Fear Her Wrath II: Crucible of Glass

Chapter 47

It was nearly 9 o'clock when I finally finished up at the Nightchapel and started the long walk home. Ellie was already gone when I got back from Rothko, so I was stuck doing all the unglamorous chores by myself: cleaning all the mud and muck off the Nightwheel, turning off the electrical generator in the tower, and locking up downstairs. I tried not to think too much about what I'd just done. That look of horror on Josie Connelly's face was what really haunted me. Once again, I'd messed up in front of people who barely knew me, and everything she was thinking about me was probably true.

Maybe that sounds self-pitying. It probably was. But I couldn't help but feel like I'd played right into Psychosis's hands. Even behind bars, Psychosis was still my worst enemy. He still knew how to bring out the worst in me.

I was passing the Joplin Heights subway station when I decided to duck inside and call Ellie. It was a little warmer underground, and besides, I wanted to feel like I was doing something. Giving Ellie an update on what I'd learned from Psychosis was as close to "something" as I could think of right now.

"Whaddya need?" came Ellie's voice. She sounded tired, but if she was mad at me for calling after she'd left for the night, she didn't show it. This was her fight just as much as mine.

"It was Psychosis," I explained in a low voice. "He told Deadstream to target Ben. Check for someone that was released from Merceron or the juvie center after Simon arrived but before the Deadstream stuff started."

I heard the clicking of keys.

"I dunno, Maggs. None of these look right."

I slammed my fist against a magazine kiosk, earning a few concerned looks from passersby. I was not letting this be another dead end.

"Has he had any visitors?"

"Just you, me, Corrigan, and his lawyer."

I thought for a moment. There was something we were missing. There had to be.

"Any letters?"

"Nope. No calls, either, 'cept to you."

The rushing sound of an arriving train put a pause in our conversation. I pretended to look at the subway map as the disembarking passengers pushed their way through the turnstiles and up the stairways to the street.

"I gotta think about this," I told Ellie. "This is not happening again."

"Maggie," said Ellie cautiously. "We... this has been kinda traumatic, ya know? We're... probably both not thinking straight."

I looked down at my knuckles. They were raw from the beatdown I had just given Simon. I hadn't noticed how much they were hurting.

"Is Ben at the hospital?"

"I was gonna tell ya," said Ellie. "He's at Brand Hill. I guess that means—."

"Dad's taking care of him. That's good. He'll... he'll be okay."

We were both silent.

"Maggs, I'm gonna call it a night," said Ellie. "There's nothin' else we can do, ya know?"

I managed a small grunt in reply, and we hung up. I felt around in my jacket for my subway pass as I walked over to the turnstiles, mentally mapping my route to Brand Hill. I was going to see Ben if I could. Even if he was mad at me—even if he never wanted to see me again—I had to try.

Brand Hill Community Hospital was a plain sandstone building on the northern slope of the hill it was named for. My mom was born there, and so was everyone else in the Fen who couldn't afford decent health insurance. Despite its dwindling endowment—Eugene Rothko was the last donor to break six figures—and dangerously out-of-date medical infrastructure, the hospital did a lot for the Fen. That was why Dad chose to work there, when he could easily double or triple his salary by commuting across the river. I think it always bothered Mom that Dad wasn't "getting anywhere" in his medical career, but I knew Dad could never leave Brand Hill behind, no matter how good the offer. That emergency room was where he believed he could do the most good.