CHAPTER 19

Ralph had the map he’d created with the potential lair on it. Our destination was a place called Kai Tai Lagoon. At the word lagoon I perked up, but Tonya put the skids on that mood.

“We’ve been working for years to turn it into a wetlands estuary. There’s been a lot of push-pull from property owners nearby, and the city government, but it looks like we’re finally making way in the battle.” She shrugged. “In summer, it looks like hell in there and a lot of the water dries up, but the area is great for birds. Think swampy marsh, more than crystal-clear lagoon. Right now, the mists will probably be rolling through the area.”

We drove past Tonya’s shop on Kearney Street, then took a right on East Sims Way.

“When we get to Twelfth, take a right. We can pull into the Haines Park and Ride and get to the lagoon through there.” She reached between the seats to point toward the turnoff. “Right there.”

Ralph turned into onto Twelfth Street and then, shortly after that, he swung a right into the Park and Ride. Tonya directed him toward the back and we pulled into one of the empty stalls closest to the trees that indicated the start of the lagoon. He put the Range Rover in park and turned off the ignition.

“We will have to go through the underbrush, but it’s not far of a walk. There are other turnoffs, but this will be the fastest to the area where you think the wight is hiding.”

Ralph had marked an area near an inn that overlooked the lagoon as having reported the most brawls and fistfights, and a couple disappearances. It was a little jaunt, but not too far.

“How will we know where to find the creature? If it can hide in tree trunks or other nooks and hollows, isn’t it going to take us time to ferret it out?”

Tonya shook her head. “I thought about that, actually. I’m going to wear the pendant. The wight can’t get out—he’s sealed—but it may lure this one out.”

I stared at her. “Aren’t you taking a chance? If it gets hold of you, then there’s a chance it can break the pendant and free the king. Or try to take it and become king itself. But that would be a pickle, wouldn’t it? We’d have wight fighting wight.”

“It’s a chance worth taking. Otherwise, it’s just going to take us too long to find him. We want to destroy both this one and Patrick’s wight before the night’s over. Once they realize their king is dead, they’ll be vying for power. But we’ve got luck on our side this time. Since it’s still daylight, this one will be weaker.” She gingerly slid the pendant around her neck and stared at it like she thought it was going to jump up and bite her.

After a moment, when it did nothing but hang there, she shrugged. “I can tell he’s in there, but he’s sealed away and his energy feels very muffled.”

“Okay then, let’s go see if we can lure out wight number two.” Ralph took up his place in the rear, as usual. Chai went first, with Tonya and me behind him.

As we headed into the scrubby undergrowth, vegetation crackled under my feet. The surrounding growth had died back for the winter, and even with the rains, some of the reeds and bushes were still thick enough to crunch rather than turn into a pile of mulch. The ground was soft and I could feel the shift of the water nearby. It wasn’t ocean water, that I could tell.

Lake and pond water had a distinctly different energy than free-flowing currents. It tended to be more resistant to outside interference. Mama Ocean was huge; nobody could take her down. But lakes and ponds were a lot like forests in that they worried about human intrusion and what it might do to them. Rivers, to some degree, did, too, but they had their own flow and power and they tended to ignore the surrounding world on their nonstop race to find their way back to the ocean.

I inhaled deeply. The scent wasn’t fetid—not at all—but definitely had that still, quiet marshland sense about it. This was a place of refuge; the birds were active and seemed unperturbed by our appearance. As I tuned in, I could tell that the area was in the process of becoming. It was transitioning from something that was unwanted and ignored into a bustling avian metropolis.

“I like it here.” I glanced around. “I hate to think of the wight getting his hands involved because he’ll ruin it. He’ll taint it. Right now, people are clearing away years of debris and neglect from this marsh. And the marsh is responding—it’s evolution in action. But the forest wight will bring a blight to the area. He’ll make people afraid of it and they’ll destroy the marsh rather than live in fear. He’ll cause the very downfall he’s angry about.”

Chai moved forward as we came out of the undergrowth to the clearing overlooking the lake. The ground here was like any marsh—tenuous and mushy. The water was still and a low mist was starting to roll off it.

“How are we going to find him?” I glanced around. There could be so many hiding places. I doubted he could exist underwater, but the vast amount of reeds and the thicket of shrubs provided an excellent shroud. Any duck hunter could easily create a blind out here, so it stood to reason a forest wight would have an easier effort trundling in with a burrow.

