Pen said she liked living there because of its scandalous history, but I couldn’t figure out how that was enough to make her overlook the tricky outlets, shitty plumbing, and lack of decent parking.
When I entered the building, the air was saturated with the scent of hot grease and five-spice powder. My stomach grumbled and I realized I hadn’t eaten since that morning’s bagel.
When Pen opened the door, her smile wasn’t as bright as usual. “Hey.”
I glanced over her shoulder but couldn’t see more than the TV flickering in the corner of her shoe-box living room. “What’s up?” I asked with a frown.
She shook her head. “Tough day.”
Even though I’d had one of those myself, I pushed aside my own worries. I leaned on Pen way too much to put my problems ahead of hers. “What happened?”
She waved me in. “That girl I told you about? With the diet potion?”
I nodded and set my purse down. Danny was slouched at her dining-room table doing homework with his headphones on. “Hey, Danny.” When he didn’t respond, I bent over and waved a hand to get his attention.
He glanced up from under his bangs and lifted his pencil in something approximating a wave but didn’t speak.
Turning my attention back to Pen, I said, “What about her?”
She pulled me into the galley kitchen. “She OD’d,” she whispered. She shot a worried glance to see if Danny heard, but the headphones prevented it.
“God, is she okay?”
Pen slowly shook her head. Her eyes were bright with unshed tears. I pulled her in for a hug because what else could I do?
Her shoulders shook and she held on as if I was the only thing keeping her upright. “I’d reported the case to child welfare,” she sobbed, “but they’re so backlogged they couldn’t make it in time.”
“Shh,” I said and rocked her. “You did what you could.”
Her head shook wetly against my collarbone. “No, I didn’t. I should have called her mother myself. I should have gone over there—”
I grabbed her by the shoulders and forced her to look at me. “Stop. Don’t do that to yourself. You can’t save everybody.”
Her tear-stained face morphed into a fierce scowl. “I have to try, Kate. I have to.”
I swallowed the emotion that gathered in my own throat because I understood. I understood all too well why she needed to help those kids. I wasn’t the only one with a past that still haunted her.
“I know,” I whispered. “And you did try.”
She wiped her nose and eyes with a paper towel. “I filed a report at the BPD,” she said, standing straighter. “They’ve already picked up the mother.”
“Who did you talk to?”
“Detective named Duffy.”
My eyebrows rose. I knew Pat Duffy’s name only by reputation. “I don’t know him personally,” I said, “but he’s an Adept. He managed to claw his way up to detective from patrol, which means he must be the real deal.”
She licked her lips and nodded. “Good,” she whispered. “That’s good.”
I hugged her one more time to reassure us both. “Anyway.” She sniffed and tried to swipe the mascara from under her eyes. “How was your day?”
I bit my lip. After hearing the shit she was dealing with, I decided not to unload about my own problems. “Just another day at the office.”
She leaned forward. “You do remember tomorrow’s his birthday, right?”
I blew out a breath. Shit. I’d been so caught up in the case I’d lost track of the date. “Of course,” I lied. “I’m taking him to the Blue Plate tomorrow for lunch.”
The Blue Plate was a diner that sat in the shadows of the Bessemer Bridge, on the Mundane side. Going there was a yearly tradition for Danny’s birthday. Just as it had been for my mother and me, before Danny was born.
“You’re taking him out of school?” she said, sounding dubious.
Crap, I hadn’t thought of that. “Yeah, just for lunch, though.”
She nodded absently. “How’s the case?” The fact that she wasn’t nailing me to the wall with questions about my lame story told me how upset she was about the kid who’d died.
“It’s coming together.”
Her brows lowered and her mouth formed into a thin line. It was a look I called “the Analyzer.” “What aren’t you telling me?” I guess that lie had been such a stinker it shook her out of her funk.
I sighed and decided to tell her the least dangerous development to get her off my trail. “I saw Volos today. Someone dumped a body at his building. I had to sit through the questioning.”
“Oh shit.” She blew out a breath. “How was that?”
“Awkward, frustrating, you know.” I tried to shrug it off.
“Is he still a malignant narcissist with megalomaniacal tendencies?”
My lips quirked. “I love it when you speak shrink.”
For a few years I’d nurtured a lot of guilt and pain over leaving John. However, one of the benefits of having Penelope Griffin as a best friend was the free therapy. With her help—as well as working the steps through Arcane Anonymous—I’d realized that my relationship with John had been far from healthy. Things were fine between us only as long as I let him call the shots. I liked the music he’d liked, preferred the same types of food. Hell, it had taken me years after I’d left him to realize I hated my coffee with cream, but I’d drunk it that way forever because it was how John liked his. Pen’s theory was that I’d been attracted to him initially because he’d reminded me so much of the other overbearing male role model in my life: Uncle Abe. Not exactly the foundation for a faerie-tale romance.
She shrugged. “Seriously, though. Are you okay?”
“Yeah,” I said honestly. “It wasn’t easy, but I think I can keep things on a professional level.”
“Of course you can, Kate. You’re not the same kid who used to let him manipulate you. You’re all grown up now, girl.”
I forced a laugh. That was the problem. He was all grown up now, too. Seeing him again had affected me on a physical level—more than I’d ever admit out loud to Pen—or myself. Old self-sabotage habits die hard, I guessed. Luckily, Pen was right about one thing. I wasn’t the same kid who let her emotions—or her libido—guide her actions anymore.