Chapter 108

I encouraged him to speak with my silence, without taking my eyes off him. He did not turn toward me; he continued looking straight ahead, and the lights from the bank illuminated his angular profile.

“What happened with the cats is secondary, a perk of the job. The problems of beasts are solved the way of beasts, after all; but I couldn’t fix the problem I had with Anya that way.”

“Obviously not,” I agreed softly.

“And I didn’t make much effort to fix it either.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Because that’s how it was!” The anger with which he responded almost made me jump, but I realized it was self-hatred. “She was terrified, and I didn’t even dare to touch her. She wasn’t crazy; she was just afraid of me. Anya needed help, and I didn’t want her to get it. I didn’t want to take her to a professional, for fear that they would put her in a mental institution and take her away from me forever. I needed her. I was selfish and decided for both of us. She was pe