Ralph stood back. “I’m shifting form. I can run through the brush easier in wolf form, and I can look for any signs of him.”

I didn’t like the idea of splitting up, but Ralph’s idea made sense. “Go . . . but don’t put yourself in danger. The minute you find anything, get your ass back to us.”

He nodded and, without another word, smoothly transformed into his wolf shape. Within less than sixty seconds, he was off and running through the bushes. I turned to Chai and Tonya.

“Either of you have any ideas while we’re waiting?” I glanced at the sky. “Not long till dusk. I’d rather not still be out here then.”

Tonya held out her hands and slowly let out a deep breath. “Let me focus . . .” Another moment and she began to slowly turn in a semicircle, edging out, feeling her way through the rising mist that now rolled past our ankles. “Over there,” she whispered, nodding—still with her eyes closed. She had indicated a path to the left, which led to a large patch of scrub trees and undergrowth. “There’s a darkness . . . it’s unnatural. Like a shadow that has too much substance.”

“Sounds like wight energy to me.” I was getting more familiar with these creatures than I ever wanted to be and welcomed the day I could cross them off the to-do list for my résumé.

“Should we wait for Ralph?” Chai glanced over his shoulder. The werewolf had headed off in the opposite direction.

I bit my lip. Being the one in charge wasn’t all it was cracked up to be, not when there were other people I was responsible for. It was one thing to be on my own: nobody’s slave or servant or employee. It was quite another to be in charge of an operation that could endanger others’ lives.

“No . . . yes . . .” I fought with the desire to just rush ahead and kill the wight if we could find it. But Ralph was out there alone. Finally, I made a decision and stuck. “We’ll wait for Ralph.”

“I think that’s best.” Tonya clapped me on the shoulder. “He’s a good guy. I wouldn’t want to see him in trouble.”

But we didn’t have to wait long. Within five minutes, Ralph was back, shifting seamlessly back into his human form. He shook his head. “I couldn’t find anything.”

“We think we know where the wight is.” I nodded in the direction Tonya had pointed. “Tonya felt something over there. We were just waiting for you.”

“The path is wide enough to go four abreast. Do we want to do that?” Chai frowned. “I’m thinking two by two is better, to be honest.”

“Ralph, you and Tonya in back. Chai and I will go up front. Keep an eye out for anything out of the ordinary and don’t hesitate to say anything. This isn’t the time to worry about playing . . . who is it? The Boy Who Cried Lion?”

That made both Ralph and Tonya laugh.

Ralph sputtered a little. “The Boy Who Cried Wolf, the story is. And no, you’re right. Better to be overly cautious than not careful enough.”

As the afternoon light dimmed and the wind picked up, we headed forward. I had my dagger out, and Tonya, behind me, had readied her short sword. Ralph was prepared to shift form if anybody so much as got a scratch on them. And Chai—well, Chai was big enough that he really didn’t need a weapon, not for a wight. But I hoped he wouldn’t have to tackle this one. If we could just get in and out without a big fight, I’d count it a major coup.

As we approached a large thicket to the left of the marsh, Tonya let out a gasp. “He’s in there. I can feel him—the energy reeks just like it did with the other forest wight.”

With my breath caught in my throat, I very slowly turned toward the thicket. How far in would he be? It couldn’t be very deep or we’d end up on the other side of the road. My heart thudding in my chest, I swallowed and looked up at Chai. He nodded and we headed into the brush.

The scrub here was windswept—all the foliage along the edges of the peninsula seemed bent and gnarled, and with good reason. The winds came blustering in off the ocean and the strait, and their stiff, steady breezes bowed the trees back. The tangle of knee-high yellow grass crackled against my jeans as I pushed through, and all the while my pulse was keeping a staccato beat. I swept my gaze this way and that, trying to pinpoint where we should turn.

Another few feet and Tonya’s voice whispered, “Over there.” She pointed past me to the right of where Chai was standing.

I shaded my eyes in the diminishing light of the late afternoon. Sure enough, there was a dark hole leading into the brush—as if something had tunneled its way in through the foliage. There was a dank feel to it, and my stomach thudded as I stared at the circular tunnel.

“It’s barely tall enough for Ralph in his wolf form. What do we do? I’m open to suggestions.” I didn’t want to go in there bent over, my face forward to whatever might be coming down the tunnel at us.

