"So I've been thinking about what Mr. Donovan said," Spot said over dinner that night. We were in the lounge of the lodging house. Most of the younger boys were at school, and the kitchens had served their dinner. Spot had brought up a tray for me and one for himself. Because he's the leader the Children's Aid people allow him to do that-maybe because they know he'll return and even wash the dishes. That's good, because we can't afford to eat out all the time, especially because there's another thing Spot does for his boys. He buys bread. There are plenty of places to scrounge food, and a group of nuns hands out breakfast many mornings, but there are days the nuns aren't there, and scrounging doesn't always work for all the boys. There are too many of them. So he buys loaves of bread. He, Red, Greasefoot, and Lefty always have bread on them, and the boys know they can grab some so they don't have to steal. Spot says he uses jar money, but I suspect the older boys contribute some days. Those four are the top sellers most days.
"I had an idea, but I don't know if you'll like it," Spot was saying, and I snapped back to the present, taking in a forkfull of green beans. I looked at him a bit worriedly as he continued, "It occurred to me that Santorelli needs victims who are easy targets. That means girls who probably don't have families," Spot said, and I nodded. That made sense.
"So he probably chooses girls who live at the Working Girls Home," I supplied, and I thought I saw where this was headed.
"Yeah," Spot said. "And I was thinking we can get Goldie to do some digging for us." I bit my lip. What was he going to tell Goldie? I barely knew her! She was nice enough, to be sure, but I didn't actually know her very well. "I won't say anything specific, Cat," Spot said, and I nodded. "But Goldie isn't dumb. She might be able to put two and two together. She's discreet. She wouldn't say anything, even if she knew, and certainly not if she only suspects. But I thought you should know."
"I guess people will find out eventually," I said, trying not to cringe at the thought.
"Remember what I said? Nobody will think any less of you," he answered, catching my eye and looking steadily at me in that way that makes me feel better.
"You always seem to know things. I've trusted you on everything else, so I guess I should trust you on this," I said, giving him a small smile. He leaned over and gave me a quick kiss.
"You're incredible," he said, grinning at me.
"Will I have to talk to Goldie?" I asked.
"Nah, I can do it. I know her, and I can phrase it in a way that keeps you mostly out of it," he said. I smiled at that.
"I've been thinking about this, too," I said, and he looked a bit surprised at that. "I wonder if we should talk to Muriel. She's the other cleaning girl, and she's about my age. She's really shy and quiet, and she always cleaned his office while he was in there. She lives with her uncle, I think, but she might still be good to talk to. But I don't know how to get in touch with her other than work."
Spot nodded, a thoughtful expression on his face. "I'll track her down tomorrow," he said. "I don't want you anywhere near that place." I smiled at him gratefully.
"So what do I do?" I asked, feeling like he was doing all the work.
"You start thinking about life after all of this," he said. "And you save up your energy. It's going to be a long day with Mr. Donovan." He stood and began collecting dishes.
"Can I at least do that?" I asked, rising as well.
"Sorry, Darlin. There will still be a few ladies downstairs for awhile, so it has to be me," he said, and I sighed in frustration.
"I'll just be over there in the corner trying not to make any extra work for anyone," I grumbled, and he grinned.
"Sorry, Cat. Not your fault," he said again, taking the tray of dishes, giving me a wink, and heading down the stairs. I groaned and flopped into the overstuffed armchair.
"Katja?" a voice interrupted my pout, and I looked up to see Roller and Tyke, the new little boy who was maybe five years old. Roller had really taken the little one under his wing. It was cute to see the kid, who was seven now, being a role model to someone. I grinned at him. I loved that kid, and the new kid looked at me with awe.
"What can I do for you guys?" I asked, wondering why Tyke was so awestruck.
"Since you're back, can we finish the story we started before you left?" Roller asked, and I couldn't help it. My heart melted.
"I'd love that. Go get the book," I said, and as he scampered off, Tyke looked at me with wide eyes.
"Are you going to marry Spot?" he asked. I could feel my cheeks burn as I struggled for an answer to such an innocent question.
"What makes you think that, Tyke?" I managed to choke out.
"You're the girl and he's the boy. That's how it works," he said knowingly, and I recovered a bit.
"We'll see," I said with a smile as Roller returned with the book. It wasn't long before I had another big group of young boys around me, listening as I read, and for the moment I was able to pretend that the previous six weeks hadn't happened.