“Yes!” Winston said, his head bobbing in agreement. “She was just a kid.”
They stared, speechless, for a long time. Finally, Adrian said simply, “Explain.”
But by this time Winston seemed to have withdrawn back into his thoughts and was doubting his eager explanation. He looked again at Nova, and she shrugged at him, not really knowing how much trouble the truth would cause her at this point.
Winston, though, opted not to tell the truth, and again his face took on that fearful, uncertain look. “Ace found her…,” he started. After a long inhale, he continued, “At Cosmopolis Park!”
“Of course he did,” said Oscar. “Where else?”
“No, no, it’s the truth,” Winston insisted. “I used to do business there, you know, before your Council made it so”—he grimaced—“wholesome. And one day, there was this kid. This girl. Wandering around after dark. The park had been closed for hours and, well, Ace found her and came to understand that her parents had left her there. Just … abandoned her. So he gave her some cotton candy, and … well, that was it. We had ourselves a little Nightmare.” He started to smile—a real smile that stretched the dark lines on his chin. “She and I used to play together. When she was scared at night sometimes, I would entertain her with puppet shows. She especially liked shadow puppets, which are something of a specialty of mine. Remember that, N—” He hiccupped. Coughed. “Uh, I remember that Nightmare well. Little Nightmare. We were buds…” His brow creased, a sadness overshadowing the sudden burst of joy. “Back then, at least.”
Nova felt like her heart was being torn apart. For the past number of years she’d thought of Winston as little more than a nuisance, but he was right. They had been friends when she was young. How had they lost that? How had she become such a … such an Anarchist?
She kept her eyes on him, wishing he would look up at her, wishing she could convey that she was sorry, and that she did remember those times, all those sleepless nights when he had made her laugh, and how much that had meant to her.
But this time, Winston kept his head down.
Behind him, the door clunked, and the guards returned.
The interrogation was over.
Walking back into the hallway outside the interrogation room, Nova felt as though a hundred Gargoyles were perched on her shoulders. She would have thought that to be leaving that room with her secret still intact would have left her buoyant and overjoyed, but she felt only guilt.
Not just guilt over Winston, but guilt over them all. The Anarchists were counting on her, and so far, what had she accomplished? Since she’d come here, they had been forced out of their home. Ingrid was exiled. The Librarian was dead. They were certainly no closer to destroying the Renegades.
“So,” Ruby drawled, twirling her bloodstone like a pinwheel around her finger. “Do we think a single word out of his mouth was true?”
“I don’t know,” said Adrian. “Not most of it, that’s for sure.”
Oscar nodded. “I agree, but I think he was drawing on truth sometimes, do you know what I mean? Like … there might have been kernels of truth in it.”
“Yeah, but which parts?” said Ruby.
Adrian paused and leaned against the wall, crossing his arms. “He mentioned Cosmopolis Park a few times, and we do know that he used to deal drugs there during the Age of Anarchy, right? Maybe there’s something there.”
“Wait,” said Ruby, with a mild laugh. “Just think about that for a second. Can you really picture Ace Anarchy finding some lost kid at a theme park, feeding her cotton candy, and deciding to bring her home and … raise her? Come on.”
Nova bristled, glowering at her, but then Adrian started to laugh too. “I know,” he said, massaging his brow. “You’re right. It’s just … what else do we have to go on? Anything?”
“Nova,” said Oscar, glancing at her, “you used to work at Cosmopolis Park.”
It sounded like such an accusation that Nova stood straighter, ready to defend herself. “So?”
“If there is a connection between Nightmare and the park … I don’t know. Did you ever see anything suspicious?”
Immediately her defensiveness started to retract. She exhaled. “You mean, did I ever see some girl walking around in a metal face mask? Um, no, can’t say that I did.”
“Not surprising,” said Adrian. “If she does frequent the theme park, which I’m still really doubtful of, but if she did, she wouldn’t be going there in full disguise, would she?”
“Still,” said Ruby, “maybe Nova can talk to her old boss or something? Encourage people to be on the lookout?”
Nova forced a smile, trying to remember the name of her so-called boss and hoping no one bothered to ask. “Yeah. Sure. That wouldn’t be a problem at all.”
“Okay,” said Adrian, scratching his jaw. “I’ll get a transcript of the interrogation sent to each of you this afternoon. Let’s all take the night to think on it, and discuss more tomorrow.” He sighed. “He was obviously hiding something, but … I don’t know. Something tells me he gave up more than we realize.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
NONE OF THEM had come up with anything new or concrete the next day, or the next.
By the third night after the Puppeteer interrogation, Nova was beginning to relax. This might largely have been because she felt like she was making progress, learning things that might actually hold value, thanks to the cataloging job.