“I could burn it off but that wouldn’t be a good thing for the rest of the marsh.” Chai frowned. “I can go inside and find out. If I shift into smoke form, I can filter in and find out what we’re facing. But if the thing sees me, it has a chance of trying to capture me.”

I knew there was a reason Chai seldom shifted into the smoky form all djinns could, but until now, I’d never known why. That solved one mystery.

“Don’t do that. I don’t want that creature even having the remotest chance of trapping you. What else have we got? I suppose we could just take your short sword, Tonya, and start hacking away at the brush.” I raised my hand to stop Ralph even before he could speak, because I knew what he was going to say. “And you aren’t going through there in wolf form either.”

“Then we all head in, I suppose. We hack and slash our way through.” Tonya shrugged. “It might alert the wight, but one way or another it’s going to find out we’re here.”

“Then we go full steam.” Chai stood back and held out his hand. “I don’t often have call to use this but . . .” As we watched, the air around his hand shimmered and a big-assed scimitar appeared. It was far bigger than Tonya’s short sword, and the edge glinted, wicked sharp. “If you three will stand out of the way . . .”

We immediately backed away. Nobody wanted to be within striking range. Chai began to sweep the blade from side to side. The scimitar sliced through the vegetation, sending sparks into the air as it did. But nothing caught fire. The faint scent of the burning foliage only made me think of how much I’d rather be inside around the fireplace than here.

A couple of moments and Chai was five feet into the tunnel. And one more moment and a rumbling sounded from back in a big mound of detritus. Then, the sound of a slow freight train, and Chai jumped out of the way as a bent and gnarled figure darted out through what was still left of the passage. The forest wight looked similar to the first, but he was shorter, and more hunched over, and his movements were erratic. I realized that he was focused on Tonya and remembered—she had the pendant!

“Don’t let him near Tonya!” I pushed her behind me as he darted toward her. “Get back!”

“Give me—give it to me.” The low voice hissed like leaves crackling on the wind and, with narrowed eyes, he kept his focus on Tonya as he rushed forward toward us. As he swept past, Chai whirled around and raised his scimitar. Horrified, I watched as he brought it down, whistling through the air, to catch hold of the single-minded creature and cleave deeply into his back.

The blade bit deep, splitting the wight’s shoulders, and as he screeched, falling forward in front of us, the ooze that flowed from his body stank of decay and mold and mushrooms. The wight writhed for another moment, but Chai pried his blade free and struck again, beheading him. Smoke poured from his mouth as it had with the king, but this time, it dissipated as it hit the air, drifting harmlessly off like soot.

I glanced over to see that Ralph had fainted dead away. Tonya was trying to wake him up.

“Two down, one to go.” Chai looked down at the creature with disgust.

I stared at the djinn. He hadn’t been lucky—that had been all skill. In all the time I’d known him, I never knew he was so good with a weapon. He caught my gaze and held it, his lips set in a thin, grim line.

“You didn’t mention that you’re skilled with a blade.” It was a statement, not a question.

He shrugged. “You never asked.” And then, perhaps because I continued to stare at him, he added, “At one time, I was an executioner. Leave it at that for now, please.” And with that, Chai turned and headed back the way we’d come.

Ralph sat up, moaning. Tonya flashed me a questioning look, but I just shook my head. Now wasn’t the time or place to explore this. I could recognize Chai’s moods by now, and he wasn’t in the mood to talk. I’d have to walk the line cautiously and accept what he was ready to tell me.

“Let’s get back to your house. It will be dusk soon, and we have to plan out our attack on the wight at Patrick’s house.” I glanced down at the body. It was already fading into the foliage—blending in with the sticks and dried grass and scrub brush, almost invisible. Within the hour, my guess was that if anybody came upon the body, they’d just think it was the remains of a small fallen tree trunk.

Ralph scrambled to his feet, still looking a little woozy. “I’m fine,” was all he said when I started to ask him.

Turning, I took the lead and we trudged back to the Range Rover, where Chai was leaning against the hood, staring off into the distance. As I passed by him on my way to the front passenger seat, I reached out and slid my fingers along his arm. He patted my hand and smiled, but as we all buckled up, he was very quiet.

