Chapter 8

“What’s the third option?”

“That’s the gruesome one,” Padraig answered honestly. “It’s called an intracardiac stick. It means going through here and sticking it directly into his heart.” He carefully patted the bunny on the spot.

Mr. Lee seemed to consider it for a while. “Which would you prefer? For him, I mean. If I wasn’t here?”

“It takes time to inject the solution, so I’d probably go with the heart. More direct approach.”

“All right. Then we go with that one. This isn’t about me—it’s about Sir Rodger, after all,” Mr. Lee said solemnly, and Padraig reached to touch the man on the arm for comfort.

The rest of it went smoothly. The rabbit didn’t twitch like some animals would, and Padraig sent a thank-you to the universe for that, like he did each time when everything went fine. Mr. Lee looked away during the jab, concentrating on petting his beloved rabbit instead.