Neville raises his scratched palms toward the ceiling in a philosophical gesture that says What can you do? “It’s this place, man. It’s the Low. She stopped being on cloud nine and realized where she was, is all. Me, I’m getting out as soon as I can. While I can. Gonna play Div I, keep my grades up so I can get a good job afterward if I ain’t—aren’t—good enough to go pro. Then I’m getting my family out. It’s just me and my mom and my two brothers. My mom’s the only reason I’ve got as far as I have. She ain’t never let none of us play in the dirt.” He replays what he just said and laughs. “She heard me say ain’t never, she be in my face.”

Hodges thinks, Kid’s too good to be true. Except he is. Hodges is sure of it, and doesn’t like to think what might have happened to Jerome’s kid sister if Dereece Neville had been in school today.

Higgins says, “You were wrong to be teasing that girl, but I have to say you made it right. Will you think about what almost happened if you get an urge to do something like that again?”

“Yes, sir, I sure will.”

Higgins holds a hand up. Rather than slap it, Neville taps it gently, with a slightly sarcastic smile. He’s a good kid, but this is still Lowtown, and Higgins is still po-po.

Higgins stands. “Are we good to go, Detective Hodges?”

Hodges nods his appreciation at the use of his old title, but he isn’t quite finished. “Almost. What kind of game was it, De­reece?”

“Old-school.” No hesitation. “Like a Game Boy, but my little brother had one of those—Mom got it in a rumble sale, or whatever they call those things—and the one the girl had wasn’t the same. It was bright yellow, I know that. Not the kind of color you’d expect a girl to like. Not the ones I know, at least.”

“Did you happen to see the screen?”

“Just a glance. It was a bunch of fish swimming around.”

“Thanks, Dereece. How sure are you that she was high? On a scale of one to ten, ten being absolutely positive.”

“Well, say five. I would’ve said ten when I walked up to her, because she acted like she was going to walk right out into the street, and there was a bigass truck coming, a lot bigger than the panel job that come along behind and whumped her. I was thinking not coke or meth or molly, more something mellow, like ecstasy or pot.”

“But when you started goofing with her? When you took her game?”

Dereece Neville rolls his eyes. “Man, she woke up fast.”

“Okay,” Hodges says. “All set. And thank you.”

Higgins adds his thanks, then he and Hodges start toward the door.

“Detective Hodges?” Neville is on his feet again, and Hodges practically has to crane his neck to look at him. “You think if I wrote down my number, you could give it to her?”