Page 28 of This Ravenous Fate
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Theo Smith’s home was an ordinary row house with an ivy-covered fence in front and neatly kept flowers on the front stoop. Already, Elise was confused. They had come here to Brooklyn, yet the scene of the crime sat right at the edge of Harlem reaper territory. Why had a human been lurking there at all?
Elise allowed herself to consider that Layla’s claim about Theo—that he had not been human when she knew him—was in the realm of possibility.
“You should stay out here,” she told Layla. “His parents probably still think you’re involved in the murder, and I want them to feel like they can open up to me.”
Layla nodded and remained on the sidewalk. Elise climbed the front steps but turned back for a moment. She knew this area wasn’t far from the neighborhood where Layla had lived with her family; she watched the reaper for any sense of acknowledgment. But there wasonly a sharp bitterness in Layla’s eyes. Elise’s own memories were rife with familiarity; when her parents would come for tea at the Quinn home and Elise would follow Layla to the attic, where they would point at the stars through the tiny round window and make wishes.
To dance the lead inSwan Lakein Paris had always been Layla’s wish.
To perform her own original music throughout the world in front of an awe-filled audience had always been Elise’s dream.
Knocking on the door to the Smith house felt strangely familiar. In Paris, visiting friends involved strolling into different neighborhoods where they lived. There were no vengeful reapers after her in Paris, making her afraid to go out on her own. But here, back at home, chauffeurs drove her everywhere or else the Saint guards brought people to the house. She should have paid attention to the moment Paris began to feel more like home than Harlem.
A young Black woman with tired eyes opened the door. It was nearly midday, but she wore a silk robe and a scarf on her head, like she had just gotten out of bed. A pang of sympathy hit Elise; Theo’s mother was taking her son’s death like a physical blow.
“Theo isn’t home. He’s not coming home. Please stop coming by, and tell his other friends to stop coming by. I can send the funeral information, but I…” Her face went slack while she stared Elise down, as if she was just now seeing her clearly. “You’re not his classmate, are you? I don’t recognize you.”
Elise shook her head. “I’m Elise Saint. I’m here to see you, if I may please have a moment of your time.”
“Saint?” Mrs. Smith’s grip tightened on the door as she noticed Elise’s ring. “Can you help us?”
“I just have a few questions about Theo. I’m hoping your answers will help me figure out what happened to him,” Elise said.
But Mrs. Smith looked skeptical. “You look too young to… You’re even younger than my daughter, Millie.” She finally moved back and let Elise inside. The Saint name was well enough known throughout New York that it either roused resentment, or trust. Elise was lucky to have the latter on her side today.
“I’m sorry, I would offer you tea, but we ran out. It’s the only thing I can stomach right now.”
Once they were settled in the living room, Elise pulled out a notebook and pen. “When was the last time you saw Theo alive?”
A new wave of sadness seemed to crash over Mrs. Smith, her hands shaking while she wrung them together. “The day before it happened. He said he was going to stay the night with friends and that I would see him in the morning, but he never came home.” Her voice trembled. “I knew I should have made him come home. These damn reapers are killing us. Our poor children can’t be normal children.”
“I understand how that feels.” Elise swallowed hard, thinking of how just a few hours ago, Josi wept while she walked up the gangway to the ship. “That’s why I’m here today.”
Mrs. Smith took a deep breath before speaking again. “Theo was a very social young man. He was always with friends after school, sometimes even before school. It’s strange, I feel like I hardly saw himin the days leading up to…” Mrs. Smith’s voice caught. “His usual group of friends came by one day and they asked for him and I was confused because I thought he was with them. That’s when I found out he was hanging around new people. I thought he had joined a gang. He was spending so much time at the Cotton Club, and he came home smelling like alcohol.” She whispered the last words.
The anguish and fear in the woman’s voice was almost too much for Elise to bear. She desperately wanted to stop her, but she knew she needed to hear more. “Do you know the names of the people Theo was seeing at the Cotton Club?”
“I can’t be sure that he ever went in the club. You know that’s not allowed. But he associated with performers and people who supplied products there, I believe. Or so I’ve heard from neighbors,” Mrs. Smith said. “I really don’t…” She trailed off, pursing her lips as her eyes filled with new tears. “I’m not sure how much longer I can go on, Miss Saint.”
Elise leaned across the table and placed her hand over Mrs. Smith’s shaking ones. “Thank you for taking the time to speak with me. Would you mind sharing with me the information you’ve gotten from the police? Autopsy results, anything—”
Mrs. Smith’s frown deepened. “They have not stopped by yet. I’ve gone to the station, but they say they have other cases to take care of first.”
A sour taste filled Elise’s mouth at those words. Still, she stood, smiling gently. “I will get answers for you. I’m so sorry for your loss. I pray his soul is at peace.”
Layla was leaning against the fence when Elise left the house. “How did it go?” she asked.
Elise sighed. “As well as an interrogation of a grieving mother can go.” She paused on the sidewalk, thinking. “Mrs. Smith said Theo spent time outside the Cotton Club. But…why? He was a fifteen-year-old boy who probably had much better things to do.” She stiffened when she felt Layla lean close to her, her shoulder brushing her arm while she looked over the notes she’d taken.
“Maybe he worked there,” Layla said.
“Don’t you think his mother would have known that, though?” Elise asked.
Layla sighed. “Not if it was a speakeasy.”
“Right.” Elise swallowed. “Mrs. Smith said the police have not been by, nor have they helped her at the station. I thought…” She bit her lower lip as it trembled. “I thought we would assist on the case, but I think we’re the only ones who are invested at all.”
