Amelia came by Headquarters with Madelyn around four that afternoon. James was sitting at his desk, trying not to scream at the rejected reimbursement form, as he heard the front door open. He hurried out to see Amelia walking up the stairs as Madelyn closed the door behind them. She had a few butterfly bandages across her forehead and a cast on her arm and looked exhausted as she smiled up at James.

“Hey,” she said, walking up the steps and crossing the living room.

She hugged him gently, and he wrapped his arms around her with equal care. She was alive. He hadn’t disbelieved it, but only now that she was in the room did he realize how much tension he’d been holding.

They spent a few minutes on the couch, comparing notes. Amelia had spent a mostly sleepless night at the hospital, so she and Madelyn were going home from here and she’d be off tomorrow. James had a feeling he was going to be off as well, whether or not he wanted to be.

Their stories lined up, to James’s relief. He trusted himself as much as he could to remember how things had really gone. But he was grateful both for the backup and the confirmation that neither of them had any lost time. While he’d dismissed Gabriella’s concerns about mind control, the thought had lingered as he’d tried to nap on the couch in his office earlier.

James left a few minutes after Amelia, heading out the door just as Graham was coming down the stairs too. “Ready?” Graham asked.

Oh right, Chris’s roommate interview. James sighed. “Yeah,” he said. “As I’m going to be.”

He took his time heading home, but it wasn’t enough time. It would never be enough time. He just wanted to go to bed, but when he got there, Chris caught him at the door.

“Hey bro,” he said. “Heard about the accident. You okay?”

“Yeah, just a little banged up,” James replied.

“Cool cool. Uh, Roger’s gonna be here in a few minutes, so are you good to meet him?”

No. No, he wasn’t. But the words that came out were, “Yeah, that’s fine.”

“Cool.”

James went to his room to change, gazing longingly at his bed as he pulled on clean clothes. When he came out, Graham was walking in. He gave James a look. “Let’s just give it a chance.”

Graham was kinder than he was. Or just eager to not split their rent by two for the foreseeable future.

The buzzer sounded a few minutes later, just after James managed to shovel some leftover pasta into his mouth. A moment later, Chris was leading Roger into the apartment.

“Not bad, not bad,” Roger said, looking around and nodding. “I could do a lot with this.”

Graham turned and looked blankly at James. Roger came into the room, then jumped like he was startled to see them there.

“James, Graham, this is Roger. He’s looking for a place.”

James shook Roger’s hand. It was sweaty, and he resisted the urge to wipe his own hand on his pants after letting go.

“So Roger,” Graham said, shaking his hand as well. “Tell me about yourself.”

“What do you need to know?”

“Uh, what do you do for work?” Graham asked. “What kinds of things are you looking for in roommates?”

“Why do you fucking care what I do for work?” Roger snapped suddenly. “You know, work isn’t all there is to life.”

Graham stepped back, holding up his hands. “Shit, sorry,” he said. “I just mean, tell me about yourself.”

“I’m a whole person, that’s who I am,” Roger said, still heated. “My ‘job’ or ‘career’ is only a small portion of that person. And it pisses me off when people don’t appreciate that.”

“Look, man, we’re just trying to get to know you,” James said, subtly shifting his body in between Roger and Graham.

Roger smiled at them, showing full teeth. “Oh, totally. Okay,” he said. “I’m a person, a spirit in a corporeal form, enjoying the world as it is and on my own terms.”

“And what will you be doing to, um, pay rent?” James asked.

“Is that all you two care about, fucking money?” Roger demanded.

Something throbbed behind James’s eye. “Alright,” he said. “I’m done. Roger, nice to meet you, but this isn’t going to work out. Have a good night.”

Roger shook his head. “Slaves to the almighty dollar. It’s pathetic.”

Chris went to walk him out, but he was already storming toward the door. He slammed it shut behind himself, then James heard his footsteps smashing down the stairs of their triple-decker.

James and Graham looked at each other, then both looked at Chris. “Where did you find him?” James asked, forcing his voice to stay even.

“He’s a buddy’s brother,” Chris said casually. “Sorry it didn’t work out. I thought he’d be good.”

“Had you met him before?” Graham asked, voice incredulous.

“Nah.”

James shook his head. There were plenty of things he could say right now, but none of them felt worth it. So instead, he walked into his room, closed the door, and locked it.

---

Both James and Amelia took the next day off. James spent it alternating between watching Netflix on the couch and taking walks in his neighborhood. It was a nice enough place, nothing special. He’d lived here for a few years and hadn’t spent much time exploring outside of work. But as he walked around, hands shoved deep in his coat pockets, he thought it was fine for what it was. A little too far from downtown to walk to the shops there, but close enough to the main road that he could grab some takeout and walk home after.

Maybe a vacation would be nice, James thought as he went to bed that night. It wasn’t like he had to travel. He could do this for a week, preferably with less pain coursing through his body during the actual vacation.

The next day, he felt a little better. Still sore, but walking the day before had helped a lot. He felt more limber as he went into Headquarters and then felt better still when he saw Amelia there, sitting on the couch with a cup of coffee.

