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Calli was talking to my younger self. “That’s a tasty treat you have there.”
Young Leda hugged the bun tightly to her body.
“What’s your name?” Calli asked her.
Young Leda pressed her lips together and didn’t answer.
“When’s the last time you had something hot to eat?” Calli said kindly.
“Sometimes the bread is hot.”
Calli smiled at her. “How old are you? Twelve? I have a girl about your age.”
Young Leda looked her up and down. “You look too young to have a daughter my age.”
“Are you always so blunt?” Calli laughed.
“Yes,” young Leda said defiantly. “Are you trying to kidnap me?”
“Goodness, no. Do I look like that kind of person?”
“Not really, but you were using the promise of a hot meal to try to lure me home with you.”
“Not to kidnap you. To help you. But you’re right,” Calli chuckled. “I guess I did come across as suspicious. What if I took you to the Jolly Joint for lunch? That’s a very public place.”
Young Leda’s eyes narrowed with suspicion. “You could be hoping to feed me into an overstuffed stupor. And then kidnap me.”
“You’re a smart girl.”
Young Leda sighed. “Too smart, some people say.”
“Who says that?”
Young Leda shook her head. “It doesn’t matter.” She gave Calli a long, assessing stare. “You don’t look like a kidnapper.”
“I’m not. In fact, I’ve been hired to find whoever has been kidnapping children off the streets of Purgatory.”
“You’re a bounty hunter.”
“I am.”
“Cool,” young Leda cooed.
“Some of us are. And some bounty hunters would sell out their own family for a tidy profit.”
“You’re not one of those bounty hunters,” young Leda decided.
“Glad we’ve agreed on that.”
“Do you think you’ll catch the bad guys?”
“I usually do,” Calli said. “Though at the moment, I’m still trying to figure out how they’re nabbing kids and disappearing without anyone seeing a thing.”
“I bet they’re using the underground tunnels,” young Leda told her.
“Purgatory has underground tunnels?”
Young Leda nodded. “I discovered them two years ago when I was running away from the baker I’d stol—um, a baker who was chasing me. There’s like a whole city down there. I think the city sank long ago and Purgatory was built on top of it. I sometimes use those tunnels to hide from the others.”
