“Those sites people go on before they throw themselves under a train, play the Blue Whale Challenge, that type of thing.”

“That’s kinda sick shit, man.”

“Sure is. It’s really dark, right?” said Johnny Boy.

“Dark.”

“Yeah. My daughter is, well, she’s a teacher. She wants to give parents a rundown of the sites to look out for. It’d be worthwhile work, Melvin. You could save some poor kid’s life.”

Johnny Boy watched his words work their magic. He nailed it home. “I was sure you’d want to help her out. I told her I knew a guy who did superhero shit for a frigging living.”

Melvin nodded. That was him, alright.

Caitlyn Dunn hadn’t been popular at the Delray CPS. Not because she had a name that screamed WASP. Not because she didn’t much engage in office banter, although neither of those helped. It was because she seemed to have no idea how tight resources were. Every time she escalated a case or recommended an intervention or petition to the court, the finance controller would catch her breath and take another antacid.

So when she applied for a position as one of Oakland CPS’s senior case officers, Delray was only too glad to say goodbye. To boost her chances, they gave her a reference that could have been written by God, which was kind of helpful, since a normal reference from even the highest in Detroit civil service wasn’t worth a great deal these days.

The transfer took Caitlyn north, out of Detroit’s industrial dumping ground and into the suburbs. But it wasn’t an escape. It was part of her plan. She needed a promotion. Not because she craved validation or money but because she needed influence. Caitlyn Dunn was one of those rare breeds working in state government who wanted to change the world or, to be precise, the world of any child in need. If she got high enough in CPS, she’d be able to change policy. In the meantime, between promotions, she’d concentrate on each case that hit her desk.

At Delray they’d called her the 3-2-1 Girl behind her back. The name had followed her to Oakland; she knew that much. She was sure someone in Delray had been happy to pass on warnings after the transfer became official because by that time it was too late; Oakland was getting what it was getting. The office manager and finance controllers could only sit tight and hope that the less eventful surroundings of the suburbs might tame the 3-2-1 Girl.