They're easier to carry too."

"Ouch." She ducked away from me. "I see now why they warn CPR breaks ribs."

"That wasn't even the Heimlich." I cut off her line of sight to Kierce. "Can we go inside now?"

"I'm fine," she snarked at me, making a fist and pounding her chest. "Thanks for asking."

"Good." I climbed the steps. "Let's get this over with."

"Okay." She came up behind me and clamped a hand on my shoulder. "You got this, Frankie."

A swipe of her ID opened the lock, and she let me go first, carrying my regret at lashing out with me.

Once Kierce entered the building, she locked up behind us. As she caught my eye, I understood what she was doing and felt even worse. Harrow couldn't get in without her, not until he finished training, but she was guaranteeing there were no surprises.

"Thanks." I waited on her then walked to the cold room alongside her. "I didn't mean to snap."

"You being here? With me?" She turned serious. "That's more than I deserve."

"You're not the problem." I wished I could magic cheddar puffs out of thin air so I could offer her a snack-sized bag of confidence. "I don't hold your nature against you. Besides, Armie set you up. It's not your fault he triggered your instincts." He planned it that way. "You're not the problem here, okay?"

"Yeah." Her eyes shone before she turned her head. "Okay."

Aware it might not end well for me to push an emotional redcap, I let it drop and followed her in.

I reached the center of the room before noticing I had lost Kierce somewhere along the way. I found him standing in the doorway, clutching the frame. His eyes were screwed shut, and he swayed on his feet.

"Kierce?" I rushed to loop my arm around his waist and supported his wobbly gait into the waiting room. "Talk to me." I eased him into the same chair where Carter broke the news to me about the existence of the 514. "What's going on?" I framed his face with my palms, forcing his head up and his gaze onto me. "I shouldn't have taken you shopping. What was I thinking? You're still recovering. You overdid it?—"

"The dead." He gripped my forearms to steady himself. "They're screaming."

Hitting my knees in front of him, I let him hold on tight. "I don't hear them."

Given how fond they were of yelling at me lately, that struck me as odd.

"I can't block them out." He thrashed his head. "They're so loud."

"Let me try something." I wriggled loose and unslung my bag. "I'm going to set a ward around your chair."

Quickly, I cleared the others away, leaving Kierce sitting in six feet of open space. I dug around in my bag until I located a small jar of black salt. As the grains slid through my fingers, I drew a circle around him. It shimmered with unfamiliar energy, crackling as I closed it with a murmured chant.

Power flared across my senses, and I threw up my hand to shield my eyes while arcs of electricity rippled across the surface of the dome enclosing Kierce, the effect reminding me of the plasma balls sold as toys to mimic lightning in a globe that struck your hand if you touched the glass.

"Thank you," he rasped, bracing his elbows on his knees and resting his head in his hands.

"Do you want to wait here for me?" I repacked my kit. "I can take you to the wagon, if that's better."

"I'll stay." His chest expanded with slow, deep breaths. "It's quiet in here."

"I'll leave the door open." I dragged a chair over to act as a prop. "I'll be back as soon as I can."

"Take your time." The tension slipped from his shoulders. "I haven't heard absolute quiet in…"

"…a long time," I supplied gently, stomach tight as I stepped into the hall.

Turning back once, I watched him savoring the silence then returned to the cold room to Carter.

Guiding me to the drawer she had opened in my absence, she asked, "What was that about?"

Certain she overheard the problem, given her constant scanning of the drawers, I recentered myself.

"I'm not sure." I pushed a stainless tray beside the victim. "I don't hear anything."

"No offense." She pressed her back to the wall. "But it's fucking creepy knowing there's another realm of existence superimposed over our world that I can't see."

"Think how humans must feel."

"Some days I'm not sure humans think or feel, but I catch your drift."

"Hey, some of my best friends are formerly human."

Rallying my courage, I peeled back the sheet to expose a fifteen-year-old girl with dark hair and milky blue eyes. Her skin was pale, made paler by her time spent in the water, and bloated. It hurt to see someone young and with so much potential cut down before she had a chance to truly live.

