Amber came back with a bowl full of water and a cloth. She put them down on the table and pulled up a chair. “What happened?” she said, as she dipped the cloth in the bowl.

“Couple of guys, in the alley,” Robin muttered.

“Jesus,” she said, as she put the wet cloth to Robin’s forehead. It stung and he let out a gruff gasp. “Sorry, I should have warned you.”

“Do you know what Ascend is?” Robin said.

Amber dipped the cloth back in the water. It became pink instantly. “What?”

“Ascend. A church group called Ascend.”

“Yeah,” Amber said, continuing to clean him up. “I used to run it. But that was like two years ago.”

“Were the Five there? Were they at the meetings?”

Amber put the cloth down and looked confused. “Yeah, they were. Now, how would you know that?”

“Because each of the Five had the word Ascend tattooed on their wrists.”

Amber looked lost, utterly and genuinely lost. “They...what?”

“Their wrists. Do you know why they would do that?”

“No,” Amber said. “They would come to the meetings but they would just sit there in silence. They would never even say a word. They would just sit there and then when it was over they would leave. Sometimes they were the only people who would turn up and I would just have to sit there with them. It was bizarre, so in the end I canceled the groups, because I didn’t want to do it anymore. I didn’t want to be around them. I didn’t want to be around him.”

“Tim?” Robin said.

“Yeah, Tim. We...we didn’t get on. After we... I didn’t tell you the whole truth that first night, when we talked. Tim and I were a couple for a while. But it didn’t work out. It’s rather sad, really. First love. You start to realize that love actually isn’t the whole world, you know.”

“The cat,” Robin said. “Was it true what he did?”

Amber’s brow creased. “Where did you hear that?”

“Benny Masterson and...your mother.”

Amber looked away, around at the room, as though she couldn’t look at him. And then finally she did again. “You talked to my mother? My mother is a fickle bitch who would say anything to make herself the victim.” Amber got up and picked up the bowl with a force that made some water splash onto the table. Amber sniffed; she was almost crying. “When you’re doing your investigating, Robin, remember that you’re not just hearing stories—you’re seeing into other people’s lives.”

“She’s your mother,” Robin said.

Amber scoffed. “My mother can burn in hell.”

Chapter Forty-Six

Amber helped him back upstairs, although he felt better from the rest. There was still an incredible pain in his ribs, and his head felt like it was pulsating up to three times its normal size.