“So what do you think?” she asked as he sat down next to her with the iced coffee he’d bought on his way in.

“What do you mean?”

“What caused the accident?”

James shrugged. “I mean, it could be a few different things.”

“But we both know that it’s connected with the Delinsky case.”

“Yeah.”

“It’s a curse,” Amelia said. “We all think so. And someone doesn’t want us solving this.”

“I think it’s that same guy that wanted us out of the Foxborough store,” James said. “He and I got into a disagreement and we nearly died immediately after? It was sloppy. Not the work of a professional. I’m going back today to talk to him.”

“That’s a terrible idea.”

“No, I’ll play it safe. Amulets, holy water, setting up personal wards beforehand. I’ll do everything I can to block out curses. We should have done that before and I’m sorry I didn’t think of it.”

Amelia shook her head. “Not your fault,” she said. “We both could have thought of it and didn’t.”

“Yeah, but I’m the captain. So it ends with me.”

They were quiet for a second. “Speaking of,” James said. “Have you thought any more about the Hillsborough position?”

Amelia shrugged. “I guess.”

“And?”

“And I just got out of the hospital after an overnight stay to watch for brain damage, and you and I nearly died. I haven’t put that much thought in. I’ll do more once the case is done.”

Guilt slipped into James’s stomach. “Fair,” he said. “Sorry, I won’t bring it up again.”

“No, it’s fine,” Amelia said. “Really.”

James felt like he should say something else, but just took a sip of his coffee. “What are you feeling up to doing today?” he asked.

Amelia thought for a second. “Honestly,” James added.

She glared at him, then sighed. “Honestly,” she said. “I think I’m better off staying at Headquarters today. I think the Foundation sent over the details we were looking for. So I can look through those. Gabriella and Graham can take anything new that comes in.”

“I’ll go to Foxborough and beat the information out of that Jeremy asshole if I have to,” James said. “I’ll see if Bradley wants to come, so I have backup.”

“Guy’s gonna shit his pants when he sees you two roll up in your Chevy.”

“Fuck off,” James said, nudging her with his knee.

“I’m glad you’re not dead,” Amelia said.

“Right back at you.”

---

“Bradley.”

James walked over to the back bedroom, where he could see Bradley sitting at the desk, frowning over a notebook. He was whispering something under his breath as he read and didn’t look up as James walked closer.

“Brad?”

Bradley jumped, spinning toward the door and glaring at James. “What the fuck, McManus?”

James held up his hands. “Hey, I’ve been trying to get your attention for like thirty seconds. Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. What do you need?”

“I’m heading to Foxborough. Do you still want to go?”

“Yeah, fine. Hang on.”

Bradley closed the notebook in front of him, then closed a window on his computer before standing up. “Let me get my coat.”

“You’ll need it. It’s freezing and we’re about to go battle the Christmas shopping crowd.”

Bradley grimaced. “I’m going to need coffee for that,” he said.

James had just finished the one he brought with him, but he was feeling that need now, too. “Yeah,” he said. “We’ll stop at Dunks, then go crack some skulls.”

---

“Are we getting in?”

A few minutes later, James and Bradley were standing outside of James’s car. James had the keys in his hand and the door was unlocked. He just needed to get in and start the car. It was nothing. He’d driven here this morning without much fear. Nothing had changed now that they were going back to Foxborough.

“Yeah,” he said, his breath a cloud in the bitter air. “Yeah.”

Bradley’s voice was impatient, and he scowled at James. “Look,” he said. “Is this a thing? Do you want me to drive? My car is right there.”

He jabbed a gloved finger over at his car parked along the sidewalk. James didn’t want to take his offer, he just needed to get into his own car. “No, I’m fine,” he said. “If I don’t do it, I never will.”

“Inspirational.”

James ignored him and slid into the driver’s seat. The familiarity of his car was comforting. It was lower to the ground, and he’d been driving it for years. It was fine. They’d take a different route, and it’d be fine.

“We should get driving first, then stop for coffee,” Bradley said as James backed out of the driveway. “Don’t hit my car.”

“I’m not going to hit your fucking car,” James snapped as he backed around it and into the road.

“Good, because the Foundation won’t compensate me for it.”

“Yeah, they’re not paying for my new phone. So they’re sure as shit not going to pay if I back into your Corolla.”

Bradley looked at him. “They’re not replacing your phone?”

“Of course not,” James said with a sigh. “I only lost it when a curse caused my brakes to fail and the company van to go over an embankment.”

Bradley was silent for a second and James waited for whatever complaint about either him or the Foundation that was about to come. But nothing did. He glanced over and saw Bradley looking out the window as they left their neighborhood.

“You good?” he asked as they turned and started passing Fairview Hills Cemetery on their right.

“Huh? Yeah, fine. I’ll talk to them about your phone.”

Bradley looked tired, but so didn’t they all. So James dropped it and headed toward the highway.

---

CONTINUE TO CHAPTER 15