"Her prints were in the system. We have a positive ID. Her name was Maggy Driver. She was living with a group of kids her age in a foreclosed home about ten miles from here. They went out two weeks ago in a group to run a few plays on tourists down on River Street. Maggy didn't come home after she had a fight with a mark who noticed her lifting his wallet, but no one reported her missing."

"They left her." I didn't have to ask to know. "There's no loyalty in groups like that. It's all about survival. If you earn, you can stay. If you get made, you're on your own." I selected candles. "You can't go back."

"That what happened with you and your sibs?"

"I learned how to steal and not get caught. I built up a nest egg, and then I took my family and left."

They taught me how to ID foreclosures and scout short-term housing situations. That skill provided us Marys with shelter. I mastered the art of pickpocketing and petty theft, which kept us from starving. As unsavory as the situation had been, it was worth it for the education.

"What about Josie?" She crossed her ankles, flattening her shoulder blades against the wall. "Matty?"

"She stayed behind to keep an eye on him." I placed white candles at Maggy's feet and head. "He was so sick then, he couldn't get out of bed most days. Everyone had to bring in a certain amount every night. It wasn't too bad." Unless you multiplied it by three. "I worked three times harder than anyone else, but it was that or lose our places to kids who could earn."

"You're an amazing woman, Frankie. I can see why Harrow is still hung up on you."

As much as I enjoyed her good-natured ribbing, it was time to nip her cupid aspirations in the bud.

"He didn't know me. Not really. I loved him. But I kept too many parts of myself hidden for him to return the favor. He loved what I showed him. That's not the same as who I was—or am." I huffed a laugh. "I've never said that out loud to anyone." I swung my head toward her. "You're either a good listener." I squinted at her in mock suspicion. "Or an excellent interrogator."

"Can't it be both?"

Snorting, I selected a tiger's eye stone for Maggy's left hand and a hunk of citrine for her right.

"I'll do better." She swung her truck keys around her finger. "With the teasing about Harrow."

"Thanks." I located my silver lighter to give me a focal point. "I'm not looking for a relationship."

"The man you stashed down the hall says otherwise."

"Well, that didn't last long."

"I said teasing about Harrow." She winked. "I'm not giving up on your birdfriend just yet."

"I'm going to kill Josie." I blew a limp chunk of hair off my cheek. "You'll help me hide the body, right?"

"I'm your friend—" she stumbled over the word, "—so I'll bring the shovels."

"How about I bring the shovels, and you bring your truck?"

"It's a deal." She clenched the keys in her hand so tight her knuckles turned white.

"Here we go." I gave her a thirty-second warning. "I'm starting now."

I dug a lancet from my bag, pricked my thumb, and pressed a bloody print onto Maggy's forehead.

Counterclockwise, I lit the candles, humming a nonsense Creole lullaby Vi had taught me to calm spirits I would call upon soon. Given Kierce's state, it felt wise. As my magic unspooled in silvery ribbons, I began a low chant to draw Maggy into her body.

I won't lie. I was nervous. I didn't want to fail as I had most every other time in this room.

Before my anxiety threw me off my game, a faint blue swirl of energy appeared above me, and I sank my hand into the delicate motes, helping them solidify and then guiding them down into their former home.

A shocked breath rang out as Maggy woke, and Carter smacked into the wall with a muttered curse.

"Where am I?" Maggy rubbed her eyes until they focused on me. "Who are you?"

"I'm Frankie." I hoped disorientation would keep her from processing her surroundings. "You're Maggy."

"I know who I am, freak." She shoved up onto an elbow. "What do you want from me?"

A fissure cut through my heart at her conviction no one would bother with her except for their own gain.

"Do you know Farah Kent or Audrey Collins?"

Her mask slipped for a fraction of a second before clicking back in place. "No."

"We're trying to find Audrey." I pressed on the sore spot. "Can you tell us anything that might help?"

"No one helped me," she said numbly, processing her surroundings. "Otherwise, I wouldn't be here."

"I'm sorry, Maggy." I read the doubt heavy in her expression. "We were too late for you, and Farah."

"But not Audrey?" She spread her fingers across the stainless steel under her. "She's still alive?"

