Downstairs, Dr. Grant was in the front room. She was wearing jeans and a T-shirt, the most casual I抎 seen her look since I met her. She held her car keys in one hand and a paper coffee cup in the other.
揗orning,?she said.
揗orning,?I said. 揈verything okay??
Circe swept into the entryway and stood so that Dr. Grant couldn抰 take another step inside without bumping into her. I braced myself for them to start bickering, but Circe spoke gently to her.
揟hanks for coming.?
揙f course,?Dr. Grant said.
Marie grinned at me from the front room and mouthed the word 揳wkward?to me.
Nyx and Persephone disappeared down the hall, leaving me, Mo, and Marie to witness the extremely uncomfortable situation that was Dr. Grant clearly trying to kiss and make up with Circe.
揧ou look beautiful, as always,?Dr. Grant said.
I winced. I waited for Circe to hurl some insult or tell Dr. Grant to kick rocks, but to my surprise, the corner of her mouth lifted in a little half smile.
Dr. Grant tilted her head to the side and stared at Circe like she was the only person in the room. 揑抦 glad you called, because I got some information about that Karter kid. Thought it might be of interest to you.?
I gripped my phone.
揥hat is it??Mo asked. 揇id you find him??
Dr. Grant followed Circe into the front room and pulled out her phone.
揑t looks like he was treated at a hospital in Red Hook. They wanted to keep him, but he left against doctor抯 orders. The address and phone number he left with them were fake. Then he pops up again on some security footage we pulled from an incident outside Red Hook.?
Circe straightened up. 揑ncident??
Dr. Grant nodded. 揟here抯 an airstrip out there. Doesn抰 get much use, but kids use it for racing. Illegally. The owner was sick of it, so he put in some cameras a few months back.?She angled her phone toward Circe, and I peered over her shoulder as Dr. Grant hit play on a grainy video. 揟he morning after Karter left the hospital somebody landed a private plane on the strip. The security camera captured this.?
Karter limped into the frame. He held his face like he was in pain, flash of white on his wrist, a hospital bracelet. He shuffled to the plane and climbed a set of steps, disappearing into the cabin.
揥hose plane is it??Circe asked. 揟here抯 gotta be a record of it.?
Dr. Grant nodded. 揟he flight originated in Turkey, but I抦 having trouble tracking down a passenger manifest.?
Circe tipped her head back and stared up at the ceiling. I tapped the screen on Dr. Grant抯 phone and the video played again. I watched Karter hobble to the plane over and over again.
揔arter called me,?I said. They needed to know what he抎 told me.
揥hat? When??Mo eyed my phone.
揓ust now. When I was upstairs. He said he was sorry. He said we should hide because him and his raggedy-ass family are going after the last piece of the Heart and once they get it, they抣l come after us.?
Circe gripped the table抯 edge and Marie settled into an unnaturally still posture.
揅an I have your phone??Dr. Grant asked. 揑 might be able to get the department to pinpoint his last location.?
揑 think I already know where that is.?I opened the text he sent me and showed her. 揑t says Abana.?
揥here抯 that??Marie asked.
Circe scrambled to the map and searched the area near the place where the four finger-like protrusions of land jutted out into the sea.
揌ere,?she said. 揑t抯 a town on the south shore of the Black Sea. It抯 very close to where I was thinking we should look for the Great Eye. If they抮e headed there, then we must be on the right track.?
Anger bloomed inside me. I wanted so badly to believe there had been some part of our friendship that was real. The way we抎 laughed together and shared things that neither of us had before. Tears welled in my eyes and my throat burned as I tried to swallow the white-hot anger. I hated myself for being so open with him. Look where it got me. Images of him in the apothecary helping his mother terrorize me and my parents played in my head. He really didn抰 care what he抎 done. He used me to get his mom the information she needed, then bounced, and I was supposed to be grateful that he抎 given me this clue? I shoved my phone back in my pocket and gripped my hands together in front of me.
The doorbell rang.
Circe went to answer it, and I recognized a familiar voice. Dr. Grant抯 father, Isaac, came in, with Lucille from the candle shop in town trailing behind him.
揌ey, Miss Briseis,?he said. I tried to fix my face but I couldn抰 wipe the scowl off quick enough. 揢h-oh. Bad timing??
I shook my head. 揘o. It抯 fine.?
Isaac smiled warmly at me even as concern flashed in his eyes. 揥e came to say hello to everyone.?Circe patted him on the back before embracing Lucille.