money.”
“They normally foster kids from powerful, well-connected families—Kennedys, Rockefellers, Du Ponts, that kind of thing. Pardon me, but what you’re describing sounds rather bourgeois.”
I feigned outrage, drawing myself up to my full inconsequential height. “I’ll have you know that I’m a DAR, and a direct descendent of one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence.”
O’Shea laughed. I joined in, relieved to discover that he got irony and sarcasm. Most Álfar seem like they need a humor implant. But maybe that was because the ones I had met were making formal calls on a powerful vampire lord. “It’s funny,” he said. “In some ways we’re a lot alike, and in other ways polar opposites.”
“How are we alike?”
A plate of kung pao chicken and a covered bowl of rice crashed down onto the table. The teenager had returned. O’Shea spooned out a large amount of rice and slathered it with the chicken dish.
“Neither one of us knows our actual families very well. I was fostered with humans. You were fostered by a spook.”
“Okay, now that really is a pejorative. Is this you being all self-loathing or something?” I asked.
He grinned at me. It was a very nice grin, somehow both mischievous and warm. It’s all snake oil, the sensible part of my brain reminded me. He’s an Álfar; they trade on charm.
The waiter returned with our vegetable moo shu. Dumped it and left. John started spreading hoisin sauce on the translucent pancakes.
“I self-identify as human, and my parents—foster parents—are the kind of people who shower after work.”
“So, you’re a blue-collar elf.”
“Yeah, that’s a good description.”
“I’m confused. I’ve never heard of Álfar putting up a child to be fostered.”
“But I bet you’ve heard of changelings.”
“So you were?”
“Yep, literally swapped in the crib. My human folks realized there was no hope of getting back their real son, so they made the best of the situation. I tried not to disappoint.”
“What does your father do?” I asked somewhat absently, because I was fascinated by the performance being made over the construction of the moo shu.
O’ Shea’s chopsticks darted into the piles of stir-fried vegetables and egg, pulling out large gobs that he deposited onto the pancakes.
“He’s a cop in Philly.” With deft twists of the chopsitcks, O’Shea folded together the edges of the pancakes to form Chinese burritos. “So, naturally, I became a cop too.”
“Oh, that’s right, Chip mentioned you’d been a cop. Sorry.”
“No problem. No reason you should remember my background.”
A moo shu was deposited on my plate. It smelled so amazingly good, my mouth filled with saliva. I picked it up with my hands, took a bite, and mumbled around the mouthful, “You’re the strangest Álfar I’ve ever met.”
“And you’re not your standard run-of-the-mill lawyer. Name one other lawyer in the firm who would have fought it out with a werewolf.”
“All the vampires.”
“Okay, living lawyers.”
“You’re making me sound … Look, I’m nothing special.”
“I think the jury’s out on that.”
And the smile was back. The devastating, heart-flipping, soul-wrenching smile.
7
The next day we were back on the seventieth floor, and I discovered I had been moved out of my cave and into Chip’s office. The window gave me a momentary emotional lift, followed immediately by a crushing sense of guilt. I had literally gotten this office over a man’s dead body. I also remembered McGillary’s words and attitude regarding Chip’s cases. Don’t get too excited by this, Ellery. This is not a promotion, not really.
For a long time I just sat and contemplated my prospects. I muttered my father’s mantra. “You make your own luck.”
If I could somehow bring Abercrombie to a successful conclusion and then start bringing in some business on my own, this still might work out. I spotted the stack of
“They normally foster kids from powerful, well-connected families—Kennedys, Rockefellers, Du Ponts, that kind of thing. Pardon me, but what you’re describing sounds rather bourgeois.”
I feigned outrage, drawing myself up to my full inconsequential height. “I’ll have you know that I’m a DAR, and a direct descendent of one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence.”
O’Shea laughed. I joined in, relieved to discover that he got irony and sarcasm. Most Álfar seem like they need a humor implant. But maybe that was because the ones I had met were making formal calls on a powerful vampire lord. “It’s funny,” he said. “In some ways we’re a lot alike, and in other ways polar opposites.”
“How are we alike?”
A plate of kung pao chicken and a covered bowl of rice crashed down onto the table. The teenager had returned. O’Shea spooned out a large amount of rice and slathered it with the chicken dish.
“Neither one of us knows our actual families very well. I was fostered with humans. You were fostered by a spook.”
“Okay, now that really is a pejorative. Is this you being all self-loathing or something?” I asked.
He grinned at me. It was a very nice grin, somehow both mischievous and warm. It’s all snake oil, the sensible part of my brain reminded me. He’s an Álfar; they trade on charm.
The waiter returned with our vegetable moo shu. Dumped it and left. John started spreading hoisin sauce on the translucent pancakes.
“I self-identify as human, and my parents—foster parents—are the kind of people who shower after work.”
“So, you’re a blue-collar elf.”
“Yeah, that’s a good description.”
“I’m confused. I’ve never heard of Álfar putting up a child to be fostered.”
“But I bet you’ve heard of changelings.”
“So you were?”
“Yep, literally swapped in the crib. My human folks realized there was no hope of getting back their real son, so they made the best of the situation. I tried not to disappoint.”
“What does your father do?” I asked somewhat absently, because I was fascinated by the performance being made over the construction of the moo shu.
O’ Shea’s chopsticks darted into the piles of stir-fried vegetables and egg, pulling out large gobs that he deposited onto the pancakes.
“He’s a cop in Philly.” With deft twists of the chopsitcks, O’Shea folded together the edges of the pancakes to form Chinese burritos. “So, naturally, I became a cop too.”
“Oh, that’s right, Chip mentioned you’d been a cop. Sorry.”
“No problem. No reason you should remember my background.”
A moo shu was deposited on my plate. It smelled so amazingly good, my mouth filled with saliva. I picked it up with my hands, took a bite, and mumbled around the mouthful, “You’re the strangest Álfar I’ve ever met.”
“And you’re not your standard run-of-the-mill lawyer. Name one other lawyer in the firm who would have fought it out with a werewolf.”
“All the vampires.”
“Okay, living lawyers.”
“You’re making me sound … Look, I’m nothing special.”
“I think the jury’s out on that.”
And the smile was back. The devastating, heart-flipping, soul-wrenching smile.
7
The next day we were back on the seventieth floor, and I discovered I had been moved out of my cave and into Chip’s office. The window gave me a momentary emotional lift, followed immediately by a crushing sense of guilt. I had literally gotten this office over a man’s dead body. I also remembered McGillary’s words and attitude regarding Chip’s cases. Don’t get too excited by this, Ellery. This is not a promotion, not really.
For a long time I just sat and contemplated my prospects. I muttered my father’s mantra. “You make your own luck.”
If I could somehow bring Abercrombie to a successful conclusion and then start bringing in some business on my own, this still might work out. I spotted the stack of
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