"We don't know," I admitted, registering her bitterness.

"We don't have all the bodies yet—" Carter, more hesitant than her usual swagger, strode closer, "—but we're certain you were all drowned. Ring any bells?"

"Carter," I warned, protecting the girl as best I could from more hurt.

"So that's what happened." Maggy lifted her sheet, shuddering at the view. "I wasn't sure, you know?"

"Then your body was dumped," she said, cutting Maggie no slack, "as near as we can tell."

"Well fuck." Maggy laughed, the sound startling me. "I knew I wouldn't make it, but damn. That's cold."

Hating to interrupt their rapport, we needed answers. "Do you remember anything from that day?"

"No." She screwed up her face. "Oh. Wait. Yeah." She snapped her fingers. "There was a fish fry."

"A fish fry?" Carter whipped out a bag of cheddar puffs. "You cooked?"

"Not me." She snorted. "Audrey." Her tone turned mocking. "Everyone's new favorite."

A tingle swept through me, or maybe it was a chill, and I could tell Carter felt it too. "Oh?"

"Farah had a family before. Like a real family. She was soft and sweet when Ian, our boss, found her, but she could be tough when she had to be. She was good for him. Kept him level. Which made her good for us too."

Perhaps the trusting nature I sensed in Farah was a holdover from happier days. It could explain how Farah warmed up to Audrey so fast, and why she offered her a place to stay if she ditched her fosters. They would have been kindred spirits.

Hopefully not literally.

"Then came Audrey." Jealousy was a strong emotion, which might explain Maggy's clear recall. But it was a double-edged sword. This might not be the last thing that happened to Maggy so much as it was the last thing that cut her deep enough to recall even in the afterlife. "Another soft girl for Ian. He couldn't sink his teeth in her fast enough. She wasn't worth much, but she could cook."

"Cooks are always valuable," Carter murmured, her expression distant.

"She worked at some restaurant for a while. She was a waitress, not a chef. But whatever. Even after she moved in with us, Ian let her keep her gig. Like she was too good to get her hands dirty like the rest of us. Even Farah, who brought her in, was pissed when Ian cozied up to her. They had been together six months. Practically forever." A hard sigh escaped her. "Broke her heart that he dumped her for the fresh meat."

Maggy should have known better than most that if Audrey was cozying up to their boss at the cost of a friendship, it was survival. I could sympathize with her point of view. Plenty of kids in our gang had called Josie a slut and worse. They thought I was lying about covering her take. Looking back, I couldn't blame them.

Love was an abstract concept to most of them. Loyalty a myth. They hadn't understood us, so they wrote a narrative that made sense. Josie was screwing the boss for her spot. Clear and simple. Even if it wasn't true. But Audrey hadn't been hustling for her family. She had been clawing out her own existence.

On some level, Maggy knew that. Probably even respected it. That didn't mean she had to like her for it.

"Farah seems eager to find Audrey." I waited for her reaction. "She says they're best friends."

"Maybe dying gave her brain damage." Maggy tugged her sheet higher. "She hated Audrey after she caught Ian with his tongue down her throat."

A cold lump settled in my stomach, but I would have to ask Farah if my instincts were correct.

"That fish fry." Carter broke into my thoughts. "Who else was there?"

"All five of us." Maggy tilted her head. "The Gillie Girls."

Their small group must be the five missing girls Harrow discovered in the SPD database.

"Gillie Girls?" I rested my hand on hers to refresh her spirit's binding. "Who called you that?"

"We called each other that." She flinched away from my touch. "We all had some weird in us."

And they had drowned, the three we had located so far, which made no sense for girls with water affinities. Unless their blood was too thin. But then, if they had no real affinity for it… Why had the killer chosen watery deaths for them?

Hoping to get a clear answer, I pushed. "Even Audrey?"

"How do you think we got the fish? She called them. They flopped right onto the shore." Envy steeped in her tone, explaining why she glossed over Audrey's skill set in favor of labeling her as a good cook. "She'd just stand there and watch them suffocate if me and the others didn't kill them."

