Scarlett Undercover (Preview)

LITTLE, BROWN AND COMPANY
New York Boston
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This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product
of the authors imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events,
locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
Copyright 2015 by Jennifer Latham
All rights reserved. In accordance with the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, the scanning,
uploading, and electronic sharing of any part of this book without the permission of the
publisher is unlawful piracy and theft of the authors intellectual property. If you would like
to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), prior written permission
must be obtained by contacting the publisher at [email protected].
Thank you for your support of the authors rights.
Little, Brown and Company
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Little, Brown and Company is a division of Hachette Book Group, Inc.
The Little, Brown name and logo are trademarks of Hachette Book Group, Inc.
The publisher is not responsible for websites (or their content) that are not owned
by the publisher.
First Edition: May 2015
Library of Congress CataloginginPublication Data
Latham, Jennifer.
Scarlett undercover / Jennifer Latham.
pages cm
Summary: Scarlett, a sixteen-year-old private detective in the fictional city of Las Almas,
finds herself at the center of a mysterious c aseinvolving ancient curses, priceless artifacts,
and jinnas she discovers that her own family secrets may have more to do with the
situation than she thinksProvided by publisher.
ISBN 9780316-283939 (hardcover)ISBN 9780316-283892 (ebook)
ISBN 9780316-283953 (library edition ebook) [1. Private i nvestigatorsFiction.
2. SupernaturalF iction. 3. Blessing and cursingF iction. 4. GeniesF iction.
5. SecretsFiction. 6. Mystery and detective stories.] I. Title.
PZ7.L3483Sc 2015
[Fic]dc23
2014013252
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
RRDC
Printed in the United States of America
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For Sean, Zo, and Sophie

Because my own story wouldnt be worth
telling if it wasnt for you.
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Do not be satisfied with the

stories that come before you.
Unfold your own myth.
Jalal adDin Muhammad Rumi
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he kid was cute. Her bare, knobbly legs swung

back and forth like pendulums between the
chipped legs of my client chair. Plastic safety goggles

rested on her forehead, held tight by an elastic band
that circled her head and pooched her bobbed brown
hair up at the crown. She was thin. Delicate, even. But
her eyes were clear and blue and smart.
I think my brother killed someone.
It was a hell of a thing to say, especially for someone
whod just walked into my office wearing a pale pink
jumper only a mother could love. I waited for her to
keep talking. She didnt.
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How about you tell me your name before we get

into that? I said.
Gemma Archer. My brothers Oliver. Her hands
twisted the strap of her bag.
Nice to meet you, Gemma. Im Scarlett.
She nodded like she already knew that. Which, of
course, she did.
Okay. Now, exactly who do you think your brother
killed?
His friend Quinn Johnson, she said in a voice flat
as truck stop pancakes.
The name sounded familiar, but I couldnt place it.
Hes the boy they pulled out of Las Almas Bay
yesterday. The one who jumped off the Baker Street
Bridge, she said quietly.
Things clicked into place. Id just read about Quinn
Johnsons death in the paper that morning. The thing was,
it hadnt been murder; itd been a suicide. I looked over at
the h
alf-eaten bagel on my desk. My stomach grumbled.
Well, kid, I said, I dont think you need me. Two
witnesses saw your brothers friend jump off that bridge
all on his own. Its an awful mess, and Im sorry for him
and his family and anyone who knew him. But your
brother wasnt even there.
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Youre wrong, she said. Oliver might not have

been with Quinn when he died, but that doesnt mean
he wasnt responsible.
It had happened b
eforeme being wrong, that is.
So I shrugged and played along.
How olds your brother?
Fifteen.
And what makes you think he had anything to do
with the Johnson kids death?
She chewed her lip, looked around like she wished
she could disappear into the walls.
Hes all dark, like a light went out inside him.
I told her shed have to be a little more specific than
that.
I dont know. Hes just...dark! And he doesnt
talk to me or see me or play his guitar anymore. He
cleans his room now, too, and mostly only comes home
to eat. Then, when he is home, he wont put his phone
down. I thought he was on it a lot before, but its crazy
lately.
She got quiet again.
Look, kid, I said. Im not one to turn down a job,
but it doesnt sound like theres much I can do for you.
Have you talked to your parents about all this?
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Her shoulders slumped, and a soft little hiccup

hitched in her throat.
I tried. She didnt bother to wipe away the tear slipping down her cheek. They wont listen. No one will.
I dug deep and found my patient voice. Dont you
think your parents would have noticed if your brother
was in trouble?
My parents dont notice anything, she whispered.
That got me. Right in the gut.
People change, kid, I said, softening. And your
brother must be pretty messed up after what happened
to his friend.
She looked lost. Her mouth trembled. Her head
shook back and forth.
But hes not! Not even a little! Thats the problem.
Plus I saw him and Quinn together in the courtyard
after school last week and...
Her voice faded to nothing. Her shoulders shook.
And what? What happened?
She paused. Gathered herself.
I was up by the gate and only heard a little. Quinn
said, We cant let them, and Oliver said something I
couldnt hear. Then Quinn...
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She looked up at me like she wasnt sure she should

