Page 61 of Midnight Auto Parts

Pocketing god bones sounded like a terrible idea. “What will we do then?”

“We’ll use them to track the missing pieces.”

“I thought only skulls could map their bones?”

“Yes.” His expression softened. “But this is similar to a witch casting a tracking spell.”

“So, just to recap, a skull knows all its bones, but individual bones can recognize each other?”

“Gods’ magic pumped through flesh and bone, from life into death, binding them into eternity.”

While I filed that away undercool new powers, I set to work selecting a small bone from each skeleton. I was tucking them into my pocket when Kierce returned for me, and we left to find Carter. She sat on the tailgate of her truck, holding a paper map while two officers indicated large areas with a marker.

“We’re leaving.” I waited as she called a break in their strategizing. “I’ll call and update you later.”

“Do you need a lift?” She didn’t glance up from her task. “I can have someone run you home.”

“I’ll call a Swyft.” I tugged Kierce away from the crowd and opened the rideshare app. “You and I will gather any supplies you think we might need then pick up the wagon and leave fromthe shop. That’ll give me a chance to check on Matty and Josie before we head out again.”

“Should we bring them coffee?” Kierce kept a hand in his pocket. “Paco told me it was a hangover cure.”

“For Paco, maybe. Pascal hates coffee.” Personal tastes carried over from life, regardless of the fact they used the same set of taste buds—Matty’s—for everything. “Thanks for thinking of them, though.”

“You don’t drink the way they do.” He sounded curious, not judgmental. “They enjoy being drunk?”

“This isn’t going to win me points, but I’m too uptight. I don’t like to lose control. I do go out drinking for birthdays or whatever, but it’s not a release to me the way it is for them. They surrender their worries to it for a few hours and feel better for it.Afterthe hangover. I end up feeling guilty for not being responsible or panic imagining what could have happened to Matty or Josie without me looking out for them.”

Last night’s shenanigans drove home that my siblings required more than a designated driver for nights out. I was convinced they required a designated sitter for nights in too. Maybe I should break down and install baby gates. That would save me lots of hassle. Maybe those plastic twisty knob covers for the doors too.

“I can’t remember being drunk,” he admitted, “but I don’t enjoy losing control either.”

“That sounds like a challenge.” I checked on our ride. “We’ll have to buy some beer and?—”

“You don’t have to put in the effort to give me an experience you don’t enjoy.” He trailed a knuckle down my cheek. “That’s not fair to you.”

The people pleaser in me recoiled in horror at having failed him, but…

A sense of relief swept through me, loosening my shoulders, the second he passed on the idea. That told me I hadn’t wanted to do it, but I would have done for him what I often did for my siblings when an idea struck them. I would have gone along with it for his sake. I probably would have had fun, I usually did, but it was nice for someone to hear my reluctance and not push until it faded to acceptance.

“The next time Josie and Matty get a wild hair to make poor life choices, I’ll let you know, and you can decide if you want to join them.” I pictured how very fast that could go very wrong. “I’ll supervise.”

A small blue car pulled onto the shoulder several yards away, a glowing Swyft sign stuck to the windshield, and I waved to reassure the driver.

We had few safe topics of conversation, so we kept quiet during the trip, each of us lost in thought.

To ensure I didn’t forget, I texted Carter an update that might make more sense to her than to us.

>Three more bones have gone missing.

>>Three more women too.

No surprise, she made the connection faster than Kierce or I had, but she wasn’t a cop for nothing.

>>Anything else?

>Not off the top of my head.

>>Keep me updated.

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