Chapter LXXXII

We'd arranged to meet up with Sabine Drew at Lagrange, where she would leave her car and travel on to Gretton with us. She arrived twenty minutes late to the rendezvous point.

"Sorry," she said as I greeted her, "I was just feeding my fish before I left."

"You keep fish?"

"Ever since I was a little girl. I'm quite the expert by now, but I also find watching them restful. It's a private hobby."

I made the introductions as she got in the back beside Angel.

"Have you been ill?" she asked him.

"Did he tell you that, or is it more psychic stuff?"

"Neither. I can see it in your face. Suffering leaves its mark, doesn't it?"

"Inside and out," said Angel.

"Well, I'm sorry for it."

"Thank you. By the way, are you a psychic or a medium? I wouldn't want to cause any offense by using the wrong word."

"Both, I guess," said Sabine, "because the second feeds from the first. But really, I'd prefer not to be either one. What I can do has ruined my life."

After that we proceeded in silence, apart from some Sarah Vaughan on Spotify. But as we drew closer to Gretton, I saw Sabine grow visibly more tense.

"I ought to tell you, Mr. Parker, that I think Henry Clark has been joined by someone else."

"Another child?"

"No, an adult male. He suffocated. I shared his panic as he died."

"When was this?"

"Last night."

"Who was he?"

"I don't know. I only felt his final moments because of Henry. I think he boosted the signal."

We passed the town sign.

"You can let me out anywhere," said Sabine. "I'd like to walk around for a while. I'll be happier doing it with you three nearby, so if you could keep me in sight, I'd be grateful."

I pulled up in front of a coffee shop and she got out. She paused to look left and right, as though to get her bearings, before walking south. The street was virtually empty of vehicles, with only a few people on the sidewalks, so she was easy to spot. If she started growing distant, I could just move the car.

"This," said Louis, with feeling, "is all fucked up."