go on. I gave her my best encouraging smile. She took
a deep breath.
He said, Eff you and eff the rest of them, too. Youre
all crazy.
Only he didnt say eff, right? He said the F word?
She nodded.
What did your brother do then?
She looked at her hands. Sniffled.
Gemma?
He said, Tell us where he is, or well kill you and
Sam both.
And you dont know who he is?
No.
Whos Sam?
Quinns little brother.
What happened next?
Quinn punched him.
They fought?
No. She shook her head. Oliver just smiled. And
even though his mouth was bleeding, he pulled his finger across his throat real slow, like he was threatening
to kill Quinn. Then he walked away.
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Where was Oliver when Quinn went to the bridge?

At home. But its like I said, for the last few weeks
hes been all dead inside. I know he didnt actually push
Quinn, but if it werent for Oliver, I dont think Quinn
would have jumped.
I sat back in my chair and laced my fingers together
behind my head.
You know, theres no guarantee Ill find anything if
I take the case. And even if I do, you might not like it.
Ive got money. She pulled a wad of cash the size
of a melon out of her backpack. What else am I supposed to spend this on?
A long list of things came to mind, but I kept them
to myself. Thats me. Always thinking.
I leaned forward and folded my hands on the desk.
How about I chew on this awhile and get back to you?
Gemmas lips quivered, but she kept it together.
I just want my real brother back, she said. Then
she gave me her number and walked herself to the door.
Ill call you, I said.
She didnt stop. Just dropped her chin and kept on
walking.
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A couple of hours later, my breakfast was long gone, and

Gemma was still on my mind. Rain pattered against the
window behind me. Tires swished on Carroll Streets
wet pavement two stories below. On any given weekday it would have been busy down there, full of people
with places to go. But at eleven oclock on a gray Saturday morning, the only soul out was the General, peeing
against a Dumpster in the alley across the street. He
was the cheerful kind of neighborhood drunk whod
tip his hat and say, Thank ye, guvnor, when people
gave him sandwiches or coffee or spare change. He
looked up, saw me in the window, and waved with his
free hand. I waved back, shifted my focus to the water
stain on the ceiling for modestys sake, and pondered
what Gemma had told me.
She was sincere. Id give her that. And underneath
the layer of cute she wore like camouflage, there was a
toughness to h
era kind of gritthat I liked. Maybe
my first impression had been wrong, and she wasnt just
some hysterical kid making up fairy tales. Maybe there
actually was something to what shed said. Besides,
who was I to argue when there was cash on the table?
At the very least, I could nose around and see what
the brother was up to, figure out what the fight between
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him and his friend had been about, and give Gemma a
better story to tell herself about the whole deal. I could
help a sad little girl feel like someone cared.
I drank a glass of water at the sink in the corner
and pushed back my hair. It was black, k inky-curled,
and stuck out from my head every which way. My hair
had a mind of its own, and just then it was asking for
a fight.
Wear the hijab like Ummi did, Reem would say,
and youll never have to worry about bad hair days.
But headscarves werent my thing. Never had been.
Not even before cancer swallowed my mother whole.
I dialed Gemmas cell.
Its Scarlett, I said when she picked up. Ill take
the case.
Thank you. Her voice was small. Relieved. I asked
if it was a good time to come over. She said it was
and gave me her address. I really mean it, she whispered. Thank you.
Thank me after Ive done something, kid, I said,
and hung up.
I grabbed my favorite purple tam from the coat
hook and put it on. A raincoat would have been nice,
too, but all I had was the flys e yegreen umbrella Mook
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had given me from the Laundromats lost and found a

few months back.
I put the umbrella in my backpack and gave my
Goodwill jeans, white Tshirt, and secondhand mens
houndstooth coat a once-over. If I smiled nice and
behaved, the outfit would do for a visit to the Archers.
I didnt look like a private detective. I didnt look like
an orphan. And that was just the way I liked it.
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emmas apartment was in a strip of converted

warehouses off Daly Street, on the north end of
Las Almas Bay. They were trendy, expensive, and full

of people who never took time to look out their own
windows and enjoy the view.
By the time I got there, the morning rain had lifted,
and people with cloth shopping bags and expensive
baby strollers were out and about. Farther south, Daly
was nothing but pawnshops, liquor stores, and grimy
little joints that would cash your paycheck for half of
what it was worth. This far north, it was all organic
grocers and coffee shops.
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Ten minutes and six nail salons later, I was standing

