“I can’t even imagine being that wealthy,” Amelia said a little while later as they drove away from the Cottage. “Like, just the idea of living in that kind of environment? Growing up in it? It doesn’t seem worth the money.”

“I just keep thinking of the kids,” James said. “Zach was so scared for them, but their parents didn’t seem to give a single fuck if their kids were safe or not. Maybe I mixed up who the parents were and who they weren’t, but not a single person I spoke to mentioned concern for their children.”

“Same,” Amelia said.

This time, it was James, Amelia, and Bradley in James’s car. Madelyn had gone to ride with Graham and Gabriella. Amelia was in the backseat while Bradley was gazing out the passenger side window.

“My family was never desperate,” James said. “And we had family members that were worse off than us. But we always looked out for each other, you know? I can’t imagine growing up in an environment like that. Where all the adults, save like, the staff and a single uncle, don’t care about you as a person? It’s gotta mess with you.”

“It does.”

Bradley’s voice was so quiet that James almost missed it. He was still facing out the window. But then he turned and faced forward, still not looking at either of them.

“I feel guilty saying it because there are so many people who have worse problems,” he said. “And we weren’t on the same level as the Delinskys financially. But my family was very similar, and it was fucking awful.”

James thought back to the solemn children he’d seen sitting in a playroom deep inside the house. They’d passed by it as they were leaving, and Zach had stepped out to say goodbye. James assumed the kids didn’t know anything about what was happening to their family, but he’d seen the serious expression on one that couldn’t have been older than six. So even if they weren’t aware of the danger their family was in, the kids didn’t seem to be the product of a warm environment.

“Bradley,” he started. “Where are you from?”

“North Shore,” Bradley replied. “Over where I used to work. I grew up in Marblehead. My father was a neurosurgeon. He was brilliant and an asshole.”

“I didn’t know that.”

“Do you talk to your family?” Amelia asked Bradley.

“No.”

He didn’t elaborate and James figured that was the most they were getting out of him about it. He was shocked they’d gotten that much. After seeing the dingy apartment Bradley lived in, James had assumed that he’d grown up similar to them. But apparently not. Clearly, his childhood had been closer to that of the stone-faced children they’d seen this afternoon.

“So what’s on the docket when we get back?” Amelia asked.

“Funny you mention that,” James said, grateful for the change of subject. “We haven’t gotten a single new case since the statement they took the other day at the haunted house. Everything paranormal in this half of the county coincidentally stopped at the same time we started this major case with lots of money involved.”

“Amazing how that works,” Amelia muttered, shaking her head.

“So I guess when we get back, I’m going to keep looking online, see if there’s any more information about Polly Grace that might help us. Like what the fuck she thinks she’s doing?”

“Father McEnerney wants to visit the house,” Bradley said.

“When did he say that?”

“Before we left. I told him I’d let you know since you still don’t have a goddamn phone.”

“Yeah, sounds good.”

There were so many things he could say right now, but Bradley still seemed out of sorts and the last thing they needed was another argument like the one from the other day that might ignite into something worse.

“I’m also going to do my workout,” James said. “I feel like my joints are solidifying lately. So when we get back, I’m changing, running, and not thinking about curses for a few minutes.”

The house was sealed up better than anything James had ever seen before. Those kids would be safe from the exterior monsters, at the very least. So he could be thankful for that.

---

Despite not running for a week, James threw himself into the workout when he got back to headquarters, putting the treadmill at a faster speed than he’d planned or done in a while. There had been some hard rock CD in the player when he turned it on and it was currently blowing out the speakers. He didn’t love the music, but he was able to lose himself in that and the sound of his feet hitting the treadmill belt.

This was bullshit. These people didn’t care about anything beyond profits for their stupid fucking store, even as their family members were being murdered around them. The parents weren’t worried for the kids, the younger generation wasn’t worried for the elders, nobody cared at all. Except for one frazzled nephew who was trying to keep the children from knowing what was happening.

And now he had to go after killers who murdered in revenge for, what, exactly? They still had their jobs. Losing their manager? Had the manager been cut during layoffs? And if so, was that really worth killing over? He wanted to ask, but there was no way to get that information short of asking Jeremy and Janis.

Unless maybe something had happened. He pressed the treadmill to a higher speed as he thought. Jeremy had said there was no manager. Could something have happened to the manager at that store?

Breathless, a little while later, James slowed down and stepped off the treadmill. He was pouring sweat, but he needed to check on this before he showered. And since he had no phone, he needed to go upstairs to do it. But if he could get the name of the manager from Zach, maybe he could get an answer.

Zach’s business card was still in James’s wallet, which was in his office. He stepped inside, grabbed the card, and sat down at his desk, trying to ignore the way his shirt was sticking to his chest.

The phone rang twice, then Zach picked up. “Zach Delinsky, how can I help you?”

“Zach, it’s James over at the Foundation.”

“James, did something happen? What’s going on?”

“Actually, I had a question for you. Would you be able to get me the name of a manager from one of your stores?”

Zach paused for a second. “Of course,” he said finally. “Um, hang on, let me get my laptop.”

James heard the sound of children’s music playing in the background and realized Zach was still on child duty. This simultaneously warmed and depressed him. “Alright,” Zach said. “Which store?”

“Foxborough. Um, I don’t have a number or anything”

“That’s fine.”

Zach typed in something, the keys clacking over the phone line. “Alright,” he said. “So they don’t have a general manager right now. They’re being run in the interim by Gary McDonald. Is that what you needed?”

“What about before that?” James asked. “Who was the manager before?”

Another moment of typing. “Phyllis Danforth,” Zach said.

James wrote her name down. “Do you know what happened to her?”

“It says here she was laid off during a round of staff cuts,” Zach said. “I don’t have any information beyond that.”

James had a bad feeling forming in his stomach that he was right about this hunch. “Thanks,” he said. “I think that’s what I needed.”

“Well, let me know if you need anything else. Anything I can do to help, seriously.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” James said.

He hung up a second later and immediately went to his computer. He typed Phyllis Danforth’s name into the search bar and his heart sank as an obituary showed up as the first result. A quick scan showed that it was the correct Phyllis Danforth, who had been laid off in the first week of November. Of course, this wasn’t mentioned in the obituary, but he could put it together himself. He scrolled back to the search engine and through the results. Sure enough, a fundraiser page for her family was the fourth result.

Loving mother, full of life and compassion, loved her job. Lost her battle with depression after losing her job. All proceeds from the fundraiser going to her children and grandchildren.

James let out a long breath. He needed to take a shower, then he needed to call Father McEnerney. But he had a feeling this case was coming to a close, and no one was going to feel good about it in the end.

---

CONTINUE TO CHAPTER 21