Iron Cast by Destiny; Soria Page A

warned him that you don’t have two pennies’ worth of brains to rub together.”
    â€œNext thing I throw at you won’t be a dishrag,” Danny said mildly.
    â€œSee you later, Danny,” Ada said, giving Corinne a nudge.
    The three of them went downstairs. Corinne angled toward Johnny’s door first but saw that it was shut. At this hour, that meant he was not to be disturbed. She unbuttoned her coat and plopped down in an armchair. Ada and Gabriel sat on the couch.
    â€œThere aren’t usually cops on that beat before noon.” Ada was picking at a loose thread on her sleeve, but her expression was far from nonchalant.
    â€œThey’ve been edging into our territory ever since the Harvard Bridge,” Corinne said.
    â€œI told you it was too big.”
    â€œWe pulled it off, didn’t we?” Corinne leaned back in the chair, crossing her arms. “Johnny will handle the bulls.”
    Ada didn’t look appeased, but something else caught her attention, and she leapt to her feet.
    â€œWhat the hell are you doing here?” she asked, her normally mild voice ringing through the room.
    Corinne twisted in her seat to see the redheaded young man who had just come out of Johnny’s office.
    He looked from Ada to Corinne and swallowed. His eyes were widened slightly.
    â€œI’m glad you’re back, Ada,” he said. He had a soft voice, all smooth edges and warm timbre.
    Ada started around the coffee table, spitting out a string of curses. Corinne grabbed her arm as she passed and yanked her to a stop.
    â€œIt’s not Saint’s fault,” she whispered.
    The look Ada gave her was pure and righteous fury. “The bastard flipped on me,” she said.
    In the quiet room, her words carried. Johnny had come out of his office during the racket and was leaning in his doorway, watching them in silence.
    â€œWhat do you mean?” Corinne asked.
    â€œI mean that they didn’t have enough to arrest either of us, and he let the bulls scare him into confessing. They promised him if he told them everything, he could walk.”
    Corinne couldn’t find any words.
    â€œAda,” said Saint. “Ada, please, you don’t understand.”
    â€œ
You
don’t understand,” Ada shouted, pushing past Corinne and shoving him backward. “Two weeks I rotted in that hole, all because you couldn’t take the heat.”
    â€œI didn’t know what else to do,” he said, pleading. “You have to understand—”
    â€œYou should go, Saint,” said Corinne.
    He looked at her, his gray eyes begging her to intervene.
    â€œGo,” Corinne repeated.
    He left, and Corinne laid her hand on Ada’s arm, but she shook her off.
    â€œI didn’t know,” Corinne said. “You should have told me.”
    She thought of the painting Saint had given her and the wild-flowers, both shoved unceremoniously under Ada’s bed. She realized that Ada had told her, and she just hadn’t been paying attention.
    â€œI didn’t think it mattered,” Ada said. “I didn’t think the little snake would ever show his face here again.”
    â€œAda.” It was Johnny, still standing in the doorway of his office. “Come in here for a minute.”
    Corinne pulled the cash from her coat pocket and started to join her, but Johnny shook his head.
    â€œJust Ada.”
    Ada and Corinne exchanged a glance. Then Ada took the money from Corinne and followed Johnny into his office. Corinne sat down on the couch and massaged her temples. She had the beginnings of an awful headache. She needed a drink.
    â€œWho was that?” Gabriel asked.
    â€œSebastian Temple,” Corinne said. “We all call him Saint. He’s lived here about five years, but he’s known Johnny for longer than that.”
    â€œI gather he was with Ada when she got arrested.”
    â€œI haven’t seen him since that night.