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"Mrs Heill see you" She left unspoken her opinion on the matter and pointed to her left "Down this hall, first left, second right, last office on the right" She spoke quickly, then glared at Cyn, daring her to ask for clarification Cyn murmured her thanks, but she had already ceased to exist for the busy young wo
Rahtly on the open door She was a fiftyish black woman, with smooth, perfect skin that would look exactly the sa, wiry hair had been gathered into a ruthless braid and wrapped tightly around her head to for crown over a face that bore the lines of an easy save Cyn the same once over as the receptionist and reached the sa conclusion "You can’t be related, I know all her relations and there aren’t irls the way they did"
"Mrs Hewitt," Cynthia said in her hton I’ator? You’re about eight years too late, aren’t you?"
Cyn stopped, confused "I was hired by Jabril--"
"I’ve got nothing to say to you then" Heas already turning away, paging through a fat folder on her desk
"Did you know Elizabeth ran away?" Cyn interrupted Hewitt closed the folder and stared at her Well, that caught her attention, Cyn thought
The caseworker frowned "I can’t believe that Lizzie would have called me"
"That’s why I’m here I was told if she talked to anyone it was you And I want to find her"
Hewitt huffed in disgust "Why, so you can give her back to that God damned vampire?" It wasn’t a curse the way Hewitt said it; it was a literal truth
"No Whether you believe it or not, I want to help her Her and her sister, Mirabelle" Cyn pulled out a card from her backpack It was the business card for Jessica’s House, a teen shelter in LA run by Lucia Shinn, one of Cyn’s few close friends Cyn scribbled Luci’s name and personal number, as well as her own cell nu it to the caseworker "Before you decide I’ive this person a call If, after talking to her, you decide that I ood, my cell’s on the card and it’s always on I’ll be in Houston until this case takes me somewhere else" She turned to walk out, but Hewitt’s voice stopped her
"How is Mirabelle?"
Cyn paused, turning back "Not good But I’et her out of there too" She didn’t wait for a response She didn’t need one There was no doubt in her mind about what needed to be done It would be easier with Hewitt’s help, but she’d do it without her if she had to
Chapter Nine
The Children’s Museum of Houston was pretty easy to find After all, how iant yellow pillars and a pagoda looking sign with huge pink letters spelling out "s of screa children who had clearly subdued their chaperones and were now planning a coup of so, well back froht to scan the area for Kelli She could see why the girl would want toaround, and so irl like Kelli could easily be ht of her around back of a fat pillar, herin the sun as she peered out to search the courtyard for Cyn Steeling herself against the onslaught, Cyn headed across the plaza, wading through the potential revolutionaries to reach Kelli’s side
"Hey!"
Kelli’s face brightened, though her eyes scanned the area around the sure Cyn was alone "Hi," she returned "Let’s go inside We’ll pretend you’re ain
"Nice What’re you nineteen?"
"Twenty next h to be your ed "It’s noisy and there’s always lots of people Plus Montrose is close by and a lot of the street kids hang around here, especially on Thursday nights Faet in free and it’s pretty easy to slip inside Anyway, no one will look twice at a single ed Kelli toward the door "I don’t want to be a single mom Why can’t I have a rich husband instead?"
"I don’t know You look like a singlefor so’ve you worked for Jabril?" Cyn asked, changing the subject
"Alhteen A friend of ot uys sleeping all day, and the hours are weird, but it’s okay"
"I don’t think they’re actually dead," Cyn commented "So what do you do out there?" She started to lift her sunglasses as they went inside, but dropped them back dohen she saw the hot colors splashed across every surface in sight
"Cleaning, you know Dusting, vacuuust "Pays well, though"
"You work in the big house too, or only the servants’ quarters?"
"So the day No one’s allowed there after dark Don’t want to gross out the big bad va them to look at lowly humans Not unless you’re one of the bimbos, anyway"