in front of Gemmas building. The place was flat-roofed
and long, boring as a nuns underwear, and full of blank-
looking picture windows. Gemma was an Archer. The
Archers lived on the top floor. I pressed their intercom
button, smiled for the camera, and w
ondered how many
freckled, s ixteen-year-old brown girls showed up on their
video monitor any given day. The door buzzed. I went in
and took the f reight-sized elevator up.
Gemma opened the door in her goggles and stepped
back to let me in. Her movements were quick. Unhappy.
Hi, she said.
Your folks home?
Theyre at work. Dad owns Archer Construction.
Its a big deal. Mom does interior design.
What about Oliver?
She gave me a somber look. Hes here.
How about an introduction?
Come on, she said, and led me down a hall lined
with framed black-and-white photos of skyscrapers.
The carpet under our feet was thick enough to lose an
ankle in. Spotlights lit the pictures like Rembrandts.
Those are my dads. She motioned toward the
frames. I gave them a closer look.
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He owns all those buildings? I asked.

No. He built them.
I was impressed.
We passed an archway leading to a w
hite-walled
room with white leather furniture, floor-length white
curtains, and white rugs over bleached hardwoods.
Lionfish roamed an enormous saltwater aquarium.
Fish were Dads hobby last year, Gemma said when
she saw me looking. They were supposed to help him
with stress. Now he just pays a guy to clean the tank.
Maybe he should have tried goldfish first, I said.
She shrugged and kept walking until the hall dead-
ended at a closed door.
Ollllivvvverrrr! She hammered on the wood with
a pale fist. There was shuffling behind the door before
it opened.
Oliver was easy on the eyes. Handsome, even, in a
boy band kind of way. He looked like he worked out,
and the zit fairy had only paid a courtesy call instead of
an extended visit.
What? He scanned me with his blue eyes like a
cashier scans frozen peas.
Oliver, this is my friend Scarlett. I wanted you to
meet her.
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Hello, Scarlett. Its a pleasure to make your acquaintance.

He didnt sound like he meant it.
The pleasures all mine.
I didnt sound like I meant it, either.
I stuck out my hand, meaning for it to feel like a
challenge. Oliver hesitated, his top lip curling into a
sneer before he gave in and took hold of my fingers with
a grip three notches too tight. As he did, the sleeve of
his rugby shirt pulled back, exposing a line of angry
red scabs along the inside of his wrist. He noticed that
I noticed, jerked his hand back, jammed his fists into
his pockets.
Arent you a little...mature to be hanging out with
an
ine-year-old? His voice had gone hard.
Its a Big Sister kind of thing, I said.
He looked at Gemma. Gemma looked worried.
Funny, he said. Shes hardly underprivileged.
And she has a real big brother.
Yet she still came to me.... The sweetness in my
voice was anything but.
Oliver scowled. If youll excuse me, Ive got things
to do.
He grabbed the messenger bag leaning against his
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bookshelves and pushed past us, slamming the bedroom door as he went. A few seconds later, the front
door slammed, too.
Gemma slipped her palm into mine. I wasnt much
of a h
and-holder, but just then I didnt mind the touch
of someone warm and good.
The kid was all right.
Her brother was not.
I never could stand a closed door, and Olivers was no

exception.
Im going in, I said.
So you believe me that somethings wrong?
Gemma asked.
I believe I agreed to take the case, I said, turning
the knob.
At first glance, the room was nothing special. Sports
posters on the walls. Body spray and locker room funk
in the air. It was clean, though. Neat. No clothes piled
on the floor, no clutter.
This isnt normal, Gemma said.
You mentioned hes not the organized type.
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Yeah. He and Mom used to fight over the mess all

the time. Hed say it was his space; shed say no it wasnt
unless he started paying rent. Now that he cleans it,
though, she doesnt even come down to this end of the
apartment. She thinks she won. Gemma snorted at the
last bit.
Good to know, I said. Now stay put.
The first thing I did inside the room was walk its
perimeter. Next, I memorized the positions of everything I might move or misplace. This had to be a clean
sweep. Oliver couldnt know Id been there.
Once I had the lay of the place, I looked under the
bed, mattress, and pillows. Opened desk and bureau
drawers all the way to the back. Sifted through anything
siftable. Then I hit the closet, reaching between stacks
of sweatshirts and sweaters, making sure n
othing was
hidden behind the perfectly spaced hanging clothes.
Thats when my hand hit something pinned to a jacket.
This new? I held up the small baggie of dried
leaves.
No. Hes smoked that stuff since he was thirteen,
Gemma said.
I put the baggie back and inspected the rest of the
room, right down to fanning the pages of each book
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on the shelves. Other than Olivers weed, the place was