•   •   •

We made it back to Tonya’s without any problem, though we stopped at Jo’s Chicken—a local eatery. As we pulled into the parking lot, I glanced at the clock. Nearly five thirty. Alex and Patrick would be awake by the time we got back to Tonya’s house.

“Jo makes the best chicken around. She’s a genius in the kitchen and one of the nicest people I know. You guys wait here while Shimmer and I go in—the place is small, it’s always packed, and there isn’t a lot of room to stand around.”

Tonya led me into the restaurant and boy, was she right about the patronage. The counter was a spotless Formica blue, lined with bar stools. Every stool was filled with someone eating. There were three tables for eat-in, all occupied as well, and one long bench for people waiting for takeout. She motioned for me to take a seat while she went up to the counter to place the order.

I found myself next to a tall, gangly man with long hair draping around his shoulders. He was wearing a turtleneck and jeans, and he looked wiry but tough. He flashed me a smile and leaned over so I could hear him over the din rising from the number of people who were crammed into the joint.

“You had Jo’s chicken before?”

I shook my head. “I’m not from around here. This will be my first time.”

The man laughed and his voice sounded easy. “You’re in for a treat. I’m Marty. So where are you from . . . ?” He held out his hand.

I accepted the handshake and answered the implied question. “Shimmer. My name is Shimmer. I live in Seattle. Just up here for a few days to help out a friend.”

The side of his lip tipped up with a gentle quirk, and it made me smile back. His eyes were dark brown, and he smelled like cinnamon. He paused, and I knew he was looking me over, but the way in which he was doing so didn’t feel invasive.

“You wouldn’t have the time to maybe visit a few of the local attractions with me, would you?”

I shook my head. “I wish I did, but no. I’m actually on a job and there isn’t much downtime.” And then, without thinking, I pulled out my wallet from my purse and handed him my business card. “If you’re ever down in Seattle, Marty . . . give me a call.” At that point, I remembered Alex and wanted to hit myself upside the head, but then again . . . it never hurt to make contacts, did it?

He glanced at it. “You work for a PI? That’s cool. I’m sure I’ll be down there at some point.” And then, before he could say anything else, the server called out a number. “That’s me. Nice meeting you, Shimmer. Maybe we’ll run into each other again.” As Marty headed toward the counter, he pocketed my card.

“You just reel them in, don’t you?” Tonya’s laugh startled me and I realized she’d been sitting next to me for . . . I didn’t know how long.

I let out a snort. “I don’t try.”

“You don’t have to. You really are striking—your eyes are so blue they practically vibrate. And your hair . . . the blue and purple streaks look totally natural.”

“That’s because they are.” I grinned at her. “Before I came down from the Dragon Reaches, my hair reached my knees. The Wing-Liege cut it as punishment.” I sobered. That was a huge insult in the Dragon Reaches—having your hair cut off.

“Why?” Tonya sniffed as one of the cooks pulled a fresh batch of chicken out of the fryer and spread it out on a pan.

I glanced around but once Marty had left, nobody else was paying much attention to me. Everybody was busy texting on their phones or reading off their tablets. I saw one woman holding an actual book—it was a paranormal romance with a leather-clad woman on the front page.

With a soft sigh, I turned back to Tonya. “Watch my hair closely.”

She looked confused but did as I asked. I closed my eyes and thought, Untangle . . . and my hair began to loosen itself. I could feel the leather of my jacket through it, I could feel the air pulsing by. I willed a strand to reach out and lightly touch Tonya’s face, and I could feel her skin under the strands. Her eyes grew wide, but she giggled, sounding more delighted than scared.

“Our hair is part of our body. When I’m in dragon form it becomes my mane. We can feel through it. I could feel your face. It’s very resilient and not easy to cut. And it grows very, very slowly. So having your hair cut? It hurts. It’s painful, and while I didn’t lose any sensation, if you see a dragon with shorter hair they’ve been either maimed or punished. It’s an obvious stigma.” I stared at the ground, feeling the shame rise up again. That had been a horrible day . . .

•   •   •

“Shimmer, come here. Stand before me.” The Wing-Liege motioned me to cross to the bench and stand on the spot reserved for criminals. He was in human form, as was I and the rest of the Council. His face was deadpan and I waited, silent and brooding. Today, he would sentence me, and I’d find out if he meant what he said or if he had changed his mind and was going to hand me over to Greanfyr.

