“Baba called me last night.”
I held up a hand. “Look, Mez, I really don’t want to get into this here. So, if you’re planning to lecture me about how I need to raise my little brother, you can save your breath.”
He shuffled his boots a little. “It’s not that. I just wanted to apologize for my role in everything. They swore they were going to tell you.”
I sighed. “Look, I don’t have time for this right now.”
“I know,” he said, “but for what it’s worth, I understand why you might have reservations, but I know Dr. Hidalgo personally. We went to Thoth U together. She’ll take good care of him.”
“Prospero,” Morales called. “Tick-tock.”
I ignored him for a moment and focused on Mez. “Look, I get that everyone just wants what’s best for Danny, but I’m playing catch-up here. I need some time and space to think about this before I make a decision.”
“Okay,” he said. “I just wanted to make sure we’re good.”
“Yeah, we’re good.” I actively released the tension in my shoulders. “Just promise me that next time, you’ll come to me.”
“You got it.” He smiled to seal the pact.
I turned to go, passing Morales, who followed in my wake.
“What was all that about?” he asked when we reached the sidewalk outside.
“Nothing,” I snapped and threw open the door to go out to the street.
He caught my arm and spun me around. “Will you talk to me?”
“Why? So you can lecture me about how I’m a shitty mom too?”
He pulled back. “What?”
I quickly told him about the school drama. When I mentioned Volos’s involvement, his jaw tightened but he didn’t interrupt.
When I was done, he sighed. “What are you going to do?”
“I’ll do my homework on the school and then I’ll make a decision.”
“That feels like the right move. You can’t let them gaslight you into believing their deceit is somehow your fault.”
Hearing him put it that way went a long way toward easing my anger. He’d put his finger on precisely the issue I hadn’t been able to articulate for myself. “Exactly, yes. Thank you.”
I smiled at him across the car. Something sparked in his face, and I felt a corresponding ignition in my chest.
“You’re doing good by that kid. You’ll figure out the right thing when the time comes.”
“Thanks.”
“You’re welcome. Now, can you do me a favor?”
I cross my arms. It was as close to agreement as I could give him right then.
“Next time there’s personal stuff happening in your life, can you tell me about it so I don’t have to find out secondhand at work?”
My first instinct was to deny that I’d hidden anything, but he was totally right. I’d had plenty of opportunities from the time I picked him up to go to the morgue up until we got to work this morning to fill him in on what happened. Pen’s pointed words about me saying I’d take a bullet for him but not call him my boyfriend came back to haunt me. “I’m sorry. I should have looped you in. There was just a lot going on.”
We were in full view of the office windows, so he settled for bumping my shoulder. “Understood.” He dipped his head until I looked him in the eye. “You know I’m here for you, right?”
“Of course,” I said automatically.
“I mean it, Kate.”
“I know.”
He hesitated with his key halfway to the ignition. I braced myself, praying he’d let it go so we didn’t have to have some sort of messy emotional conversation. Luckily, he thought better of whatever he’d been about to say and started the car.
“All righty,” he said, “let’s go see the Wonder Twins.”
Chapter Six
Since it was springtime, the twins had resumed their daily visits to the city park near the old steel factories. Originally, the park had been built for the families of steel workers, but since the steel bust, it was little more than an empty lot with junked-out playground equipment and a few chipped benches.
We left the SUV parked at the curb and started over toward their bench. The back of Mary’s head was swathed in sunlight, which illuminated the patches of pink scalp showing through her greasy brown hair. Not wanting to startle her, I cleared my throat as we approached. She turned her head sideways to look at us from the corner of her eye.
“It’s Lady and Macho.” She tilted her head down as she announced our arrival to her brother.
“No shit?” The voice that responded to her sounded like it belonged to a thirty-year-old man who’d grown up hard.
He might sound mature, but Little Man was no larger than a six-month-old baby. Mary toted him around in a carrier strapped to her chest, but he was no infant. Instead, Little Man was her conjoined twin. Technically he was a homunculus—the product of their mother’s addiction to a nasty fertility potion. Mary had gotten all of the physical strength, but Little Man’s mind ran the show.
“I was hoping we’d see you two assholes today,” he said with characteristic charm.
I crossed my arms and smiled down at LM. “You miss us, LM?”
“Nah, just need some money for cigarettes and a sammich.” His laugh sounded like the grinding of rusty gears. He raised his two chubby arms. “What can we do for you?”
“You hear about Basil Valentine?” I asked.
Little Man chuffed out an offended breath. “That’s a rhetorical question, right?”
“What you hearing?”
He leaned an elbow back on his sister’s flat chest. “Other than Basil got shot before he got blowed up, you mean?”
“Right.”
He sucked on his front baby teeth. “There’s some rumors.”
“What kind of rumors?” Morales said.
“Expensive ones.” Little Man rubbed his tiny hand over his belly. “Sure am hungry.”
Morales pulled a twenty from his wallet and shoved it toward the homunculus. Mary’s hand reached out to snatch and stash it.
Once the transaction was made, LM smiled. “Rumor is Basil got himself tied up in some shady shit at the urging of his lady.”
“Who’s his lady?”
“You ain’t heard?” He crossed his chubby arms over his belly. “Sad day when the law don’t have any idea what’s going on in their own town.”
“Cut the shit, LM. Give us her name.”
“Y’all are no fun today.” He turned his cupid’s bow mouth down into a pout. “Her name’s Krystal LeMay.”
“Is she in porn?” Morales asked.
Little Man laughed. “You ain’t too far off, Macho. She runs a rub ’n’ tug joint over on Blackmoore Avenue.”
“What’s her story?” I asked.
“I’m disappointed in you, Prospero. You of all people should know who’s running your uncle’s outfit now.”
My mouth fell open. “Bullshit.”
“Scout’s honor,” Little Man said. He held up two fingers in salute. “She was dating that asshole Puck Simmons before he went away for killing Charm.”
Morales and I exchanged a shocked look. “Hold on,” I said. “You’re saying Puck’s ex, who sold him out to BPD, is also the new head of the Votaries who happened to be dating the victim of our murder investigation?”
“Pretty much.”
I grabbed Morales’s arm. “We saw her before, remember? At Charm’s wake.”
“Was that the time you broke Puck’s finger?” he asked.
“Yep.”
“I remember her. She kept glaring at you like the two of you had some old beef.”
“Which was weird, seeing how I’d never met her in my life.”
“What’s this about Krystal selling out Puck?” Little Man asked. He tried to sound casual, but I realized our error too late. We were supposed to be getting gossip from Little Man, not providing it.
“Oh, no, I meant they were dating when Puck went away.”
His eyes narrowed. “Uh-huh. Anyway, that’s who you need to talk to.”
“You mentioned something about Basil getting into shady shit because of her?”
Little Man wiggled his fingers again.
I crossed my arms and tilted my chin down at him. “We already paid you.”
“A pittance,” he said. “When I give you so much.”