Chương 4
"What?"
"The credit exposure tied to Albright Enterprises is worse than we estimated last year."
My shoulders stiffened.
"How much worse?"
"I don't want to discuss numbers while you're in a car with Hazel."
"Then discuss structure."
A pause.
"Three subsidiaries have been using Crawford-backed facilities to support obligations that were never disclosed to us."
"How?"
"Layered guarantees, related-party transfers, some aggressive reporting."
"Fraud?"
"I didn't say that."
"You didn't have to."
"I said don't get ahead of the evidence."
The old rhythm between us returned unexpectedly.
Thomas had been my father's general counsel before I learned how to drive.
He never used a dramatic word when a dull one could survive cross-examination.
"How long have you known?"
"Suspected?"
"Known."
"Today."
The answer annoyed me.
That was reassuring.
Annoyance was easier than fear.
"What did my call actually trigger?"
"An internal suspension of discretionary support, preservation notices, and review of pending transfers."
"Freeze anything that is legally ours to freeze."
"We are."
"And send the evidence we already have to outside counsel."
"Already done."
"The prosecutor?"
"Not yet."
I looked at Hazel.
She had found a tissue in her backpack and was folding it into a triangle.
"Why not?"
"Because anger isn't chain of custody."
That silenced me.
Thomas continued.
"If crimes occurred, we handle this properly."
"I know."
"No, you want them punished properly."
I watched traffic collect at a red light.
A man on a motorcycle knocked twice on the roof of the car beside him to tell the driver his gas cap was open.
The driver stared at him as though he were being attacked.
"I want Hazel safe."
"Then start there."
The dental office was in a low medical building near Beverly Glen.
When we arrived, Thomas was standing by the entrance in a navy suit without a tie.
He looked older than I remembered.
Not dramatically.
Just honestly.
More gray around the temples.
A deeper line beside his mouth.
He stared at me.
Then his attention dropped to Hazel.
Whatever he had prepared to say disappeared.
Hazel stared back.
"Are you Richard?"
Thomas almost smiled.
"No."
"Oh."
She looked disappointed.
"I'm Thomas."
"Mommy talked to you."
"She did."
"Do you know Richard?"
"Very well."
"Is he nice?"
Thomas glanced at me.
"Sometimes."
Hazel nodded gravely.
"That's what Mommy said."
The dental receptionist opened the door and called Hazel's name.
Inside, everything smelled faintly of mint and disinfectant.
Hazel squeezed my hand until her fingernails hurt.
The dentist, Dr. Leung, examined her carefully.
He asked how the injury happened.
I said, "An adult struck her."
His eyes lifted to mine.
He asked again, more specifically.
"Open hand?"
"Yes."
"Once?"
I hesitated.
Cassandra had struck Hazel before I grabbed her wrist the second time.
"Once landed."
Thomas stood near the wall.
His face had gone expressionless.
Dr. Leung photographed the injury.
He checked Hazel's gums and ordered imaging.
The adult teeth appeared undamaged.
Hazel cried when she heard that.
Not from pain.
From relief.
She covered her face with both hands.
"My big teeth aren't scared."
Dr. Leung glanced at me.
"No, kiddo."
He lowered his stool.
"They're just waiting."
She laughed wetly.
Then he explained that the bleeding would settle, the gum tissue would heal, and the most important thing was monitoring for pain, swelling, or changes.
His tone remained gentle until he turned back to me.
"Because this involved an adult striking a child, I need to document what you told me."
"I understand."
"And I strongly recommend you contact law enforcement."
Thomas didn't move.
I felt his silence more than if he had spoken.
I signed the treatment papers.
When we stepped into the hallway, my father was there.
Richard Crawford had ignored the instruction after all.
He stood beside a vending machine holding two cups of terrible hospital coffee.
For a moment, he looked exactly as he had the day I left him.
Tall.
Impatient.
Impossible.
Then Hazel came out from behind me.
His face changed.
The cups began shaking in his hands.
One lid popped loose and coffee spilled over his fingers.
He didn't seem to notice.
Hazel looked up at him.
"Are you Richard?"
My father swallowed.
"Yes."
She studied him.
"Are you nice?"
Thomas turned away.
I bit the inside of my cheek.
My father looked at me, bewildered and wounded by a question he had probably never been asked in seventy-one years.
"Not consistently," he said.
Hazel smiled despite her swollen mouth.
"Me neither."
Richard set the coffee down.
Then he crouched several feet away from her rather than coming closer.
"Hello, Hazel."
She leaned against my leg.
"Hello."
He looked at the blood on her dress.
His hands closed slowly.
"Does it hurt?"
"A little."
"I'm sorry."
"Did you do it?"
His eyes flashed toward me.
"No."
"Then you don't have to be sorry."
My father stared at her.
Thomas cleared his throat.
Richard looked down.
"I've missed quite a lot."
I felt six years rise between us.
"Yes."
Hazel tugged my coat.
"Chicken nuggets."
Richard blinked.
"What?"
"Mommy said after the dentist."
I almost laughed.
Thomas did.
A short, surprised sound.
My father stood.
"I know a place."
"Does it have fries?"
"Yes."
"Good fries?"
Richard considered the question with ridiculous seriousness.
"Excellent fries."
Hazel took my hand.
"Can Richard come?"
The answer stuck somewhere behind my ribs.
Before I could force it out, the black phone vibrated again.
Thomas checked his own phone at the same moment.
His expression changed first.
"What?"
He looked at Richard.
Then at me.
"Albright Enterprises just requested an emergency draw of forty million dollars."
My father became completely still.
I stared at Thomas.
"Against what?"
"The Crawford-supported revolver."
"When?"
"Four minutes ago."
Richard picked up his coffee, realized it had spilled, and set it down again.
"They know."
"Know what?" I asked.
"That somebody has started looking."
Thomas turned his phone toward us.
An approval request filled the screen.
May you like
I recognized Spencer's electronic signature.
For six years, he had treated me like a woman too useless to understand a bank statement.
