Page 1 of Gave Proof Through the Night

1

ERICA

Chapter playlist:

Wild Child — The Black Keys

Bad Reputation — Joan Jett & the Blackhearts

The wallet goes from the man’s back pocket to my fingers to Rue’s hand in under two seconds, and I still think I could’ve shaved another half.

Sloppy. But I’m the only one who knows that.

“Sir?” Rue calls out, already three steps behind him, her voice doing the breathless-concerned thing she does so well. “Excuse me… I think you dropped something?”

The man turns. He’s maybe forty, wearing a Georgetown Law pullover. He pats his back pocket. All the blood drains from his face.

“Oh! Oh wow.” He takes the wallet from her hands like she’s handing back a lost puppy. Opens it. Counts his cards. Closes it. “Thank you so much.”

Rue beams. She should win awards for that beam.

He walks away, wallet safely returned to the exact pocket I lifted it from, none the wiser. I fall into step beside her.

“A little slow on the approach,” I say.

She shoots me a look. “I was wearing wedges.”

“Exactly.”

“What? I hit a lumpy spot.”

“Okay, Rue.”

We’ve been at this for almost an hour in Georgetown Waterfront Park, trading off, switching who lifts and who receives, running the handoff until it’s as effortless as breathing.

I’ve been in DC for three days now, but Rue arrived today, at my request. I like a good practice every now and then, but that’s not really why we’re here. Still, skills go soft if you don’t use them, so why not? My dad used to say idle hands in a way that was deeply ironic given the profession. And, if I’m being completely honest, it’s just really fun. But I have a rule. Always… always give it back.

You are a deeply unusual person, I tell myself pleasantly.

Rue stretches her arm across her chest and looks out at the river like she’s just a woman enjoying the view.

“So… You’re in?” I ask.

She side-eyes me. “Did you think I wasn’t going to be in?”

“I think it’s polite to ask.”

“Erica.” She turns to face me fully. She has this quality where she looks like an old soul and a party girl at the same time. It is a gift.

“It’s Cinco de Mayo. I came to meet you in this boring city when I should be eating chips and salsa wearing a cheap sombrero in New York. I’m in.”

We circle back into the park. The game continues.

The thing about the waterfront is that everyone is just carelessly flaunting their “goodies” unnecessarily. We’re not actually shopping for a score, but seriously, people! Wallets in back pockets? Walking while distracted on the phone? They’re practically screaming, “Here, take my stuff!”

I lift a watch off a man in a Vineyard Vines quarter-zip so cleanly he doesn’t so much as twitch. Rue gets a phone off a woman who was actively looking at it, which she will be insufferable about for the rest of the afternoon.

“Class is in session,” Rue announces after returning the phone to the lady. She gave her a story about it falling from the woman’s bag and the woman believed her.