14

Mutiny

Maria jumped up the stairs and departed the subway station. The sky had faded from a fair day to a purple bruise. One by one, lights flicked on inside the apartments and mansion windows lining Clinton Avenue. Maria turned a corner and ran up her block, but then she stopped in front of her brownstone.

The upstairs windows beamed a warm yellow. Lively shadows of heads moved inside the glow. She wondered if any of them belonged to Sebastian.

Sighing, she turned the cold knob of her front door, but it resisted. The parlor windows stared back at her, dark and solemn. The heavy curtains inside were purple and swollen, blocking out any sign of life inside.

Maria rang the doorbell and waited. An autumn chill crept inside her hoodie. She shivered and pulled the zipper up to her chin. Footsteps pounded inside, growing louder until they stopped at the entrance.

The door slowly cracked open, and two eyes stared down on Maria.

“Where were you? The library is closed,” said Madame Destine, her pale face resembling one of Mrs. Fisher’s masks in the moonlight.

“I was at the library, but—”

“Get inside!” Madame Destine grabbed Maria by the arm and pulled her into the apartment. She released Maria and deadbolted the door. Then she parted the heavy curtains and jerked her head left and right. “Who you been talking to?”

Maria rubbed her arm. “No one, I told you.”

Madame Destine slowly turned around to face Maria and narrowed her eyes. “You weren’t at the library, I checked.” Her red lips formed an eerie smile. “Now, tell me the truth!”

Maria tried to calm her shaky fingers. She unzipped her hoodie and forced herself to breathe naturally. Quickly, she came up with an excuse. “I was there … but after a while, I went for a walk around Fort Greene Park. I sat on the steps of the monument and read until it got too cold, then I returned the book in the drop box because the library was closed.”

Maria smiled to herself. She was proud of her lie. It was unlikely that Madame Destine walked all the way to the park to look for her.

“Who did you talk to in the park?” Madame Destine pried, folding her arms over her chest.

“No one.”

“No one … was following you?”

“Not that I know of.” Maria said with a shrug. She knew she needed to get away from her mom’s questions, so she backed into the master bedroom and opened the door to her closet.

But Madame Destine blocked the entrance. “Oh, we’re not done!” she said, and grabbed Maria by the wrist, pushing her in the opposite direction. “Go to the kitchen!”

Maria stumbled into the kitchen and blinked in the bright light.

Mr. Fox swung his head around from the cupboards. “Oh, there she is,” he said. He appeared to be packing boxes with dishes. “Out double-crossing your own kind?”

“I don’t know what you—”

“Silence!” said Madame Destine.

Houdini flapped his wings on Madame Destine’s shoulder.

“John has been getting more phone calls,” said Madame Destine. “Now it’s a woman’s voice. They’re looking for me. Probably have the phone tapped.”

“Who?” Maria asked. She found it hard to believe that Ms. Madigan had tapped her house.

“Don’t play coy with me, Maria. The police!”

Maria knew she should tell her mother about Officer O’Malley questioning her and the bait falling out of her pocket, but she didn’t want to send her mom into a rage. “Are you sure they’re onto your scam? Did they tell you what they want? Maybe it’s about something else. Just talk to them,” said Maria.

“Don’t be foolish. Of course they’re onto the scam!” said Madame Destine. “How else could they deduce that I’m connected with the number?”

“You stupid kid,” said Mr. Fox. “You think you know everything!” He bit off a chunk of duct tape and wrapped it around a box.

Maria knew it was definitely too late to tell her mother about the library newsletter photo. Besides. She’d never believe that the librarian was really after her signature. But Ms. Madigan was hardly a threat. Surely it would all blow over! “I think you’re overreacting,” said Maria.

“Overreacting? A police officer asked to speak to me. We’re gonna have to always be watching our backs now.” Madame Destine sighed, falling into her chair at the table. “Besides, this city has gotten far too expensive to piece together a living from small cons. Now’s as good a time as any to relocate. It’s time to move.”

“We’re moving?” Maria asked. She took in the boxes in the kitchen and Mr. Fox packing. “But why? Where will we go?” Maria tried to imagine living someplace else. Would she be able to see Mrs. Fisher? And what about Sebastian and her library?

“Well, we have two options if we stay: starve on small cons or do jail time. Do you want me to go to jail?” asked Madame Destine.

“Aye!” agreed Mr. Fox. “Your own dear mother.” His lips curled.

Madame Destine crept delicately behind Maria, placing her hands on her shoulders. “What will happen to you if we’re caught, Maria?”

Maria shrugged, but the warmth of her mother’s hands caressed her shoulders, reminding her of the times she had been sick or unhappy and Destine had taken care of her.

“You are a minor, so you are off the hook,” said Madame Destine. “But Fox and I will do time.”

“DO TIME! TIME!” echoed Houdini.

Madame Destine stopped rubbing Maria’s shoulders and placed her hands on the back of her chair. Houdini beat his wings. “Who will take care of you if we’re sent away?” Madame Destine asked in a sweet tone. “Who will be there to cheer you up with an ice cream sundae when things are looking gloomy?” Madame Destine crept around the chair so that their eyes met. “Who will be there to pat you on the back for a job well done when you follow your cues and the con is a success?”

Maria tried to imagine a different life. One without a parent. The thought terrified her. She’d been told about her unstable father, who’d left them penniless before he disappeared when she was a baby. Maria couldn’t lose her mother, too. Her eyes began to well up, but she lifted her chin proudly so she could show her mother that she hadn’t broken her spirit.

“Do you want to be put in foster care?” Madame Destine asked softly, tilting her turban toward Maria. “This life may not be all daisies and buttercups, but you know what? I’ve been true to you in good times and bad.”

Maria trembled. “I don’t want foster care.” She wiped her eyes and sniffed. “Nothing’s gonna happen to us! I swear!”

Madame Destine stared at her daughter intently. “Grow up!” she said, and brushed Maria off with her hand. “I don’t know who you been talking to, or where you’ve been disappearing, but it’s gonna stop!”

Maria didn’t want to leave her library and her familiar sidewalk. She’d miss the tiny closet she’d known for as long as she could remember. And then there were Sebastian upstairs and Mrs. Fisher. She’d miss the widow’s kindness.

“It’s too late to change what’s been done,” Madame Destine said. “We’ve got to move, and it’s all your fault.

“YOUR FAULT! YOUR FAULT!” mimicked Houdini.

Maria backed into some boxes.

Madame Destine smoothed down her dress before she reached for a box. “Don’t think this is all there is,” she said.

Maria took a deep breath and rushed for her closet.

“Double-crossing little…” muttered Mr. Fox.

Maria slammed her door and flung herself onto her dingy mattress. “Edward?” she whispered, her voice trembling. “Please, are you there, Edward?” But the air remained still and stale.

Maria lay in the dark closet and stared at the blob of hanging coats. She realized there was no going back to the way things were. She was in this mess far too deep.