Chapter Sixteen

The waiting room in the hospital reeked of sweat and innumerable chemicals that were flavored with sickeningly sweet scents to try to hide that it was a hospital. Scott was always reminded of a hellish candy shop the few times he had been in there, glancing around at everyone else sharing his pain and wondering how much pain must be in the whole city if this much was contained in one room. He sat, drumming his fingers on his knee to no specific rhythm and trying to make as little noise as possible. Occasionally, a family or a nurse pushing a wheelchair would come by and he could look up at how distraught they all were. It was split between panic and silent fear. He tried picturing what Edward must be feeling, but Edward was himself. Scott knew exactly what he’d be feeling, and it scared him too much.

Finally, Edward came from the visiting ward into the waiting room with his eyes in front of him and his hands hanging limply by his sides. Scott looked up at him, and Edward looked back with glazed eyes.

“She’s going to be fine,” he said. “The arsonists hit her in the back of the head, but she got away in time. She doesn’t remember anything else from the fire, but she’ll be fine. They just want to make sure she’s stable at her age.”

“What else did you talk about?” Scott asked, but Edward was silent. Correcting himself, he added, “You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to.”

“It’s weird,” Edward sighed, his voice airy and soft. “My mother has barely spoken to me my entire life. Today, she wondered what I was doing for a living. She asked about where I lived and about Fay.”

“Fay?” Scott asked, quickly returning his attention to the floor. “Sorry. You probably don’t want to share right now.”

“It’s okay. I’ll tell you tonight if you want. It’ll be good for me.” Edward was smiling. He looked happier than he did in a long time, and it broke Scott to see it. He knew that he was going to be the one to destroy it, and that fact had been horrifying him the whole time he’d been waiting. If Edward had come out looking mortified, maybe it’d be easier.

“Edward, I have to tell you something,” he said, standing up. Suddenly, his mouth was painfully dry as if his body was doing everything it could to stop him. “Officer Malone called earlier. They investigated Fenella Burgess. She’s clean.”

“What?” Each word that Scott said erased the previous from Edward’s mind, making him impossible to comprehend.

“There’s no evidence to tie her to the fire. They’re thinking it was a kitchen fire gone out of control.”

“That’s ridiculous,” Edward snapped. Sweat was starting to pour from just below his hairline. It was suddenly impossible to speak without yelling. The Spartans’ symbol on Fay’s jacket and on the sidewalk almost hovered in front of him, mocking him. His own memories of Fay’s voice were mocking him. “That’s a lie! I’ve seen arson cases with my own eyes. This was arson, and Fay is involved. The Spartans paid off that cop, didn’t they?”

“I researched him a little. It seems likely.”

“So we demand another one!”

“The same thing will just happen again,” Scott said. Edward didn’t realize that passers-by were staring, but Scott did. His tone went softer, hoping Edward’s would do the same. “The Spartans have enough pull to do anything. We could form a case, but without evidence, it’d just get turned down.”

“So we find our own evidence.” Edward’s voice went back to almost a whisper. “The Spartans f*****g advertise where they all live on the news. I’ll go there while they’re gone and find some plans or records or a text message or something.”

“That’s illegal�"”

“I don’t care!”

“The city will care,” Scott said, his voice beginning to rise. “That poor man whose store got robbed that you’re representing at the end of the week cares. Every news station is making you out as the person who’s going to lead us all back to law and order. If you go to prison for breaking into someone’s home, that’s just going to prove to everyone that the Spartans will get whatever they want. Besides, even at the very lowest rank, Burgess will have an entire crime syndicate backing her. There’s no way in hell you’ll be able to stand against them without whatever’s left of the law behind you.”

Edward stopped. He had been beaten.

“Listen�"your mother’s alive. Whatever the Spartans were trying to do didn’t work. No one won and no one lost. Just let it go and move on before it gets a lot worse.”