Ellery picked up Bump from the pet sitter and returned to her apartment building to find Reed and Tula hanging out in the lobby. They sat side by side on black armchairs, Reed studying his phone and Tula slumped almost to the floor like something out of a Dalí painting. Reed looked up, expectant at the sight of her. “Anything from the package?” he asked her.
She shook her head. “Several unknown prints. No one saw who left the envelope on the bench.”
“But it’s her hair?”
“It’s human and a color match. That’s all we can say right now. There are no roots available for DNA testing. Everyone is still holding on to the idea that Chloe did this herself to get back at her mom. She’s obviously smart, she left the park on her own, and the shaved head is the kind of dramatic move an angry teenager might make.”
“It’s possible,” Reed agreed. “Overall, this doesn’t fit the pattern of any traditional kidnapping. But she would’ve required help to pull this off. I don’t think a kid that age, especially given her coddled upbringing so far, is surviving on the streets on her own.”
She nodded, exhausted. “We’re still trying to figure out who gave her the second phone. Conroy made us go home for at least six hours. Night shift is taking over for now.”
“Let’s go up, then.”
She looked him up and down as they waited for the elevator. “Conroy said you ran out on him at the Lockhart place.”
“I shouldn’t have been there in the first place. Not with Tula.” He reached out and hugged his daughter to his side. “I phoned him back later and told him what I could. I think Teresa should do another television appearance. At least it keeps the conversation going. If there’s a chance Chloe herself is behind this, she’ll be watching to see that her mother cares to engage.”
Ellery bit back what she wanted to say, which was that the “conversation” was one-way and now possibly involved severed body parts. She curled her fingers inward and looked at the ceiling of the elevator. She’d been anticipating the cool solitude of her loft apartment and instead she now had to play hostess. They crowded awkwardly in the hallway in front of her door while she went through the elaborate process of unlocking it. Tula fidgeted the entire time and then burst through the open portal like a flash flood.
“Is there any ice cream left? What are we having for dinner?”
Bump, who pursued any creature in motion, tore the leash from Ellery’s hand and went galumphing after her. The cacophony of Tula running in circles and the dog barking reverberated off Ellery’s hardwood floors and into her bones. She eased into her own home as though she was checking it for intruders—slow, careful, and with her back to the wall. Behind her, Reed’s Southern accent took on an amused drawl. “We’ll be out of your hair after supper, I assure you. We’ll go to the hotel where she can take a swim before we head out to Philadelphia tomorrow.”
“You’re leaving already?” She felt bereft. She felt relief.
“If I’m to understand the murders at the Stone house, I need to go there myself. Tula will stay with my sister for the day while I poke around to see what I can find out.”
She paused from where she was filling the dog’s dish with water and looked him over searchingly. “You’d do that for me?”
He lounged against the counter next to her. “Well now, I’m not going there for you. I’m going for Chloe and Teresa Lockhart.” He materialized a small cardboard box tied with red-and-white string. “This is for you, though.”
“Mike’s!” she exclaimed with delight, seizing on the box. Inside sat two fat cannoli. “You do love me.”
His expression faltered, just for a moment, and hot shame washed over her as she remembered she had not said the words back to him. She’d tried. She’d practiced in her head a few times, but terror made her throat close up every time she imagined saying them aloud. Everyone she’d ever loved had left her in one way or another. “Maybe not as much as you love food,” he said lightly, nudging her hand with one finger. She curled her hand around his, and this minor contact felt so good that she moved closer, into his intimate space. As always, he took his cues from her, waiting until she signaled she wanted more. They embraced and she tucked her nose into his warm neck. How he managed to smell so divine after a day in the sun remained a mystery. His hand took up a slow caress of her back, and she felt some of the tension in her spine loosen and fall away.
“You’re too good to me.”
“There is no such thing.”
“Ah-hem.” Tula’s loud throat clearing made Ellery jump back from Reed. She turned to find both the girl and the dog staring at them. “What’s for supper?” Tula asked. For emphasis, Bump leaned over and nosed his food bowl.
“I’m working on it,” Ellery told the hound. He whined and stamped a meaty paw to show she wasn’t moving fast enough.
“What about sandwiches from the deli down the street?” Reed suggested.
“Sure, I’ll go,” Ellery volunteered quickly. Her house had too many people in it. She filled the dog’s bowl with kibble and straightened up again, dusting her hands on her jeans.
“Great. Maybe you could take Tula with you while I catch up on email.”
She opened her mouth to object, but the hope on Reed’s face made her shut it again. She swallowed hard and gave a short nod. “Sure, okay.”
Tula looked about as excited as she was by the prospect. “Is it really far?”
Reed tousled her head. “I’ve seen you do fourteen hours straight at Disney World without a single peep. I think you can manage three blocks to the deli.”
Ellery gritted her teeth, fearing she’d be dragging a sullen child with her, but Tula’s natural enthusiasm took over as they reached the outdoors. She moved in a bouncy gait that was almost a skip. “Daddy said your apartment used to be part of a factory.”
“Yep.”
“That’s cool. I want to live in a fire station one day. Like with a sliding pole?”