clean.
It didnt surprise me. Real detective work wasnt
anything like what they showed on TV. On TV, clues
sat around like giant Easter eggs waiting to be found.
In real life, they dressed up like normal things, so that
half the time you didnt even know it when they were
staring you right in the face.
I wiggled my eyebrows up and down at Gemma
to make her smile. She didnt. Then I gave the room
another quick o
nce-over and, because Im a thorough
kind of girl, swung the door around to make sure nothing was hiding behind it.
Something was: a clue. And it hadnt bothered to
dress up at all.
This new? I asked.
Gemma came to my side and pulled the goggles
down over her eyes.
Moms gonna kill him, she whispered.
Every inch, every single bit of wood on that door,
had been carved with different versions of the same
interlocking ring design. Some of the rings were ovals,
some were shaped like cats eyes. A few were rectangles
with rounded edges. Each had a square at the center
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with its four corners formed by the overlapping points

of the lines.
Go get a dark crayon and some paper. Quick, I
said.
Gemma stared for a few seconds longer and ran out.
I studied the door, knowing from the fresh wood smell
that the marks hadnt been there long, wondering if
maybe the design had something to do with the cuts on
Olivers wrist. A deep, dusty part of my brain told me
Id seen it before. But the kid came back faster than I
could clear out the cobwebs and remember where.
Thanks, I said, tearing the wrapper off her purple
crayon. I tucked the shreds into my jeans pocket, flattened a piece of paper over one of the biggest sets of
rings, and rubbed the side of the crayon back and forth
until the whole image appeared. I did the same thing to
a second, more s quared-off knot. Then a third. And a
fourth. Gemma watched, still as a cat about to pounce.
Lets get out of here, I said when the fifth was done.
As she led me to her room, I put the crayon in my
coat, reminding myself to ditch it in a trash can somewhere far away from the Archers apartment. Maybe I
was being too careful, since the chances of Oliver finding a peeled crayon and figuring out it had been used
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to make rubbings of his artwork were slim to none. But

for someone whod written Gemma off just a few hours
earlier as a woundup kid with an overactive imagination, I was starting to wonder if maybe she was on to
something.
Ive got a few more questions, I said once shed
stashed the unused paper in a desk drawer.
I thought you might. She pushed the goggles
onto her forehead and smiled the first real smile Id
seen on her Kewpie doll face.
Im going to figure this out, kid, I said, which
made her smile even bigger.
Just like Id hoped it would.
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took my time walking back to the bus stop,

window-shopping as I went. Four blocks later, Id
managed to pick something up without spending a dime.

I had a tail.
She was tall and blonde and white as marble, with
clothes that matched her skin and a face like a ceme
tery angel. Her tail job wasnt subtle; she slowed when
I slowed, stopped when I stopped, and was either lousy
at her job or didnt care if I spotted her.
It wasnt the first time Id been followed. Not by a
long shot. Still, I took a second to screw my head on
straight. Get over it and ditch her, I told myself, and
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started glancing up and down cross streets for a metro

station, wondering what Id done or who Id ticked off
enough to earn myself a shadow.
Id gone nearly six blocks when a crowd of men
and women spilled out of the building to my left and
blocked the sidewalk in front of me. They were damp-
headed, glassy-eyed, and moving slow. fyre, the sign
over the door said. hot yoga studio.
I shifted toward the curb, brushed up against a
parked SUV, noticed the second tail. This one was
short. Turquoise streaked through her square-banged
black hair. She wore skintight yoga clothes and carried
a mat across her back, but she wasnt sluggish or soaked
like the yogis leaving the studio. Her getup was all for
show.
Shorty moved behind me; Blondie stuck close to the
shops. I cleared the crowd, picked up my pace. At the
next intersection, I caught sight of a station entrance a
hundred yards to my right and crossed fast against the
light, metro card in my hand before I hit the turnstiles.
I swiped it, went through, looked back. My tails might
not have used public transportation enough to have a
pass, but they jumped stiles like pros. I kept moving,
cutting behind strollers and slow-moving tourists. The
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pair stayed close, rolling off my picks like WNBA point

guards.
The sound of an incoming train rumbled up the
stairs to my left. I banked hard, ran down, dove through
the mass of people shuffling toward the platforms edge.
By the time the train screeched to a stop, Id put three
cars worth of space between the pale women and me.
The train doors opened. I hopped on. Three cars down,
so did they. I hugged the pole just inside the door, fighting the crush of bodies as it tried to push me farther
inside, ignoring the nasty looks I got for my trouble.
The platform cleared. I crouched low and waited for the
recorded voice to tell us to stand clear of the closing
doors. The voice came. The doors hydraulics kicked in.
I dove for the platform.
All of me made it through. All of my clothes did not.
One corner of my jacket was pinched tight between
the sealed doors, and Id read enough horror stories
in the paper to know that these were old, unforgiving
trains with safety features that hadnt been state of the
art since 1960. I dropped my bag, threw my shoulders
back, and slipped the jacket off just in time to watch it
disappear into the dark mouth of the tunnel ahead.
My eyes shifted to the car windows gliding past.
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This was supposed to be the fun p

