When James got home a couple hours later, Amelia and Graham were both at the apartment. He’d completely forgotten that Graham was coming over to pick up a few more boxes, but it was just after ten and James had thought he was coming way earlier.

It didn’t matter though. He still had a key, he could come and go as he pleased. James trusted Graham too. With his life and with their team’s safety. 

“Hey, stranger,” Graham said with a laugh as James set down his bag. “I was getting my movies, then got distracted.”

“For about three hours,” Amelia added.

They both had beers in their hands as they sat on the couch. “There’s more in the fridge,” Amelia said,  motioning toward the kitchen with her bottle.

After this day, James could use a beer or four. And based on the way Amelia was looking at him, there was no way she didn’t know what had happened after she left. But she didn’t say anything before James went into the kitchen and pulled a beer out of the fridge.

When he got back, the two of them were watching him. “I assume you could hear him from here?” James guessed.

They both laughed. “No, the window was closed,” Amelia said. “But he called me a little while ago.”

“And Gabriella texted us both,” Graham added.

How had James missed both of those things happening? Not that he’d been able to focus too well in the last couple hours of work anyway. “Do I really worry you guys that bad?”

Graham shrugged. “Not as much as before,” he said. “But also, there’s some leftover takeout in the fridge. You’re welcome to it.”

“Will you believe me if I say I ate a little while ago with Bradley?”

“Yeah,” Amelia said, “because he told me that too.”

James sighed as he sat down in the chair beside the couch. He’d have a beer with them, then go to bed early and try to reset for tomorrow.

“I’m still negotiating with the Foundation to get you those courses,” James said to Graham. “I was going to talk to you, then realized we’re scheduled opposite shifts for basically the next week.”

“I noticed that,” Graham said mildly. “I was about to take it personally.”

Maybe he was still raw, but James flinched, hoped no one saw, and then realized that they both did. “It was a joke,” Graham said.

“I know,” James said quickly. “Um, is that the last of your stuff?”

“I have some kitchen supplies left,” Graham said, nodding toward the boxes by the fridge that James had forgotten about. “But my car’s full, so I’ll come back in the next few days for them.”

“Yeah, come over any time,” James said. “You’re liking the new place?”

A smile lit up Graham’s face. “I love it,” he said.

The place could be a pit and James knew he’d still look like that because Madelyn was there.  

“Also, I have some ideas for the courses,” Graham said. “I know, I shouldn’t be doing anything yet because you’re going to force them to pay me-”

“I am,” James agreed.

“-but I was looking at the team safety ones last night. I don’t know if the captains’ ones are as messy, but these things are a wreck. So, okay-”

Graham pulled a notebook out of a bag sitting beside the couch and flipped through to a densely filled page of notes. “I talked to Bradley about it and he said they’ve always taken a really drawn out approach, hours of videos. So I thought we should go for a more interactive approach. I doubt they’ll go for simulations, but shorter videos with more checkpoints and places to pause. You know what I mean?”

James didn’t particularly. And now he felt kind of silly as he thought about the modules he’d stayed up to finish. But he nodded. “Yeah, sounds great.”

Graham set his notebook down on the coffee table and he and Amelia resumed their conversation while James tried to relax and drink his beer. The green splotch of paint on his black gloves was now chipped and joined by a little marinara. He peeled the gloves off and put them in his pocket while Graham and Amelia pretended not to notice.

***

“No, she swears she didn’t take anything,” Celia said as James sat on the front steps of headquarters the next morning, his coffee in one hand, his phone in the other. “I know you asked and she said no. I asked this morning, too.”

“Did Cody say anything?”

“About either of the girls taking things? No.” 

“How’s he doing?”

“He’s alright,” Celia said. “Rattled, of course. And he was removed from his parents’ house, at least temporarily. He’s staying here until his grandmother gets back to town. She’s been at the hospital with her sister in Syracuse, so I told her he could stay with me for a few days. Penny’s going to Adam’s next week, but he said Cody could stay there too if he needs to.”

James had always respected Celia, but his respect was growing every time they interacted lately. “They’re both okay?”

“Yeah,” she said, and he could hear the shrug in her voice. “They’re both here and safe, but they’re banned from their phones and the TV unless the little ones are watching something. Not that they’re going to want to watch what Krissy and Jenny watch, but apparently they’re getting a little desperate.”

“Are they angry?”

“Oh yeah. Well, Penny is. But that’s just kids, James. You can’t take it personally.”

“No, of course.”

He talked to her for a couple more minutes, as though he wasn’t going over there in a couple hours to talk to the kids again anyway. He was busy today, there was so much left to do and his day hadn’t even started yet.

“Oh, my mom mentioned that they might do dinner at her house before your mom leaves,” Celia said. “Has Auntie Dana said anything?”

James hadn’t received any texts or calls, at least he was pretty sure he hadn’t. “No,” he said.

