Madison spoke with easy confidence.
"The other day in Queens, I ran into someone who claimed to be a descendant of the Atlantis royal family and specialized in spiritual healing for rich women. He charged by the minute. I went in and sat for a while, and he poured me a glass of water with a lemon slice in it and told me it was 'Seven Seas Energy Resonance Fluid.'"
The indignant little witch had a strong sense of responsibility too.
"How did you respond?"
"I told him that if he could take one sip of his resonance fluid, I'd pay. He hesitated, then said it was pure energy and couldn't be drunk, that drinking it would harm the body. So I told him to refund those clients their money, or I'd come sit outside his door every day. Then he refunded the money he shouldn't have taken."
Madison said it very calmly, as if she were talking about something perfectly ordinary.
Ian did not comment. He only looked at her. "Then what were you planning to do tonight?"
"I originally wanted to investigate that abandoned factory. Someone posted anonymously online saying there were strange lights there at night all the time, and that people had heard sounds like a low-frequency hum. I thought someone might be secretly running experiments there, so I came over to take a look. I didn't expect something like this to happen."
She lowered her head and glanced at her wrist. "Turns out there really was something there."
"And now?"
"Now I'm done investigating. No one will be going there for the time being." She pulled her cuff back into place. "Superman handles the daytime. The night belongs to me."
Ian gave her another thumbs-up.
The two of them did not speak again. They stood