artthe part where
I got to grin a shit-eating grin and wave a smart-assed
wave as my tails rolled helplessly by. Trouble was, they
werent on the train; they were fifteen yards down the
platform and closing fast.
Turned out I wasnt so clever after all.
I made for the stairs to my right, trying to forget how
much longer Blondies legs were than mine. In a fair
fight, Id win nine times out of ten. Going t wo-against-
one changed those odds, and not in my favor. So when I
spotted a transit cop leaning against the ticket window,
I nixed the idea of taking on the pair myself and hoofed
it over to him fast.
Sir, I saw two women back there acting really
strange.
I was trying hard to catch my breath. He was trying
hard to keep his eyes on my face instead of my chest.
They went up to this abandoned bag sitting on
a bench. It might have just been a yoga mat, but...
I dropped my head lower so hed realize it wasnt my
Tshirt talking. I heard them say something to each
other, and one of them picked it up. I know its probably
nothing, but with all the signs around saying we should
report anything suspicious...
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Id picked the right story. My chest got a lot less

interesting.
Is that them? He pointed to my tails as they stopped
short behind the turnstiles just a few feet away. It was
the first headon look at them Id had, the first time Id
noticed the rings of pale gold circling the outside edges
of their irises. All the better to see you with, my dear, I
thought, shaking off a shudder and nodding to the cop.
Stay put, he said.
I gave him my good-girl smile. Yes, sir.
My tails bolted. The cop took off running. Once hed
cleared the turnstile, I headed up to the street, took a
quick look around to make sure I was really alone, and
told myself Id have to do something about my problem
with authority.
Later.
I snagged the first taxi I came to and slid down low in

the slippery vinyl seat. The rolling lilt of a Hindi radio
show filled the cab so that when I gave the driver my
address, I couldnt tell if he was nodding at me or agreeing with the announcer. It wasnt until angry honks
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blared around us and wed picked up speed that I sat

tall, drew a full breath, and considered the particulars
of my situation.
Since the Archer case was the only one to come across
my desk in the last few weeks, it stood to reason that the
women Id just ditched had gone on the job sometime
between Gemma showing up at my office and me leaving her place. That meant Oliver must have called them
in, and that meant things were getting hot. Fast.
Back in Gemmas room, Id squeezed her for more
info on her family. Shed filled me in on Archer Construction and her mothers interior design business, told
me how she and Oliver went to Chandler Academy, a
ritzy private school where tuition cost an arm and two
legs. I didnt like that she spent a lot of time alone in the
apartment with her brother, but the way she told it, hed
all but ignored her for the last month. Hes not home
much, and when he is, he mostly stays in his room or
Dads office, shed said. He never bugs me anymore.
Still, Id made her promise to stay out of Olivers
way. Act normal, dont go in his room, and dont let
on that you think anythings wrong, Id said. It had
seemed like enough of a warning at the time. Now I
wasnt so sure. I took out my phone and dialed.
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Hello? Her voice was shaky as an old man on

skates.
Its Scarlett, I said. Whats wrong?
Nothing came back but the fast breathing of a
scared little girl.
Gemma? Are you okay?
Olivers really mad because I went into his room,
she said.
Shit.
Id screwed up somehow, and now the kid was in
trouble.
Its just Mom again, Oliver, Gemma hollered, her
voice loud but blunted, like shed turned her head away
from the phone. I told her Im sorry for messing with
your stuff.
Are you safe there, Gemma? I asked.
Im fine, Mom. Its no big deal.
I could hear the lie in her voice. It made me uneasy.
Oliver made me uneasy. And I was starting to think
that the less time Gemma spent around him, the better
off shed be.
Listen, I said, is there anyone you could go stay
with for a few days?
Yes.
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Can you get yourself over there today?

I think so.
Good. Do it, and sooner rather than later. Once
youre settled in, send me the address. And dont let
Oliver get ahold of your phone. I dont want him figuring out you werent talking to your mom.
Sure, Mom. I can do that. But you know, things are
so crazy I might not be able to finish my book report
this weekend. Maybe I should stay home with Aunt
Lucy on Monday so she can help me.
Smart, I thought. Gemma was telling me where she
was going and asking if she should avoid being near
Oliver at school, all in the same clever breath.
Go to school, I said, but only straight there and
straight back home to your aunts. Take everything
youll need for a few days, and stay close to adults you
trust.
All right, Mom. Love you.
Be careful, I said.
You too, she answered. And hung up.
Yeah, I thought, keeping my phone in my hand,
knowing it was going to stay there until Gemma sent
word that shed gotten to her aunts. Me too.
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had the taxi drop me off in a section of brownstones well south of our apartment so I could walk
and clear my head. It was a quiet neighborhood, full of