“Mom said to let you know that any of your friends are welcome too. They all liked them.”

“Oh yeah?” James asked.

“Yeah,” Celia said. “I mean, Gabs is a given. But if anyone wants to join and can stand our family for more than fifteen minutes, they’re welcome too.”

James laughed. “I’ll talk to Mom,” he said. 

They hung up a second later and James glanced at the time. His shift started in about fifteen minutes. He could go in now and get started on some of the reports he was already getting hassled for. There was also a stack of approvals, both for cases and purchases. He had to meet with Bradley about the purchases, but Bradley was heading home from the overnight shift, so he had to either do it now or wait until their shifts lined up better.

James took a sip of his coffee, trying to find that calm again. He’d succeeded a few times. The power of a cup of something hot to drink and something quiet to look at. Amelia had taught him that one. It was hot outside again today, but he’d brought a hot coffee for just that reason.

The door opened behind him. “Oh,” he heard Bradley say, clearly startled.

“Sorry, I wasn’t trying to trip you.”

“What are you doing?”

James shrugged. “Taking a minute before work.”

He waited, bracing himself a little as their fight immediately came back to the forefront of his mind. “How was the overnight?” he asked.

“Fine,” Bradley said. “There’s a report on your desk, we had to go check on some activity out in Lunenburg. I went and Gabriella stayed on comms before she left. It was nothing exciting.”

“I’ll take a look,” James said.

“There’s a backup on case reports at the Foundation,” Bradley said, setting his backpack down beside him on the top step.

“What?” James asked, craning his neck to see him and squinting in the sunlight. 

“Case reports. Final reports, especially. They’re backed up. Renée at Barnstable said they’re still working on June.”

It was nearly October now. “So the final reports I have to go through today…” James started.

“Won’t get touched until December.”

That task went careening down the to-do list in James’s mind. “Thanks for letting me know,” he said.

“I know you’re interviewing those kids again today,” Bradley said. “Do you need anything?”

“No, go home and get some sleep.”

Bradley studied him for a second in that unnerving way he had. Then he nodded and picked his bag back up. “I’ll be back at ten.”

“I won’t be here.”

“Good.”

Then he was gone. James stood up with his thermos and headed inside as his phone buzzed with a text.

MOM

Dinner at Jules’ before I leave. Let u know when <3

***

It was almost shocking how much he resented the work he had to do today. It was like a switch had flipped in his brain. James wasn’t feeling ashamed and desperate to finish these tasks, especially as he went through and checked the status of the ones he’d already done. No one was going to die if the budget approvals didn’t get done before tomorrow morning or if some case from 1939 wasn’t solved before he left for the day, its report carefully edited and submitted. Apparently none of the reports truly mattered because cases from when he was on medical leave were still sitting in Pending. 

And most importantly, everyone was safe. Amelia was at home. As far as he knew, Graham and Madelyn were at their house, though Madelyn had mentioned something about a doctor’s appointment before her shift, so they might be there. Gabriella was here, working on something in the living room. The reassuring clack of her uneven typing came through the open office door. Bradley was at home and not currently yelling at James. 

Everyone was fine. Everyone had been fine. Yes, there was danger in this job, but no more than there had been before he was compromised.

And now they wanted to make him do this shit. And he’d fallen for it. It wasn’t his fault. None of it had been his fault and now that that seed had finally really taken root, James was furious. He was mad at himself, yes, but for believing them for so long. He knew better than that. 

He knew better than that.

Most of his rage was directed toward the Foundation. How fucking dare they get on his case for bullshit, half-accurate training modules when they had cut so many procedures and safety measures? How dare they keep sending daily reminders of all the things he had to do or his whole team would die when they’d told him he had to rush a case with minimal safety measures or they’d lose their jobs? 

He almost wanted to cry with anger and he would have if he hadn’t been so sick of crying. 

“James?”

He looked up and refocused away from his rage. Gabriella was in the doorway. “Hey, Gabs,” he said. “What’s up?”

“Do you have a second?”

“I have plenty of them. Come in.”

She looked a little concerned and he wanted to tell her not to be. He knew why they’d all been so concerned about him, starting with the day he’d touched the contaminated wallet. Maybe earlier. But he was okay.

Anger felt like the appropriate reaction here. He’d expressed that anger toward McGovern specifically, but the rest of the Foundation? How could he? Short of quitting, which actually sounded kind of nice right now.

“James?”

“Yeah,” he said, shaking his head. “What’s going on?”

“So I’ve been looking into Edward Clayborne. The man who died backstage at the school.”

“Right, yeah. Does he exist?”

“He does,” she said. “But his actual story isn’t quite the same as the one that’s been going around.”

James sighed. “Alright, let’s hear it.”

“He kidnapped a child.”

“Right, there it is.”

“He was a volunteer at the school and he kidnapped a kid. The kid survived, they found him in Edward’s basement or something. But the police cornered him at the school, so he hanged himself.”