I took my place, hands behind my back and legs spread in the obedience pose we had learned at the Lost and Foundling.

“Shimmer, outcaste and dragon of no clan, you who stand before me in the Great Hall of Justice, I charge you with breaking and entering, theft, and disrespect for your betters. I charge you with defiling a class above you with your unrequested presence. I charge you with breaking the laws of this land. How do you plead?” His voice was even, calm, and collected. He stood there, his long silver hair perfectly still as he spoke, showing no sign of emotion.

I shivered. The coolness was more frightening than Greanfyr’s wrath, and for that moment, I truly believed he was going to renege on his promise and have me executed, and there wasn’t a damned thing I could do to stop it.

Shivering, I whispered, “Guilty, Your Lordship.”

Lord Vine caught my gaze and—against custom and law—I held it rather than lowering my eyes. Regardless of what happened, I wanted him to know that I was watching him, that I—Shimmer—was standing on this pedestal, waiting his judgment.

“I sentence you to five years’ exile from the Dragon Reaches. You will be sent Earthside in accordance with my sentence, and there you will spend these five years. You will not return to the Dragon Reaches until I summon you, and you will be stripped of the strongest of your powers. I also sentence you to Savarthi’s Shame.”

Savarthi’s Shame . . . No dragon ever cut their hair—it grew ever so slowly, and it was as much a part of our body as any appendage. We could feel through it, sense through it, use it as we might another arm. Savarthi had been a dragon who had brought great shame on his family, and in the past—long past—he had threatened the Empress’s life when she was young. Before his torture and execution, he was made to stand in the middle of the Great Hall, and his hair was cut, strand by strand, till it barely covered his head. Then, in an agonizing finish, his head was shaved. His screams were said to have echoed so long and loud that they became permanently embedded in the hall’s very stones.

My heart skipped a beat. How short would they cut it? Please, please don’t cut it very short, I pleaded in my heart. Please . . . don’t make me wear my shame daily.

The Wing-Liege himself stepped forward, knife in hand. He crossed to me, and I struggled to stay standing. The weeks in jail had weakened me, the weeks away from water had drained me of strength. And now . . . this . . .

As he came near, he whispered in a low voice, “Do not faint. Do not show them your fear or your shame. Stand tall, girl. Stand tall.”

I forced my shoulders back and waited as he lifted the first tendril of my hair. Trying not to flinch, I forced myself to keep my chin level. My lip trembled as he brought the knife up, but when it hit the hair—when the searing pain drove itself through my nerves—I stayed standing, letting the burning cut run through me like water. I closed my eyes but he yanked on my hair and I opened them again.

Again, he severed the strands, and again the pain ricocheted from nerve to nerve. And again, and again . . . and so he went, until my hair was up to my midback—a good two feet shorter than it had been. The strands were on the floor, curling and writhing, like an earthworm cut in two. They would be burned, while the remaining hair on my head would heal and once again begin to grow. But the shame of the cut, and the pain that had roared to life through my body, would never heal, and would never fade. That, I knew in my core.

•   •   •

Before she could say anything, the server called our number. We picked up our order and left the restaurant. Once we were out in the evening air, Tonya hesitated.

“I love your hair. But I don’t want to bring up bad memories, so I won’t mention it again.”

I shrugged. “I have to deal with the memories at some point. But yes . . . our hair . . . it’s a hard translation but . . . it’s just a part of ourselves that we rely on. We can use it as a weapon, or as rope . . .”

She snorted. “That would come in handy in bed.” And then, as if realizing what she’d just blurted out, she colored up, blushing.

I laughed, though. “Oh, it does. Trust me. Depending on who your partner is and how they react to such play.”

As we got back into the car, Ralph and Chai looked up. Ralph had been showing Chai how to play some game on his iPad. “You’re back and that smells wonderful.” Ralph handed Chai the tablet. “You can play while we’re headed back to Tonya’s house. Just don’t break it.”

The djinn let out a grumble, but he looked in better spirits than he had been after we had killed the wight.

•   •   •

Alex and Patrick were sitting with Degoba as we trooped through the door. Tonya and Ralph began setting out dinner while Chai and I filled them in on everything that had happened while they’d been asleep. Degoba still looked dazed, but he was awake enough to listen.

“You mean it got me again? I barely remember anything.”

