Chương 3
Richard looked toward the doors again.
“Yes,” he said. “It was.”
Lily pulled his coat tighter around herself.
“My mom said you could be like that.”
Richard went still.
The security officers exchanged a glance.
The ballroom manager suddenly discovered urgent business near the orchestra.
Richard looked down at Lily.
“What else did your mother say?”
Lily’s fingers closed around the locket.
“A lot.”
Richard waited.
She could see how badly he wanted the rest.
That made her decide not to give it to him.
“Can I eat first?”
Richard exhaled.
“Yes.”
The food placed in front of Lily fifteen minutes later was too pretty.
She sat in a small private dining room behind the ballroom with Richard across from her and one security officer near the door. Somebody from the hotel had brought roasted chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans, rolls, two kinds of soup, a fruit plate, and a chocolate dessert decorated with a thin gold leaf.
Lily stared at it.
Richard stared at Lily staring at it.
“You can ask for something else.”
“I didn’t.”
“I know.”
“Then why did they bring all this?”
Richard glanced toward the closed door.
“I think they panicked.”
That almost made her smile.
She took one roll.
Richard poured water into her glass.
His phone buzzed on the table.
He turned it facedown.
Lily noticed.
It buzzed again.
He ignored it.
“Are you famous?” she asked.
“No.”
The security officer near the door looked at the ceiling.
Lily looked at him.
“He thinks you’re lying.”
Richard glanced over his shoulder.
The officer’s face remained perfectly neutral.
Richard said, “I’m known in some circles.”
“What circles?”
“Business.”
“What kind?”
“Hotels. Real estate. Logistics. A few other things.”
“You own this hotel?”
“No.”
“Then why is everybody scared of you?”
Richard opened his mouth, then closed it.
“I’m not sure they are.”
“They are.”
He folded his napkin once.
Lily bit into the roll.
He watched her chew, then seemed to realize he was watching and looked away.
“When did you last eat?”
“This morning.”
“What did you have?”
“Toast.”
“Where?”
Lily stopped chewing.
Richard saw it.
He leaned back.
“All right.”
“You ask too many questions.”
“I probably do.”
“My mom said that too.”
The words changed him again.
Not dramatically.
His eyes simply dropped to the table.
“What did she say about me?”
Lily wiped butter from her thumb.
“She said you always asked questions after you already decided what the answer should be.”
Richard looked at his hands.
“She remembered that.”
“She remembered everything.”
The phone buzzed again.
This time Richard picked it up.
He read the screen.
His face sharpened.
“Excuse me.”
He answered.
“Yes.”
He listened.
“No, she’s with me.”
Another pause.
His eyes moved to Lily.
“When?”
He listened again.
“All right. Send them to this room.”
He ended the call.
Lily put down the roll.
“Who?”
Richard did not lie.
“The police.”
She stood so fast the chair legs scraped the floor.
The security officer moved but stopped when Richard lifted a hand.
Lily’s face had gone white.
“You called them.”
“No.”
“You said send them here.”
“They were already in the hotel.”
“You called them.”
“I didn’t.”
“They’re going to take me back.”
Richard stood.
“Back where?”
Lily looked toward the door.
Richard stepped sideways, leaving the path open instead of blocking it.
“Lily.”
She pressed both hands against the coat around her.
“They said I had to stay.”
“Who said?”
“The lady.”
“What lady?”
“I don’t know.”
“Your social worker?”
Lily’s jaw tightened.
Richard understood enough.
“Were you reported missing?”
She looked away.
The answer arrived before her words.
The knock came a moment later.
Two uniformed police officers entered with a woman in a navy coat carrying a leather folder. The woman looked exhausted in a way Lily recognized immediately. Adults who worked with children in trouble always looked tired around their eyes.
“Lily.”
Lily backed into the table.
The woman stopped.
“Hey. I’m not coming closer.”
Richard moved between them without thinking.
The woman looked at him.
“Mr. Hale?”
“Yes.”
“I’m Denise Alvarez with Child Protective Services.”
Richard’s posture changed.
“What happened to her mother?”
Denise glanced at Lily.
“I’d prefer to discuss case information privately.”
“I’m her grandfather.”
“We don’t know that yet.”
Richard’s face hardened.
Lily watched him become the man from the hotel picture again.
“I know it.”
“I’m sure you believe it.”
Richard took one step forward.
Denise did not move.
“That locket belonged to my daughter.”
“That may become relevant. It does not establish legal custody tonight.”
The security officer near the door looked at Richard with the expression of a man silently recommending against whatever Richard intended to say next.
Richard noticed.
His jaw worked once.
“What happens now?”
Denise looked at Lily.
“That depends on whether Lily is willing to come with me without anybody making this more frightening.”
Lily hated her for saying it gently.
She hated Richard for being rich.
She hated Victoria.
She hated the coat because it was warm.
Mostly she hated that her mother had been dead six days and adults were still discussing where Lily would sleep as if she were a package with a damaged label.
“I’m not going back there,” she said.
Denise nodded slowly.
“Okay.”
“I mean it.”
“I heard you.”
“The girl snores.”
One of the police officers looked down.
Denise almost smiled.
“You didn’t mention that before.”
“She steals the blanket too.”
“That sounds serious.”
Lily’s eyes burned.
She blinked hard.
Richard looked at Denise.
“Where has she been staying?”
“In emergency foster placement.”
“I can take her.”
“No.”
The answer came so quickly Richard seemed offended by its shape.
Denise continued before he could respond.
“You cannot take a child you met twenty minutes ago based on an unverified family relationship.”
“I did not meet her twenty minutes ago.”
Lily looked at him.
Richard corrected himself.
“I mean—”
“You met me twenty minutes ago,” Lily said.
Richard looked at her.
May you like
“Yes.”
Denise opened her folder.
