Knives scooted past Grey and opened the door on the right . All three of them glanced inside . Their eyes widened .
It was a little girl ’ s room , painted in bright pastels . Dolls , stuffed animals and audiobooks filled tall white bookshelves while a wide door opened into another attached bathroom decorated with murals of oceans and sea animals . And in the bed , sitting on top of a Barbiethemed comforter , was a young girl with brown hair and an expressionless face , maybe five or six years old . She turned her head to look at them . The pillow under her head crackled loudly , like it was stuffed with paper .
“ Who are you ?” she asked , not with alarm but with mild curiosity . Her eyes alighted on the knife in Grey ’ s hand . “ What ’ s that for ?”
“ Um …” Grey placed the knife in the front pocket of his pants and entered the bedroom with his hands up to show he meant no harm . “ I ’ m Brian . Brian Glass . Everybody calls me Grey , though . This is Lita and Knives .”
The girl considered them a moment longer before saying , “ I ’ m Tabitha .”
“ Hi Tabitha ,” said Knives , showing a gentle side for the first time since Grey had met her . “ What are you doing here ?” “ I live here ,” she said simply . “ This is my room .” “ Y-Your room ?” Lita was astonished . “ I know it sounds strange ,” Tabitha replied , her expression still unchanged . “ Who wants to live in the county ’ s first police station and jail ?”
“ First police station and jail ?” Grey , Lita and Knives said in unison .
Tabitha nodded her head , her pillow crinkling again . “ Daddy told me about it . He said he got the house
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