The Fire and the Veil (Veronica Barry Book 2) by Sophia Martin Page B

private school Angie attended when she met Grant Slecterson. Veronica sat in on Khalilah’s class, pretending to be doing it solely for her BTSA requirements, but in fact she’d gone to see what was troubling Angie.
    “I—what’s this about?” Veronica asked.
    “Veronica, if you don’t mind, I’d rather not get into it over the phone. Will you meet with me, or not?”
    “I don’t know,” Veronica said. “I don’t mean to be rude, but we didn’t exactly have a—I don’t know. You were pretty hostile last time we met.”
    “You mean at Penny Coffee on Friday? I was planning to talk to you then, I just lost my nerve.”
    “Lost your nerve?” Veronica rubbed her eye with one hand. “What does that mean?”
    “I wasn’t sure I wanted to talk to you, then. But now… well, I have to.”
    “What…? I didn’t mean at Penny Coffee anyway,” Veronica said, trying to bring the conversation around somehow so that it would begin to make sense to her. “I mean when all those things happened, when we were looking for Angie. You were… hostile. You thought I was trying to trick Melanie.”
    “Well, that detective told me you were a con, and clearly she was wrong,” Khalilah snapped. Daniel’s partner had opposed Veronica’s aid in the investigation, accusing her of running a scam. As it turned out, she was trying to keep Veronica from uncovering some of her own secrets, but Khalilah didn’t know that.
    Veronica raised her eyebrows. “So… you want to see me to apologize?” she asked, although she could tell from Khalilah’s tone that that was not the case.
    “Fine, look. I’m sorry,” Khalilah said, her tone suddenly pleading. “You’re right, I was beastly to you. But I didn’t believe you could do what you said and the only thing that made sense was what the detective said… I thought that you were colluding with that boy.”
    “Gee, thanks for the sincere apology,” Veronica said, and then wished she hadn’t given in to the urge to be sarcastic. But her ability was a sore spot for her—all of her life she’d paid for what she could do, in myriad ways. She couldn’t just let Khalilah’s accusations go.
    “Veronica, I said I’m sorry, and I am. After it was all over—I can’t deny what you did. It was real. I apologize for saying the things I said. I just want you to understand that I didn’t say them out of malice.”
    Veronica didn’t answer right away. Then she released her breath. “Okay. I do understand. Apology accepted.”
    “Good,” Khalilah said. “Now, will you please agree to meet with me tomorrow, at, say, four?”
    “Where?” Veronica asked.
    “Penny Coffee?”
    “Alright.”
    “Thank you,” Khalilah said. “I’ll see you then.”
    “Are you sure you can’t give me some idea of what this is about?” Veronica asked.
    “I’ll explain everything tomorrow. See you then.”
    “See you then,” Veronica echoed, and then Khalilah hung up. Veronica gazed at the phone, feeling confused. At least Khalilah had apologized. That was something. Still, this whole thing was weird.
    She went back to cleaning, wiping down the kitchen counter and disinfecting the bathroom. The cats, Binky, a three-year-old seal point Birman, and Blossom, an eight-year-old long-haired white cat, sat in the middle of the living room floor, watching her walk to and fro as if they were spectators at a tennis match. Harry was in the backyard. She shared it with her neighbor who had the other half of the duplex, but there was a wooden fence dividing it.
    She was just about to take out the trash when she heard Harry start barking. Binky and Blossom bolted into the bedroom to hide under the bed. Veronica tied off the bag and washed her hands. Then a knock came on the door.
    It was Daniel. As he came in he gave her a kiss on the mouth. It felt nice—his lips were soft and dry. She smiled at him.
    “Are you about ready to go?” he asked.
    “Let me change into some sneakers.”
    Daniel waited as