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I’d have loved a coffee, but there was no time. So while Theo drove, I reviewed the dossier Roger had provided.
“Do you know this woman?” I asked, scanning through the materials on my screen.
“No. I mean, I know Roger had informants who only wanted to report to him, but he doesn’t share them. Anything interesting in the background?” Theo asked.
“Nothing that stands out,” I said, again scanning the materials on my screen. “Parents dead. Looks like there was some drug activity there. She came into her magic at thirteen. She figured out she could use her magic for the grift and fell in with the human crowd her parents ran with—mostly bangers, miscreants, and assholes. Larceny and forgery are also favorites. Nothing violent, which is probably why Roger agreed to work with her.”
“But she could use the juju on us?”
“From what Roger said, her power isn’t strong enough to manipulate the unwilling. And she doesn’t have much incentive since we’re the ones trying to help her. But I’ll let you know if I feel anything unusual.”
Theo laid on the horn when a taxi nearly sideswiped us, then glared at the driver as we passed him. “And what happened tonight?”
“Someone in her crew figured out she’s been feeding us information and beat the crap out of her. Roger said she managed to get away, but I don’t think he had many details. I’m hoping she’s at the rendezvous spot, alone, and we can get her to the safe house without incident.”
Theo snorted. “You haven’t been on this job nearly long enough.”
“Long enough to get a shiny badge,” I said. “But I know that’s a long shot. Because Chicago.”
“Because Chicago,” Theo agreed, with not a little affection. “She may be the Second City, but she’s first in our hearts.”
Chicago’s South Gate loomed on the road ahead of us, a large structure of pale stone that arched over the roadway, with a smaller arch on each side. Each was topped by a black mansard-style roof, with mini turrets beside the central arch. It was a relic of the city’s past, the only remaining structure from a building destroyed during the 1871 fire that engulfed the city. It was moved south of the city in the years after the fire; Chicago had expanded so much in the meantime that the gate was nearly back within the city limits. It was wide enough to cover the four-lane road, so we drove right through it. And when we’d made it to the other side, I looked at Theo.
“Did you hold your breath?” That was the rule when driving under the gate or past a graveyard or over a bridge in Chicago. Ignore it at your own risk.
“Of course. I don’t need a curse hanging around my shoulders.”
“Hard same.” Especially given our current assignment.
Theo turned the vehicle onto a narrower road that led into Edentown proper. Angled toward the road, a billboard promised a “new paradise” and happy children playing baseball, but the neon light that bore the town’s name was out, and only the first “n” and “o” worked.
“Well,” Theo said. “That’s ominous.”
“Not welcoming,” I agreed. “But if people are running a criminal enterprise here, they probably prefer not to advertise.”
The city’s center, such as it was, hadn’t fared much better. The downtown was a block of tall brick buildings, most boarded up. A few still had doors with hand-lettered gold signs advertising whatever businesses had once been inside. They were empty and dark now, much like the streets.
We drove toward the bus stop, found a woman waiting alone beneath the plastic awning. She had pale skin, no makeup, and dark blond hair pulled into a ponytail. Her eyes were blue, and the left was swollen and bruising. Her nose was long and rounder at the bottom. Her lips were generous, but the bottom one was swollen and split. A backpack was slung over one shoulder.
“They definitely got her,” Theo said.
“Yeah,” I said, and was instantly furious.
Theo pulled to the curb.
“Keep an eye out,” I told Theo.
He nodded, and we climbed out and closed the doors.
Something felt just slightly off, like a painting hung just off center. It took me a moment to figure out why. Lights were on in a few of the buildings, but there were no voices, no sounds from screens showing late-night shows. There were no vehicles, no barking dogs, no traffic noise. Only dead silence.
“It’s too fucking quiet,” Theo murmured.
“There’s magic in the air. And not the Disney kind.”
He looked at me. “Can you tell the source?”
I shook my head. I’d never met a sympath and didn’t know what their inherent magic felt like. “I don’t think it’s manipulation, though.”
