Cassidy's hands kept working, now in the midst of a ritual they could conduct almost without looking. The burner was on the floor between the two of them. The needles, still inside their sterile plastic containers, sat on the blanket next to Cassidy, ready to be deployed.

"Mm. Families, eh?" Cassidy couldn't a hundred percent relate — his family life had been fine, all things considered — but he could empathize, and keep listening if Matt had more to say on the topic.

His fingers teased open the bag of heroin.