doctors offices and law firms and white-tablecloth restaurants with bored-looking waiters. The smells coming
from kitchen exhaust fans set my stomach singing, but I
had a different kind of joint in mind for lunch. The kind
where fries came with gravy, and the upyours ambiance came from the heart.
Half an hour later, I walked through the door of the
Rubicon Diner and made straight for my favorite booth.
I was lucky it was available; the place was packed.
12/20/14 9:15:08 AM
we reserve the right to refuse service, so

dont piss us off. That was what the sign taped to the
hostess stand said, and that was what Delilah meant.
My place, my rules, shed say. You dont like it, take
it up with Decker. The way she figured, one look at all
six-foot-muscled-six of her son would end any dispute
on the spot. And Delilah almost always figured right.
The diners walls were plastered with so many photos, sketches, signs, autographed sugar packets, and
soup can labels that you could spend hours studying the
place and only see half of what was there. As a little girl,
Id loved each and every tacky bit of it. Then, on a cold
December day two years earlier, Decks fingertips had
brushed my hand as he reached to refill an empty water
glass. Hed mumbled an apology and pulled back fast,
but when his eyes lingered on mine like a slow kiss, Id
known it hadnt been an accident. That was the day the
decorations turned to faded paper, the moment a boy
Id known all my life had become something...more.
Afternoon, Scarlett.
Delilah leaned a hip against my table. She was b
ig-
bosomed and bowlegged, and wore her scattershot b
lack-
and-gray curls pinned carelessly at the top of her head.
Id never seen her in anything but khakis and a Tshirt.
28
12/20/14 9:15:08 AM
Hi, Delilah. How about some banana pancakes?

She arched an eyebrow. How about you tell me
what youve been up to?
Aw, come on. Im starving.
I only feed kids who stay out of trouble. You staying out of trouble?
Delilah had been my mothers best friend. Shed
promised to keep an eye on me, and it was a job she
took to heart.
I slumped against the duct-taped banquette and
set my phone close by on the table. Yeah, I said. Im
staying out of trouble.
Yeah or yes?
Yes.
Delilah pinched her lips tight.
I still say it was a mistake letting you graduate
early. No kid as smart as you should get cut loose on
the streets for two years with nothing better to do than
nose around in other peoples business. You should
have gone straight to college.
In my mind I rolled my eyes. In reality I knew better.
You know I was bored out of my skull in high
school, Delilah. If they hadnt let me test out early,
theyd have ended up tossing me instead. Besides, my
29
12/20/14 9:15:08 AM
nosing around in other peoples business got the Bus

Stop Killer off the streets, didnt it? The cops never
would have caught the guy if I hadnt tracked down the
kids who saw him grab his last victim.
Delilah sniffed.
That Detective Morales shouldnt have gotten you
involved in the first place. If I were your sister, Id tell
him exactly where to stick that badge of his.
I laughed. Emmets a good guy, Delilah.
She leaned in close, one hand on the table.
Then he should be figuring out who murdered your
father, not letting you play detective, thinking youre
gonna catch the monster yourself.
My throat pinched down tight. Shed hit a nerve
best left alone, and it must have shown.
Delilah sagged into her heels. I shouldnt have said
that, hon. Im sorry.
How about those pancakes? I kept my voice
steady. It took some doing.
Gimme a tall stack with monkey chow, Deck, she
hollered toward the kitchen. Her voice cut through
the rooms loud hum of conversation like a dentists
drill. Delilah only cared about etiquette when it wasnt
hers.
30
12/20/14 9:15:08 AM
Comin up, Ma! Decker called back.

Delilah looked at me, lips pursed.
You drinking coffee?
I am.
You shouldnt.
So you say, every time I come in.
She waved her hand like I was an especially pesky
fly and walked off. Id get my coffee in the end, but only
when Delilah was good and ready.
In the meanwhile, I spread one of the rubbings from
Oliver Archers door out on the table and ran a finger
over the design. I knew Id seen it before, but the harder
I tried to think where, the more I couldnt. I was still
pondering the thing a few minutes later when Delilah
came back.
Whatcha got there?
Some kind of symbol. Do you know it?
She looked down, drew in a sharp breath, jerked
back so fast that coffee sloshed out of the thick brown
mug on her tray.
Hmm, I said. My keen detective skills tell me
you do.
Where did you get that?
Its from a case, I said. Why? You recognize it?
31
12/20/14 9:15:08 AM
She looked at me, silent as stone.

