“He’s a teenage boy, but whatever. That’s fine if you want to come. Just don’t say anything or threaten him or do anything, got it? Be on your best behavior.”

He crossed his heart, like we were in third grade. “I promise I’ll be good.”

Why did I doubt that promise?

Based on my memory of Vera’s directions, Austin—I never got his last name—only lived about eight minutes from us, in a rundown neighborhood on Marigold Street. It was the kind of place where you heard gunshots in nearby alleys and didn’t flinch. He should have been in a foster home under the protection of people who could take care of him, assuming he landed with a family that cared. But from what Vera had told me, his mother was functioning just well enough to keep custody. If I could have taken him in, I would have. Countless times I had considered kidnapping him…if only to save him, because he reminded me so much of, well, me. He had a good heart, but life kept trying to beat the good out of him. I hoped Austin would cling to whatever goodness remained and make something of himself. If anyone deserved extra chances, it was kids like Austin.

Eleven minutes later—the rain had slowed me down—his one-story ranch house appeared around the corner, windows as dark as the sky. Nothing sinister. Nothing that screamed “Delinquent Lives Here!” Austin did all the yard work up to the tree line where a coppice of white oaks and sycamores broke up the monotony of houses. Vera had mentioned that on a few occasions she helped him tame the thicket’s brambly undergrowth, having learned from her family’s gardener how to manicure the peskiest of briars. That thought reminded me just how great the divide was between the haves and have-nots. Felicity’s family wanted for nothing and never had to lift a finger for themselves. And here was Austin, who didn’t have a pot to piss in, but he knew the dignity and value of plain old hard work. At least Vera was raised thoughtful in that way, always wanting to help those who needed it. That savior complex was probably what had attracted her to a boy from the proverbial wrong side of the tracks in the first place. It was also probably what had led to her downfall.