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“You seem worried, Adam,” Annie said when he folded up the box and put it in the recycling bin.

“Just tired.”

“You’ve got a new case?”

“Yeah,” he said. “Did Bobby mention the people at the hospital?”

“Yes, but he didn’t say much.” She leaned closer. “He doesn’t want to upset me. He worries, but I’m a big girl.”

Adam’s eyes darted downward.

“I’m still a person, Adam. Pregnant women aren’t as delicate as everyone thinks.”

Adam nodded. His brother should have known not to try and curb his wife’s curiosity. Annie had been through a lot and she’d proven she could take care of herself.

“Something crossed over from the Between.”

“What sort of thing?”

Adam recounted the prehensile hair and the singer’s gaunt, almost undead appearance. He tried to describe the song, the little bit he’d heard, but struggled for words.

“They sound like banshees,” Annie said.

“They are, of a sort. A friend confirmed it.”

They drifted into silence.

He let out a long breath. It was time to come clean.

“And . . . something else happened.”

“What?”

“I spoke to your father.”

“Why? What did he want?”

“He says your mother wants to know the baby, that you can meet over web conferencing or something like that. I suspect he’s lying, that he wants to get to Ian himself.”

Adam raised his hands at her expression.

“I’m just the messenger.”

“Why did you talk to him?”

“He stole a book from me, sent someone into the apartment to get it. He wants me to convince you before he’ll give it back. I think he’s trying to get me to work for him, or worm his way into my life.”

“Worm is accurate,” she growled, sipping her tea. “You don’t sound like you’re trying to convince me.”

“I’m not. I need the book, but I’m not willing to sell you, or Ian, out to get it back.”

She sighed.

“Everything is a transaction to him, this for that. The sad thing is that mom probably does want a grandchild, and if she’d asked me, I probably would have said yes. Instead, they do it like this, try to make it a trade.”

“I don’t blame you if you don’t want him in Ian’s life,” Adam said.

“I’ll do it.”