Whats the matter, Delilah? Are you gonna tell me
about it or not?
Whatever youre up to, drop it now. Her voice was
barely a whisper. Get the hell off the streets and ship out
to college like you should have done a long time ago.
I wasnt much of a sigher, but for Delilah, I made
an exception. Youre wrong about my work, Delilah. It
keeps me out of trouble. Now whats the deal?
No, youre wrong, Scarlett. And youre about to run
up against the kind of trouble that doesnt give second
chances.
Delilah...
Her palm shot up, cutting me off. I cant talk to you
right now. She slammed my coffee down, did an about-
face, and walked away.
A few minutes later, Decker came out of the kitchen
carrying a plate stacked high with pancakes. I tilted the
rubbing toward my chest and tried not to notice how
tight his shirt was, or how his grin made everything go
wobbly from my belly button down. As he wove his way
around the restaurants tight-packed tables, I reminded
myself that romances were a lot harder to keep alive
32
12/20/14 9:15:08 AM
than friendships. Dont hold on, I thought, and youll

never have to let go.
And then he was at my side, grin and all.
Whatd you do to piss Ma off so bad?
Damned if I know, I said. Hows school?
Same old. He set my pancakes in front of me.
Hasnt been nearly as much fun since you left. Still
doing jujitsu?
Muay Thai. And yeah, I train when I can.
Have you told your sister yet?
Sure, Deck, I told Reem all about it. There was
enough vinegar in my voice to pickle the words. She
said the imam at our mosque would think its swell that
I spend so much time fighting sweaty, half-naked guys
and learning Buddhist rituals. Just nifty.
Decker laughed. Relax. Im just yanking your
chain. He looked around the diner to make sure everyone had food, then wedged himself in across from me.
I could feel the heat from his legs through the fabric of
my jeans.
Whatcha got there? He pointed at my chest.
If you havent figured out what those are, Deck, its
time you and Delilah had The Talk.
33
12/20/14 9:15:08 AM
He smiled, not nearly so embarrassed as I wanted

him to be. You know what I mean, smartass.
Oh...t he paper, I said. Right.
He waited. I poured syrup on my pancakes and cut
off a forkful.
Show me. He leaned forward, touched my hand to
stop me from taking a bite. My heart skipped a beat or
three. I handed him the papers.
A muscle twitched in his jaw.
What is it? I asked. I know Ive seen it before. I
just cant think where.
Whered this come from?
Like I told Delilah, its from a case.
He leaned back. Tried to look nonchalant. You
probably saw it in your mosque.
A light flashed on in my brain, but only a dim one.
Deck was right; the same design ran through the tile
work on our mosques floor. But that wasnt where I
remembered it from. Not really.
Its in our synagogue, too, he went on. Its called
a Solomons knot.
What?
You know, King Solomon? The guy who said hed
34
12/20/14 9:15:08 AM
divide the baby in half if the two women arguing over

it couldnt decide whose it was?
Yeah. Sure, I said. In Islam hes a p
rophetpeace
be upon him. He knew the real mother wouldnt want
the baby killed, so he gave it to the one who said shed
rather lose it than let it die.
Right. Deck nodded. Well, some people think
that since the designs a never-ending link, it symbolizes powermagic, evenand that its called Solomons
knot because the king had magical powers himself.
And?
And people all over the world have used it in their
weaving and painting and stuff since forever. Different
religions, different culturesits everywhere.
So whyd Delilah go off on me like that? I said.
He watched me with eyes that tilted down at the
corners. That tilt gave him an air of w istfulnessof
longinglike hed lost something only I could find.
You want more info than that, youll have to tell
me what youve gotten yourself into.
I watched him back. The funny thing was, even
though Id known Deck forever, Id never really registered the color of his eyes. Its a hard thing to look at
35
12/20/14 9:15:08 AM
a person square, especially when just being near them

is enough to knock you ten degrees off-kilter. But I
saw them then, saw that each sea-glass-green iris was
ringed by the faintest trace of soft, golden flecks.
Goose bumps popped up along my arms. Blondies
and Shortys hard gold rings had been too distinct to
miss. They werent exactly the same as Decks, but they
were close. Stick to the case, I told myself. Dont let co
incidences trip you up.
My clients a n
ine-year-old girl, I said. I found
this symbol carved into the door of her brothers room.
Hes been acting funny lately. She wants me to figure
out why.
That all youre gonna say? Decker asked.
It is.
He rubbed his palm over the stubble on his cheek.
Deck never shaved until the afternoon, and on my
weaker-willed days I hated him for it. Without saying a
word, he pulled the neck of his shirt down, exposing a
silver d
ollarsized indigo tattoo on the skin of his left
pec. Only it wasnt a silver dollar. It was the knot.
When did you get that? I forced myself to look
away.
Last June.
36
12/20/14 9:15:08 AM
Delilah let you?

