She nodded.
“Well, I’m something different, too—the same thing you are. We’re called nulls. And we need to have a very long talk, soon, about what it all means. But right now, I need to find Jay. Can you help me?”
She looked uncertain, and I tried to imagine what she’d been through recently. First the pedophile teacher, and then a man who swooped in and promised to fix everything only to turn out to be just as depraved. No wonder the girl wasn’t buzzing with eagerness. I looked around the half-packed room. This was a girl who had lost her inner compass. I took a deep breath. “Corry, what happened to you was wrong. Twice. People have been through a lot less than that and barely survived, so the fact that you’re even walking and talking is amazing. And I swear to you that I will help you in every way I can. Do you think you can believe me?”
She hesitated, then nodded, and I prayed that I would have the strength to be everything this girl needed. “Good. Now tell me, what has Jay got planned for tonight?”
She told me about the meeting time and the bus stop while I scribbled down directions on a Hello Kitty pad of paper, which had probably come with the sticker set. When I was sure I knew where I was going, I shoved the Hello Kitty page in my pocket and stood up.
“Okay, Corry, this is really important. I need you to get your family out of here tonight. All night. Right now. Tell them anything you need to—you’re in trouble, you saw a ghost, there’s asbestos, anything. It doesn’t matter. Just get them out of here, and go somewhere safe. Don’t tell anyone where you’re going.” She opened her mouth, but I shook my head. “No, not even me, just in case. I just want you to promise me you’ll go. Promise?”
She nodded, eyes big and scared.
“Okay.” I scribbled on the pad again. “This is my number. You call me if anything goes wrong, okay? And in a couple of days, when my current crisis is over, you and I can have that talk.”
Ten minutes later, I was driving toward the Coffee Bean closest to Jesse’s precinct. He was sitting in the very back of the shop, blushing furiously while a blonde barista with comically large breasts stood by the table, flirting.
“Sweetheart!” he cried, as I walked up. He stood and kissed my cheek, giving me a begging look that clearly said, Please, please, please, play along.
I tried not to roll my eyes. The guy was just too handsome for his own good. “Hi, babe. Sorry I’m late. Oh, hey!” I said to the waitress. “I didn’t know they had table service here. I’d like a chai tea latte, please. Skim.” I shrugged out of my hoodie and sat down like I owned the place.
The blonde’s mouth snapped shut long enough for her to glare at me. She turned and stomped back behind the counter, large breasts wobbling with indignation.
“I’ll give her this,” I said thoughtfully. “How impressive is it that she can balance upright?”
“Thank you,” Jesse muttered under his breath.
“You owe me. There’s going to be spit in my tea.” He smiled, and I went on. “Listen, I found something.”
“Me, too. But you go first.”
Without further preamble I said, “I found the second null.”
“Really? Excellent!” He said excitedly. “Let’s go arrest him—or her.”
My jaw dropped. “Wait, for what?”
“Accessory to murder, of course.” He sounded pleased. “Finally, the real world can be useful here. The lab picked up tons of fingerprints and DNA at the park scene. A lot of it is probably because it’s a public space, but hopefully some of it is the null’s. We can use the evidence as leverage to get us to the actual killer.”
I drummed my fingers on the table. “I know that was the plan, but...then what?” I asked. “What happens to the null in all of this?”
Jesse stared at me, but I didn’t back down. “You’re serious? The null...He has to go to jail. He helped kill somebody, remember?”
“It’s not that simple, Cruz. The null, well, had good reasons.”
“Good reasons for killing four people?” he said, outraged.
I bit my lip. How much could I tell him about Corry? Could I trust him not to arrest her when he got the full story? “Jesse, look, I need you to do something for me. For me, you understand? You can’t arrest her. The second null.”
“Why the hell not?” he demanded.
“She...Please, Jesse. I’m asking you for your trust, just for a little while. I’ll explain it all if we get through the next day.” When I had Corry’s permission to do so.
He looked at me for a long moment. I kept my face even. I’d known Corry Tanger for all of forty minutes, but I’d go to hell and back to get her out of this.
“And if I don’t?” he said quietly.
“Then I won’t tell you who she is. And since we’ve already established that, legally, you have nothing on me, the case will stop where it is, and the deadline will pass, and we’ll both die.”
Jesse went very still. “I can’t believe you,” he said, studying me. “You’re really gonna draw a line in the sand, after everything we’ve been through?”
“Not if you don’t make me,” I said, my voice cracking a little. “Jesse, she’s...She’s like me.”
He held my gaze for a long moment, thoughts flickering across his face, and then he nodded grudgingly. “Well...okay. I don’t need to know right now. But she can’t just get away with murder. This conversation will be back for part two.”
I nodded, and the moment passed.