Chương 8
He wore a different charcoal suit, or perhaps the same one dried and pressed. No cigar. No umbrella. A paper cup rested in one hand, and his left wrist was bare.
Nora opened the door with the chain still on.
“You have my watch,” he said.
“You left it.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“I thought you might need proof I would come back when asked.”
“I didn’t ask.”
“No.”
Behind Nora, Maya whispered, “He really does that.”
Cade heard her. His eyes shifted toward the narrow gap but did not try to look through it.
“I brought Mr. Patel,” he said.
Nora checked the opposite side of the hallway.
A compact man in a gray overcoat stood near the stairs, holding a leather case and looking displeased with the building’s water stain.
“You could have led with that,” Nora said.
“I’m learning.”
She removed the chain.
Mr. Patel entered first. He introduced himself to Maya, asked permission before sitting, and placed his case on the floor instead of the coffee table. Cade remained near the door.
Nora handed him the watch.
Cade looked at it, then at her. “Keep it until after the hearing.”
“Why?”
“The files are encrypted. The watch generates the access code.”
Nora’s suspicion returned so quickly it almost felt good. “You put evidence on a drive I couldn’t open without your watch?”
“You opened the first partition. The original metadata and certified copies require the code.”
“So I had enough to frighten me but not enough to verify it.”
“Yes.”
Mr. Patel removed his glasses. “Mr. Moreno.”
“I know,” Cade said.
Nora laughed without humor. “Everyone knows everything this morning.”
Cade held out his palm.
She dropped the watch into it.
“Unlock the files,” she said.
He did.
The code required his fingerprint and a sequence from the watch face. Mr. Patel watched each step. Then he copied the archive to an encrypted drive of his own and signed a receipt acknowledging transfer.
The procedure took six minutes.
During those six minutes, Maya stood by the window drinking the coffee Cade had brought.
Nora noticed only after the cup was half empty.
“What is that?”
Maya looked down. “Hot chocolate.”
“You took a drink from him?”
“He gave it to you.”
Cade said, “It’s from the bakery downstairs.”
“That does not make it safe.”
Maya sniffed the cup. “It smells safe.”
“Poison can smell like almonds,” Nora said.
Mr. Patel looked up from his laptop. “Not all poisons.”
Nora stared at him.
He cleared his throat. “We’re under stress.”
Maya took another sip.
Cade looked almost amused. It changed his face in a way Nora did not appreciate noticing.
Mr. Patel reviewed the plan.
They would arrive separately. Nora and Maya would enter with him. Cade would wait in the hallway unless called. Sofia Moreno had filed the emergency counter-petition electronically before dawn but would not represent Nora. The court might consider the evidence, continue the hearing, appoint an independent guardian ad litem, or make a temporary placement decision.
“What are the chances Maya comes home with me?” Nora asked.
Mr. Patel closed one file and opened another. “I don’t give percentages.”
“Why?”
“Because people remember the number and forget every condition attached to it.”
“Then give me the conditions.”
He did.
The court would care about stability, safety, legal authority, Maya’s wishes, Nora’s credibility, and whether Miriam had presented a genuine emergency or manufactured one. Owen’s affidavit created problems because he had lived in the home. The payment from Miriam damaged his independence but did not automatically prove every statement false.
“What about Mom’s recording?” Maya asked.
Everyone turned toward her.
Nora said, “I told you we’d discuss it.”
“I heard enough from the bedroom.”
The apartment walls were thin. Nora had known that for three years and still behaved as though closed doors created privacy.
Mr. Patel asked Maya, “How much did you hear?”
“Aunt Miriam talking about money.”
He nodded. “The recording may matter, but the court may have questions about context and admissibility. We don’t build everything around one recording.”
Maya looked at Cade. “Did my mom trust you?”
Cade’s gaze moved to Nora before he answered.
“Sometimes.”
“That’s not yes.”
“No.”
“Did she like you?”
“Not consistently.”
Maya’s mouth twitched.
Nora could hear Lillian telling him to smile.
“Why did she ask you instead of us?” Maya said.
Cade took his time.
“Because she thought fear would change the way Nora spent the time she had left with her.”
Maya looked at Nora.
Nora’s throat tightened.
Cade continued. “And because your mother believed I could be useful without needing to be forgiven for it.”
“That sounds like her,” Maya said.
“It does,” Nora replied.
Mr. Patel checked his watch. “We need to leave.”
At the courthouse, the metal detector rejected Nora three times.
First for the coins in her coat.
Then for a forgotten spoon in the apron she had accidentally worn beneath it.
Then for Cade’s flash drive, which the guard said was not metal enough to trigger anything but still examined as though it might confess.
Maya laughed when the spoon appeared.
Nora did too.
It came out wrong and would not stop. She stood beside the security table laughing with her hand over her mouth while strangers removed belts and emptied pockets around her.
The guard waited.
Mr. Patel looked at the ceiling.
Maya finally took Nora’s elbow. “You’re being weird.”
“I know.”
“You hate when I say that.”
“I know.”
That made Maya laugh, and for ten seconds they were simply two exhausted sisters embarrassing themselves in public.
Then the elevator doors opened on the family division floor.
Miriam stood across the hallway in a pale wool coat, speaking with Daniel Harker.
She turned at the sound of the elevator.
Her gaze found Maya first.
Miriam’s face softened with such convincing pain that Nora nearly doubted everything.
“Maya.”
May you like
Maya moved closer to Nora.
Harker touched Miriam’s arm and murmured something. He was in his fifties, silver at the temples, with a careful tan and a courtroom voice even in the hallway.
