Chương 5
Lily looked at Lena. “Sit here.”
Lena sat on the edge of the chair closest to the bed.
Dominic moved toward the door.
“No,” Lily said.
He stopped.
“You too.”
He took the chair on the other side.
Dr. Shaw began with easy questions. Lily’s name. Her age. Her favorite animal.
“Wolves,” Lily said.
Dominic’s eyes went to the empty place on her wrist.
“Can you tell us about yesterday after school?”
Lily’s fingers moved against the blanket.
“Mr. Aaron came.”
“Who is Mr. Aaron?”
“The new driver.”
Dominic’s face hardened.
Dr. Shaw glanced at him.
“Had you seen Mr. Aaron before?”
“He came to the house.”
“When?”
Lily looked at her father.
Dominic said nothing.
“Was it a long time ago?” Lena asked.
“Tuesday.”
Yesterday had been Friday.
“What did he do at the house?”
“Brought papers to Uncle Vin.”
Dominic lowered his eyes.
Dr. Shaw continued. “What happened after you got into the car?”
“Mr. Aaron said Daddy changed the plan.”
“Did you believe him?”
“He knew the sentence.”
“What sentence?”
Lily’s breathing changed.
Dominic leaned forward. “You don’t have to say it.”
“The bird returns before dark,” Lily whispered.
Dominic closed his eyes for one second.
It was the security phrase.
“He took me to the bird room.”
“Was it a house?” Dr. Shaw asked.
“A party place.”
“A hotel?”
Lily shrugged.
“Were there other people?”
“A lady brought water.”
“What did she look like?”
“I don’t know.”
“What color was the cup?”
“Green.”
Lena caught the faintest change in Lily’s expression. Not fear. Recognition.
“Did the cup have something on it?” Lena asked.
“A tree.”
Dominic looked at her.
Lena knew the cup.
Years earlier, during her brief work with a catering agency, she had carried stacks of green compostable cups through the service corridors of the Halcyon Hotel. Each one bore the outline of an elm tree, part of the hotel’s aggressive claim to environmental responsibility.
“The gold birds,” Lena said. “Were they on the ceiling?”
Lily nodded.
The Halcyon’s old ballroom ceiling was painted with swallows.
Dominic rose.
Dr. Shaw lifted a hand. “Mr. Rosetti.”
He was already reaching for his phone.
“Daddy.”
He froze.
Lily’s voice had thinned.
“You said no mad.”
His hand remained around the phone.
“I said no one would be angry with you.”
“You get angry with everybody else.”
A shadow crossed his face.
He put the phone back into his pocket and sat down.
“All right,” he said. “I’m sitting.”
Dr. Shaw waited until Lily’s breathing settled.
“Did anyone hurt you?”
“No.”
“Did anyone scare you?”
Lily nodded.
“Who?”
“The man in the hall said Daddy would burn the city.”
Dominic looked away.
“What happened after the hotel?”
“They put me in another car.”
“Who did?”
“Mr. Aaron.”
“Was anyone with him?”
“A man talked on his phone.”
“Did you see him?”
“No. He smelled like lemons.”
Dominic’s eyes moved toward the doorway.
A man stood there.
He was in his early forties, silver beginning at his temples, wearing a camel-colored coat over a charcoal suit. He carried no umbrella and appeared untouched by the rain.
“I came as soon as Elena told me she was awake,” he said.
Lily’s hand seized Lena’s.
The man stopped.
Dominic stood slowly. “Vincent.”
Vincent Caro looked at Lily. “My sweet girl.”
Lily turned her face toward Lena.
Lena smelled lemon lozenges.
Not cologne. Something medicinal, sharp and sweet.
Vincent reached inside his coat and produced a white paper bag. “I brought the almond cookies you like.”
“She’s not eating solids yet,” Dominic said.
Vincent lowered the bag.
His disappointment looked genuine.
That was the first thing about him Lena distrusted.
He moved closer to the bed. “You frightened us.”
Lily’s fingers tightened around Lena’s.
Dominic saw it.
“Give her space.”
Vincent looked at him. “Of course.”
Dr. Shaw ended the session. As Lena stood, Vincent stepped aside for her.
“You’re the woman from the alley,” he said.
“Lena Marks.”
“I know.”
His smile was courteous.
Dominic heard it too. “How?”
Vincent gestured lightly toward the hallway. “Her face is everywhere.”
Lena had not checked again. She felt the weight of invisible photographs.
Vincent offered his hand. “The family is grateful.”
She did not take it.
“I didn’t do it for the family.”
Something passed behind his eyes, then disappeared.
“No,” he said. “I suppose you didn’t.”
Dominic followed Lena into the hall.
“You recognized the hotel cup.”
“I worked there.”
“When?”
“Six years ago.”
“Did you see Vincent there?”
“No.”
“But Lily reacted to him.”
“She reacted to his voice or his smell or the fact that he came into the room while she was talking about what happened. Don’t decide too fast.”
“He arranged the replacement driver.”
“You know that?”
“He handles personnel for my household.”
“That makes him responsible. It doesn’t make him guilty.”
Dominic’s mouth tightened. “You sound like Chen.”
“She’s probably right more often than you enjoy.”
“She wants you to doubt me.”
“I doubted you before I met her.”
He leaned closer, lowering his voice. “Vincent is my cousin. He held my daughter the day she was born.”
“And someone who knew your security phrase took her.”
The words landed between them.
Dominic looked through the glass panel in Lily’s door. Vincent sat where Lena had been sitting, but Lily’s face remained turned toward the window.
“I need to know what she remembers,” he said.
“She remembers that people around you scare her.”
His attention came back to Lena.
“That’s not what she said.”
“It’s what she showed.”
He studied Lena for several seconds.
“You’re very certain for someone who has known her less than a day.”
“I’m not certain. That’s why I’m not accusing your cousin in a hospital hallway.”
Dominic stepped back.
“Daniel will take you home.”
“I’m not going home.”
“Where are you going?”
“To ask for my job back.”
“You were fired?”
May you like
“Put on unpaid leave by a coward, which is usually the same thing with softer language.”
“I can compensate you.”