“If you hadn’t drugged yourself up on Sleepy-Cold, we would have been in a lot of trouble and so would you, because I don’t think the thing would have given a rat’s ass about your wounds.” I turned to Patrick. “The good news is that, given the death of the king wight and the other one, we can dispatch the one in your house and be done with it. It’s weakened now, so I suggest we get a move on tonight and finish this job.”

Alex frowned. “I don’t like that you and Ralph put yourself at risk like this. I wish you’d waited for me.”

“If we had waited, the king would have been stronger. And trust me, he was strong enough as it was.” I didn’t like arguing with my boss, but there were times it was going to happen and this was one of them.

He gave me a grumpy smile. “I guess I’m not going to be able to control you all the time. You’ve got a mind of your own, Shimmer, and never let it be said that Alex Radcliffe doesn’t like women with strong wills. We’ll shelve this part of the discussion for when we return to Seattle. So, we go wight hunting tonight.”

The thought of hunting down yet another wight made me queasy. I was tired of them and wanted to be done with it. “Yeah. After that, Tonya should be able to free the spirits bound in the house.”

The doorbell rang as Tonya and Ralph finished putting the platter of chicken on the table, along with sides of mashed potatoes and gravy, and a green salad. Tonya went to answer it and when she returned, Toby Buckland was following her. He was smiling, holding something in a small bag.

“I wanted to thank you for what you’ve done. I’m going to call her Lacy, since that’s who we think she was. I’m not sure of the whole story, though the cops told me you might have information that can help me sort it out, but the fact that you found a long-lost relative who had been . . .” He paused, emotion filling his voice. It was obvious that family meant everything to Toby.

I reached out and patted his shoulder. “We understand.”

He smiled. “Thank you. I’m going to bury her remains in the morning before sunrise. I’d like it if you could attend.” He handed Tonya a slip of paper with an address written on it. “I also brought you something.” He held up the bag.

“What is it?” I was leery of bags and pouches and trunks by now.

“This belonged to my aunt, Anna Lee. The one who cursed your house, Patrick. It’s a hex-breaker. She had several of them sitting around and I kept them. All you have to do is take it home and smash it inside the basement, and it will break her curse. Anna sold these to people she’d put curses on. It was her way of making a little extra cash from people she was mad at. Not exactly ethical, but then again, look at the family I’m from.”

Patrick took the offered sack and opened it up. Inside was what looked like a large egg made from papier-mâché. As we stared at the colorfully painted oval, it vibrated lightly in his hand. He gently returned it to the sack and set it out of the way where it wouldn’t be accidentally broken.

“Thank you, Toby. I truly am sorry about what Nathan did to your family. He wasn’t my kin, but . . . it was wrong. He wasn’t the type of man I would have befriended if I’d realized just how ruthless he was.” Patrick offered his hand to Toby, who stared at it for a moment, then slowly reached out to take it.

“I appreciate that. His deeds aren’t your deeds and there is no reason you should suffer from what he did.” He paused, staring at Patrick’s fingers against his own. “I’ve never touched a vampire before. You’re very cold.”

Patrick let out a snort, then laughed. “Yes, lad, I am very cold. We aren’t all out for world domination or supremacy, you know. Some of us just want to open a simple bed-and-breakfast and make our way in a town we love.”

Toby gave him a firm nod and then turned toward the door. “I have to go now. Please, if you can, come to Lacy’s interment. I’d be honored if you were there. And if you have anything that can help me make heads or tails out of this . . .”

“We’ll bring everything we found with us. I don’t think you’re going to like it, though—it shows some of your relatives in a very bad light.” I let out a short sigh. “We think Lacy’s parents killed her.”

Toby pressed his lips together, hanging his head. Then, with a sad note in his voice, he said, “It wouldn’t be the first time something like that happened in our family. Again, thank you and good night.” As he shut the door behind him, Tonya let out a little sigh.

“Troubles follow families like that. There are some families destined to live in sorrow.”

But Alex just shook his head. “No, love. Troubles follow all families. You can’t show me one family that doesn’t have its fair share of skeletons hanging in the closet. It’s human nature, it is. The state of being who we are. Now, the four of you eat and then we’ll head over and do our best to clear out Patrick’s house. I’m ready to put a ‘case closed’ stamp on this file.”

As we gathered around the table, I couldn’t help but agree with him.