I’d already put the incident mostly from my mind by the next day. I’d got the picture – Mr. Otter was an inveterate prankster and that was why nobody liked him. Oh, and a thief. He’d stolen the horn, too. Its owner, though, hadn’t come looking for it like that.

Maybe the horn had been part of an overall plan, not just a random theft. Thea’s father.

Thea wasn’t her real name.

I did say mostly, right? But I had to be an ordinary girl for now. I had to go to school, watch out for fairies, and try to get the right level of grades – not too good, not too bad. That was enough to be worrying about.

As I’ve said before, people in fiction never seem to care about these things. People in fiction wander around with guns even where it’s illegal, shoot places up, never get arrested, never have to hide from the cops.

People in fiction have it easy. In reality? I had so many secrets inside me at this point that some of them were bound to get out.

Which was why I sat next to Kanesha. “Bumped into Thea’s old man yesterday.”

“She has one?”

I laughed a bit. “She does seem rather like somebody you’d expect to spring full grown from somebody’s forehead, doesn’t she. But yeah. Mr. Otter stole some of his wife’s jewelry, apparently as a joke.”

“Mr. Otter’s going to end up…”

“Shoved into the reflecting pool, if that guy catches him. Otters swim, though, so I’m not too worried.”

“Sounds like they secretly get on.”

“Maybe.” I considered that. “I think there’s a very complex network of relationships I’m not seeing.

“Was Thea’s old man a really big guy with red hair?”

“You’ve met him too?”

“…oh crap. Look. I’ve been doing some reading, and I think we need to talk out of school.”

I nodded. “I’m working every night this week, though. I don’t get off until 8:30.”

“Right. And home isn’t a good place for it either. Uh…there’s the community center.”

I’d already trusted her friends once, so I nodded. “Does it stay open that late?”

“Stays open until 10. Gives everyone a chance to get home before curfew.”

I made a face, thinking about how many times I’d violated curfew this summer and got away with it. Of course, curfew was later in summer. Of course, people had just assumed that Thea was a relative.

Which she might be. Otter and Big Guy being related would explain that affectionate exasperation. Not brothers, no. I got the feeling Otter was older…in reality as well as appearance, and with the bike, I wasn’t sure I trusted appearance any more.

“Okay. I’ll go there after work tonight.” It should give us enough time and we could also walk home together, but she seemed not to want to talk about this in public.

What on earth had she worked out?