Page 38 of Concealed in Death

The smirk that crossed her face felt good. “It’s got some punch.”

“Thanks, darling. I’d love to punch you later.”

“You always want to punch me.”

“That’s love for you.”

Amused, she angled her head, studied him. “Maybe I’ll punch you back.”

“Here’s hoping.”

“And here’s something else on the dick—not yours, the carpenter’s helper dick. His listed address is less than three blocks from my crime scene. Which leads me to ask what in the hell are you planning to do with that dump?”

“It won’t be a dump when it’s done.”

“Okay, what are you planning to do with what won’t be a dump?”

“I thought we’d create something to connect with Dochas.”

The abuse shelter he’d built, she thought. And the place he’d first learned about his mother.

“Connect how?”

“It’s a cycle, isn’t it, very often a cycle. The young, lost, or abused, ending up with someone who hurts them. Or becoming an abuser themselves. I’ve talked of it with the staff at Dochas, and a bit with Dr. Mira.”

“Is that so?”

“I like to know what I’m about. The plans are to build a proper facility for children, those who get sucked into the system through no fault of their own, but are mistreated or neglected by those who should tend to them.”

As she had been, Eve thought.

“And the others—the lost, you could say—who end up on the street trying to find a way just to survive.”

As he had.

“We’ll work with CPS, educators, therapists, and the like. Not that different, I suppose, from what it was when Seraphim was there. Maybe it’s the building’s fate to house the troubled and lost, to give them a refuge, a chance. We didn’t have one, you and I.”

“No, we didn’t have one.”

“They’ll have a safe place, but with boundaries, with structure. Rules, as you’re so fond of rules. They’ll have therapy, medical treatment, recreation—as I think fun’s important and too often left out. Education, of course, with the opportunity to learn practical skills as well. Summerset gave me that.”

“He taught you to steal, too.”

“He didn’t, as I already knew how. Though he may have polished a few rough edges there.” He grinned at her. “Still, they were practical skills of a sort. We won’t have classes in lifting locks or wallets, Lieutenant.”

“Good to know.” She thought a moment. “It’s a lot to take on.”

“Well now, I’ll have those trained in all those areas to do the taking on once we’re up and running.”

But your hand will be in it, Eve thought. You won’t just dump the money, then walk away.

“Do you have a name for it?”

“Not yet, no.”

“You should call it Refuge, since that’s how you think of it. And you should stick with the Irish, like Dochas. What’s Irish for Refuge?”

“An Didean.”

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