I didnt ask permission.
I thought nice Jewish boys werent supposed to get
tattoos.
Who says Im nice? He leaned in so close I could
feel his breath.
I rolled my eyes and kicked his shin hard enough
to make him reach down and rub it. On the way back
up, his hand bumped high on the inside of my thigh.
He pulled back fast and blushed, but the heat from his
fingers lingered on my skin and crept north. Close as
wed been dancing these past two years, there were
still some lines we werent ready to cross. Inner thighs
were one.
Sorry. His guilty little grin was almost enough to
sink me. Almost, but not quite.
Whyd you get the tattoo, Deck?
He shook his head. Thats not the question you
should be asking.
No? Then what is?
Where. You should ask me where I got it.
I fluttered my lashes. Okay, Deck. Pretty please
with whipped cream and a cherry on top, wont you tell
me where you got your tattoo?
37
12/20/14 9:15:08 AM
Calamus, he said. Calamus Tattoos. But you

might not be ready yet.
Ready?
Yeah.
My patience hit its limit faster than a college freshmans credit card.
Care to explain what makes this tattoo place so
special? And while youre at it, let me know exactly
who put you in charge of deciding what I may or may
not be ready for. Because Ive got a thing or two to tell
them.
My lashes werent fluttering anymore.
You arent going to let this drop, are you? He
shook his head mournfully.
I glared at him.
Mas not happy, you know. Shes the one who really
doesnt think youre ready. I just dont want you to be.
Ready for what?
Remember how, when we were in kindergarten,
you lost that tooth on the playground, and I said the
tooth fairy would visit you that night?
Yeah. I told you there was no tooth fairy and that
Id stay up all night to prove it.
And you did, right? You stayed up and came in the
38
12/20/14 9:15:08 AM
next day to tell me youd caught your mother sneaking

money under your pillow.
I made you cry, I said, feeling guilty for something
Id done a long time ago.
Yeah. You did. But what if youd been wrong, Scarlett? Would you have been prepared for that?
I didnt have to be. The tooth fairys not real.
What if youd been wrong?
You cant be ready for the impossible, Deck.
He shook his head.
But what if the impossible happened? Thats what I
dont want you ready for, Scarlett. Not yet.
I sighed and put the door rubbings back in my bag.
Youre a piece of work, you know it, Deck?
We both are, Scarlett.
He stood up and went back to the kitchen, leaving
me to ponder my pancakes. Halfway through the stack,
my phone chimed.
Lucy Archer. 2920 East Walker, Apt. 16A.

I really am ok now.
I chased the shot of relief from Gemma with a gulp
of cold coffee and texted back.
Stay that way, kid. Be in touch soon.

A few seconds later, a picture popped onto my
39
12/20/14 9:15:08 AM
screen. It was Gemma, smiling in front of a green

awning with the godwyn printed across it in a ll-white
caps. The street address shed given me was underneath
that, and the reflection of a doorman with gold epaulets
shone in the glass behind her. Funny, but in person I
hadnt noticed the pixie tilt of her nose. I saw it now,
along with the wide blue innocence in her eyes. She
was a sweet kid. A good kid. Life hadnt kicked her in
the teeth yet, and even though she was starting to suspect that it might, something in the picture made me
want to protect her.
Gemma was still a little girl.
And Id do whatever I could to help her stay that way.
40
12/20/14 9:15:08 AM

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LITTLE, BROWN AND COMPANY

New York Boston

For Sean, Zo, and Sophie

Do not be satisfied with the

he kid was cute. Her bare, knobbly legs swung

chipped legs of my client chair. Plastic safety goggles

How about you tell me your name before we get

Youre wrong, she said. Oliver might not have

Her shoulders slumped, and a soft little hiccup

She looked up at me like she wasnt sure she should

Where was Oliver when Quinn went to the bridge?

A couple of hours later, my breakfast was long gone, and

had given me from the Laundromats lost and found a

emmas apartment was in a strip of converted

Las Almas Bay. They were trendy, expensive, and full

Ten minutes and six nail salons later, I was standing

He owns all those buildings? I asked.

Hello, Scarlett. Its a pleasure to make your acquaintance.

I never could stand a closed door, and Olivers was no

Yeah. He and Mom used to fight over the mess all

on the shelves. Other than Olivers weed, the place was

with its four corners formed by the overlapping points

to make rubbings of his artwork were slim to none. But

took my time walking back to the bus stop,

managed to pick something up without spending a dime.

started glancing up and down cross streets for a metro

pair stayed close, rolling off my picks like WNBA point

This was supposed to be the fun p

Id picked the right story. My chest got a lot less

I snagged the first taxi I came to and slid down low in

blared around us and wed picked up speed that I sat

Hello? Her voice was shaky as an old man on

Can you get yourself over there today?

and clear my head. It was a quiet neighborhood, full of

we reserve the right to refuse service, so

Hi, Delilah. How about some banana pancakes?

nosing around in other peoples business got the Bus

Comin up, Ma! Decker called back.

She looked at me, silent as stone.

than friendships. Dont hold on, I thought, and youll

He smiled, not nearly so embarrassed as I wanted

divide the baby in half if the two women arguing over

a person square, especially when just being near them

Delilah let you?

Calamus, he said. Calamus Tattoos. But you

next day to tell me youd caught your mother sneaking

Lucy Archer. 2920 East Walker, Apt. 16A.

Stay that way, kid. Be in touch soon.

screen. It was Gemma, smiling in front of a green

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