“Fuck.”

“Yeah.”

“All our cases around schools have been a lot of fun, haven’t they?”

Gabriella shook her head. “Here’s my thought,” James said. “We do another cleanse, a really solid one. The hat is back in its place, but I’m thinking that burning it would be the best approach here. I don’t want another generation of kids taking it and getting hurt. Or, God forbid, someone with lower standards than Mr. Lopez using it as a prop.”

“I can do that,” Gabriella said.

He was about to tell her that he had it under control. But he made himself stop. “What’s your day look like already?” he asked.

“Unless you have something set up for me later, I’m doing research for most of it.”

“Then yeah, thank you,” James said. “I’m going to go talk to the kids later, so how about you do that first. I’ll stay on comms with you.”

He could see it on her face that she knew what he was doing. Of course she did, she’d been six feet away when Bradley had been shouting at him for taking on everything to keep them all safe. “How are you?” she asked.

“Furious,” James replied.

Gabriella didn’t look surprised. “I’ll make some tea,” she said.

***

Penny glared at the floor while Cody shifted awkwardly in his seat. James had hoped that maybe Penny would be less pissed off when he got here, but apparently not.

“I didn’t take anything,” Penny snapped, finally moving her glare from the floor to him.

“What about Lacey?” James asked. “Did she maybe take something as a souvenir?”

“I wouldn’t know,” Penny said. “Mom took my phone. I haven’t talked to her.”

Right. “I had it, but then you had to go tell her I took it back,” Penny added.

When had this kid developed such an attitude? James raised an eyebrow and looked at her silently. Apparently it had the intended effect, because she looked back down at the living room floor, her face pink.

“Gabriella cleansed the space earlier,” he said. “She burned the hat, which I’m hoping was what kept the spirit linked to this world. If that’s true, then the haunting should be over.”

Cody nodded, not meeting James’s eye. “That’s the end of my part in this,” James continued. “Everthing else is between you, your family, Mr. Lopez, and the school. And I never want to deal with another situation like this again, understood?”

Cody nodded. After a beat, Penny did too. 

Celia came back in and dismissed the kids, who both took off upstairs. She was holding Jenny and dropped the baby in James’s lap as she sat down too.

“The fucking attitude lately,” Celia muttered, shaking her head. “And I’ve got Lacey’s parents all over me about all of this, about how Penny’s obviously the ringleader and she and Cody both are bad influences. As though Lacey’s this delicate little thing. She’s a good kid, but she’s not a doormat, you know?”

She sighed, taking out her ponytail, fluffing out her hair, then pulling it back again. “I’m not in denial, I know Penny’s probably the leader in all of this. But I’m so sick of having my parenting questioned when I know their kid is just as guilty as mine.”

“I couldn’t get in touch with her parents earlier,” James said. “I left a voicemail, but they didn’t call me back.”

“They won’t,” Celia said. “They already said they’re staying out of it. It’s apparently my problem to solve.”

Jenny stared at James with her enormous blue eyes, chewing on her fingers as she drooled around them. Her cheeks were bright red. “You’re teething, aren’t you?” he asked her, raising his own finger to her spitty mouth. “Poor kiddo.”

“Uncle Tommy offered to come back and help with anything you need,” Celia said.

“He doesn’t need to do that,” James said. “He’s got enough going on, I can take care of it.”

“Still, the offer’s there.”

James made himself stop before he refused again. He took a second to consider. “Thanks,” he said instead. “I’ll call him if anything comes up.”

“So, beyond all of this, how are you?” Celia asked.

James shrugged as Jenny bit him. “Better than I was,” he said. “Though I got my ass deservedly kicked by one of my team about taking better care of myself and not throwing all of my energy into a company that doesn’t give a shit about me.”

“Oh, was this Bradley?”

“Yeah,” James said. “How did you know that?”

“Gabs isn’t going to do that,” Celia said. “Graham seemed too nice, he’d have a different approach. And the other two seem like maybe they would, but it was him. I spent some time talking to him when we had lunch at Mom’s. He was really polite and fun to talk to, but there’s an edge there, isn’t there?”

“Yeah, a lethal one,” James said. “But he’s right. I just need to figure out what to do.”

“Take a day off.”

“Just because?”

“Yeah,” Celia said. “Go see a movie. Get a massage. Eat something nice that a professional cooked. Any or all of those things.”

That seemed…shockingly doable. Next month’s schedule was done, but he could schedule something in November. Though that didn’t seem to fit what she was saying. 

He had a day off this week. He’d planned to use some of it to catch up on work. But maybe he’d just say screw it. Not a massage, he’d have a panic attack on the table. But a movie? Or maybe just sleeping all day? 

“I should get back to headquarters,” he said to Celia instead of answering. “I’ll follow up in a few days, but this should be over.”

---

CONTINUE TO CHAPTER 21