A talent like that made her more valuable than a simple bedwarmer. Food was always a concern. Slow days meant you didn't eat. But if she could provide for herself and the others, she would be worth more to Ian. Enough he might make exceptions to the usual rules. Like allowing her to keep her job.

How had her grandfather not known? Unless she hadn't figured it out until she met others like her.

"That's messed up." Carter munched on her snack. "Those poor fish."

"The look on her face when she did it, now that was messed up." Her skin pebbled with genuine disgust. "I could see her killing one of us the same way without batting her long lashes."

Hard to tell if it was envy or truth, but she had more details than I expected from her. "You and the Gillie Girls met up for this fish fry and…?"

"Smashed some fish brains." Her eyebrows slanted down. "Ate some fish."

Hoping to nudge her toward revealing more, I asked, "You remember both those things?"

"I…" She canted her head. "No." Her mouth pinched. "I must have, though."

"You're sure the other girls were there?" Carter kept crunching. "You saw them?"

"I was the first to arrive," she said after a minute. "I was skipping stones."

Carter stopped next to her. "And then?"

"I don't know." Her breaths came faster. "I was crouched down and…"

"It's okay." I started to reach for her but let my hand drop. "Don't force it. You've given us more than enough."

"You did good, kid." Carter handed her a cheddar puff. "One last thing." Maggy took the snack but made no move to eat it. "Where did you and your crew hang?"

"A foreclosure on Kline Street."

"Thanks for your help." I wished I could do more. "Are you ready to go?"

"Yeah." She laid down and settled in. "This morgue shit is freaking me the fuck out."

After tugging a wet wipe from the container in my bag, I wiped the thumbprint from her forehead.

A long sigh passed her lips as her body went slack and fell still for the final time.

The candles extinguished themselves, and smoke curled around the girl's corpse in a cleansing swirl.

"She's gone?" Carter bent to examine her. "Back where she came from?"

Easing behind her, out of her line of sight, I waited until she got close to Maggy then grabbed her sides.

Carter leapt back, smashing my cheek with her skull, and screamed louder than a police siren. In my ear. I stumbled back, head ringing, clutching my face. She kicked out, smacking the drawer, and slammed the whole thing home with a rattling clang.

As much as I hurt, I couldn't stop my laughter as she raised her hands in some martial arts style pose.

"Worth it." I tasted blood in my mouth and spat in the sink. "Ten out of ten, would do again."

A hand clamped on to my shoulder, and I whirled around, brandishing a roll of paper towels.

"I heard screaming." Kierce cradled my jaw in his palm. "You're bleeding."

"You should see the other guy." I winced as his thumb stroked what promised to bloom into one heck of a bruise. "Carter almost wet her pants." I started laughing again. "I only regret not recording it."

Josie and Matty would have howled with laughter at watching the big, bad redcap in panic mode.

With a snarl, Kierce shoved me behind him. "Stay back, powrie."

"I'm not…going…to hurt…her," Carter growled at him, her body shivering with strain. "Her blood…"

"Shit." I fisted the back of his shirt. "We've got to get out of here."

"If you run, she'll give chase." He kept his gaze locked on her. "Won't you?"

"No." She covered her nose with the neck of her shirt. "I've got this. Get Frankie out of here."

"I'm sorry, Carter." I peeked around Kierce. "I'm so damn sorry."

"This isn't your fault." She sank to the tile floor. "I just need a minute."

Slowly, I backed out the door into the hall. Kierce lingered, I thought to stand watch, but he rinsed out the sink, ridding the space of the scent of fresh blood. He too backed out then shut the door on Carter.

"I wasn't thinking." I banged my forehead against the wall. "I hope this doesn't set her back."

"We should go." He took me by the elbow. "We don't want to tempt her."

"I'm such an idiot." I let him drag me outside. "I was just playing around."

After stowing me in the wagon and convincing himself we were safe from pursuit, he slid in next to me.

"You're not an idiot," he said after we hit the road. "You treat her the same as everyone else. That's why she's fighting her nature so hard to maintain a relationship with you." He kept a wary eye on the mirrors to either side of the car, searching for company. "Acceptance is a gift."

Maybe so, but if I fumbled again, she might begin searching her pockets for a return receipt.