A painful cry echoed outside. Zoe jumped up and yanked the bathroom door open. The cry sounded again. A voice pleading, “Stop! Stop!” It was coming from their bedroom.
Zoe rushed out, joined by others poking their heads out from the surrounding rooms. She moved down the hall with wide strides and stepped into the scene playing out in the bedroom: Lucy standing over a boy, twisting his wrist. Him kneeling on the ground, crying out in pain, begging her to let him go. Her face stone-cold, eyes fixed on her prey.
Before Zoe could intervene, Lucy gave a final twist and Zoe heard the boy’s bone snap.
His cry echoed off the ceiling and filled the whole house. More footsteps pounded up the stairs as Zoe stood there, stunned.
“What is going on?” Tomac’s voice broke Zoe from her trance, and she turned to see a crowd had gathered. Tomac stepped through.
Zoe reacted then. She rushed into the bedroom and grabbed Lucy’s shoulder. The girl moved with insane speed. She snapped her head toward Zoe, freed herself, and spun so she had control of Zoe’s arm. Fear filled Zoe as the image of Lucy breaking the boy’s wrist flashed through her brain. He was still curled on the floor at their feet, whimpering like a baby.
“Lucy, don’t!” Zoe cried.
Lucy made eye contact with her, and the coldness that had hardened her face softened, like someone had walked into the darkness of her mind and flipped on a light. She looked from Zoe to her own hold of Zoe’s arm, then to the crying boy. Then back to Zoe, terror replacing whatever had been there before.
Lucy released her and took a step back. A deer in headlights, confused and mortified. Zoe took several quick breaths.
“What happened here?” Tomac boomed. He was angry. Never a good sign.
Several others had rushed in to tend to the boy, who was still crying, but softer now.
“His wrist is broken,” someone said.
“She broke it, I saw her do it,” another cried, pointing a finger at Lucy.
“I invite you into my home, and your new friend breaks a boy’s wrist?” Tomac continued.
“Lucy, what happened?” Zoe asked, trying to keep her voice low and calm. The girl was trembling.
Lucy looked down at the boy. “He tried to take our stuff,” she said softly.
“She’s crazy!” the boy cried.
“No,” Lucy said. “He came in here and told me he needed your backpack. That Tomac asked for it.” She looked back up at Zoe. “But you told me not to trust anyone. So I told him he couldn’t have it, and he tried to take it anyway.”
“Is that true, Scooter?” Tomac asked, moving his eyes to the boy.
“No, she’s lying,” Scooter said through whimpers.
“I wouldn’t lie,” Lucy said.
Tomac dropped to his knees beside Scooter, and the others who had come to his aid scattered. He grabbed the boy by the collar and pulled him close. “Don’t lie to me.”
“I wouldn’t lie to you, Boss,” Scooter said. “I wouldn’t. She’s crazy!”
“Like you weren’t lying to me about Brownstone?” Tomac hissed.
Scooter’s eyes widened and he shook his head. Even from where Zoe was standing, she could see his mind scrambling.
“If I find out you aren’t being truthful with me . . .” Tomac threatened. “And I will find out.”
A different kind of fear flickered in Scooter’s eyes. The kind children his age shouldn’t know. “I didn’t realize it was hers. It was a mistake.” He stumbled over his words, trying to find an escape from the mess he’d made for himself. Zoe’s heart ached for him.
Tomac tossed Scooter down and nodded to two others behind him.
“I didn’t know, Boss,” Scooter cried. “I swear!”
Two larger kids helped the boy up and escorted him out forcefully. “She’s crazy! She broke my wrist.” Fresh tears filled his eyes and slid down his face.
Tomac stood and addressed the gathered crowd as Scooter was dragged out of sight, his pain echoing after he was gone. “Stealing is for the streets, never under my roof!” he yelled. “Now get lost!”
The others scattered like mice, and a moment later it was just the three of them. Tomac turned to face Zoe and Lucy, forcing a long exhale to calm. Zoe didn’t want to think about the kind of penance Scooter would owe to satisfy Tomac’s temper.
“I apologize,” he said to Lucy. “I’ve had problems with him before. I promise you won’t have any other trouble.” Then to Zoe, “My guy located three potentials for Summer Wallace.” He pulled an envelope from his back pocket and held it out to her. “There’s an early bus. I put the tickets under a secure alias. You should try and get some rest.”
Zoe reached for the envelope and felt resistance when she tried to take it. She locked eyes with Tomac as he held on, his gaze shrouded in a mixture of curiosity and concern. They stood there just a moment, then he released the envelope and headed for the exit.
“Thank you, Tomac,” Zoe said.
He paused at the door and gave Zoe a final look. It said, Be careful.
She gave him a nod. I will.
He shut the door as he left.
Zoe cautiously turned back to Lucy. “You alright?”
Lucy shook her head, her eyes dotted with tears. “I didn’t mean to hurt him. I just didn’t want him to take your things.”
“It’s okay,” Zoe said. She mustered the courage to reach out to Lucy. The girl she’d watched snap a boy’s wrist like a twig. The girl who could have easily done the same to her.
Lucy moved to meet her touch. It was as if a different girl were standing before her now. The scared puppy. Zoe wouldn’t have believed Lucy was capable of breaking a boy’s arm if she hadn’t witnessed it herself.
Zoe rubbed Lucy’s upper arm softly as tears escaped the girl’s eyes and trailed down her cheeks. Zoe could see the wheels behind Lucy’s eyes turning toward dangerous thoughts. Running down paths that led to holes covered in darkness.
“What am I?” Lucy asked, her terror hushed. She looked up at Zoe, her eyes pleading for understanding.
Zoe didn’t know how to answer or how to ease the girl’s suffering. The same dark questions that were running around inside Lucy’s mind were also growing inside her own.
“Am I bad?” Lucy asked. “Am I the bad guy?”
Zoe wished she could convince Lucy she was good, lift the troubled burden the young girl was shouldering. But the truth was simple: Zoe didn’t know who Lucy was or what she was capable of.
ELEVEN
ZOE STEPPED OUT of the yellow taxi that had delivered her and Lucy to 1616 Columbus Drive. She’d expected a housing development or apartment building, but instead she found herself looking at what appeared to be a junkyard. A tall metal fence ran around the property’s outline with large red DO NOT TRESPASS signs placed every couple yards. Behind it were mounds of waste—abandoned cars, kitchen appliances, furniture, metal scraps.
“This can’t be right,” she whispered. She turned back to the cab as Lucy took in the strange scene. Zoe tapped the window and it descended. She poked her head inside. “This is 1616 Columbus Drive?”
“You betcha,” the driver replied.