“I don’t think firefighters actually live at the station.”
“Oh, I don’t want to be a fireman. I want to be an acrobat. See?” Damned if the girl didn’t turn a cartwheel right there on the cement sidewalk. Ellery’s heart lurched at the sight, envisioning Tula with a cracked skull. How the hell did Reed think she could be in charge of a kid?
“Maybe save the tricks for the Big Top, okay?”
They reached an intersection and Tula automatically slid her hand into Ellery’s as they crossed. Ellery almost recoiled but managed to tamp down her instinct to shake off the physical contact. Tula twisted her arm as they reached the other side. “Those marks you got are from the bad guy, right?”
More anxiety, filling up her stomach like a balloon. She had no idea what Reed had told the girl about her history. “Um, yeah. A long time ago.”
“Were you scared when he got you?” Tula still had her hand in a tight grip, swinging it back and forth as they walked.
“Yes.” Ellery glanced down at her. “A lot.”
“I would be, too.”
“He’s in prison now,” Ellery felt compelled to add. “He can’t hurt you.” The feel of Tula’s small, soft hand in hers made her weirdly protective.
“Or you.” She halted and released Ellery’s hand. “I have a scar, too, on my knee right here. See it?”
Ellery could just make out a faint line on Tula’s tawny knee. “I see, yes.”
“I was climbing on some rocks at the beach and I slipped. Mama and Daddy had to take me for stitches. Daddy says the scar is proof of how brave I was.”
“Oh, yeah? He says the same thing to me.”
“Do you believe him?” Tula tilted her head, hanging on the answer.
Ellery looked away, not wanting to lie. “I believe he believes it,” she said finally.
Tula nodded and reinserted her hand into Ellery’s as they began walking. “Yeah, me neither.”
As they waited for their food to be assembled, Ellery’s cell phone buzzed. She dug it out and saw the message was from Reed. She thought he might be checking to see that she’d kept Tula alive for ten consecutive minutes, but his message turned out to be about the Lockhart case: I’m doing reconnaissance on Ethan Stone, Teresa’s first husband. Turns out he was speaking at an economics conference this week. His talk was on Friday. Care to guess where?
Boston, she typed back.
Bingo. It was hosted by MIT.
Is he still here? She would love to get a look at him.
Doubtful. Conference wrapped up this AM. He will be my first target in Philly.
He’d shot to the top of Ellery’s list, too. She wondered if she could convince Conroy to allow her to accompany Reed to Pennsylvania. She was still lost in thought about this new development as they received their bag of sandwiches and started the walk home. Tula had hold of her hand again and she was humming some tune that Ellery barely registered.
“Ellery! Ellery!”
It took her a moment to hear her name. People recognized her in public all the time, but usually they responded with whispers and furtive attempts to snap her picture, like she was some lioness they spotted on safari.
“Ellery!”
“What?” She looked down at Tula with a trace of impatience. “What is it?”
Tula pointed across the street. “It wasn’t me. It was her.”
Ellery turned to see an unfamiliar young woman with a large backpack loping across the street. She stopped in front of them with an excited little hop, her cheeks pink from either the effort or the unusually warm evening. “Wow, I was just heading to your place when I happened to see you. I can’t believe I found you here!”
“Well, you did.” Ellery frowned, trying to figure out who the hell she was. Up close, the girl pinged around her brain, but she couldn’t recall her name. “Can I help you with something?”
“It’s me,” she said, spreading her arms and smiling brightly like a model in a fifties soap commercial. “Ashley.”
Ashley. Her stomach dropped and her mouth went dry in sudden recognition before the girl could add her final words.
“Your sister!”
Tula looked up at Ellery and made a noise of dismay at her incompetence. “You don’t recognize your own sister?”
“It’s okay. I didn’t have hair the last time I saw her. It’s growing out real fast now, though.” Ashley Hathaway sported short black hair worn in a slightly spiky style. She ran a hand through it. “What do you think?”
“I, uh … it looks great.” Her mind whirled as she tried to find the right words for this situation. Last she knew, Ashley didn’t know who she was. Their dad had skipped out on Ellery’s family to start a new one, unbeknownst to anyone at the time. He’d only returned when his new daughter needed a bone marrow transplant. Ellery had gone through with the procedure and abided by their father’s wish that she not reveal her identity to the teenager. “How are you feeling?” she asked her now.
“Really good.” She became shy and gave Ellery a mild shove. “Thanks to you.”
“No need to thank me. Really.” She hoisted the sandwich bag on her hip. “Uh, what brings you to town?”
“I came to see you. My sperm donor of a father finally confessed everything a couple of days ago. We had this huge fight and now here I am.”
“Wait. You’re saying your parents didn’t bring you?”
“No, Peter Pan did.” Off Ellery’s look, Ashley rolled her eyes. “You know, the bus?”
“You took the bus all by yourself?” Tula clasped her hands in admiration.
“From Michigan?” Ellery echoed.
Ashley’s bravado faltered. “I thought you’d want to meet me. For real this time.”
“I did. I do. It’s just—you didn’t tell your parents where you were going?”
“He said to leave you alone! He said you didn’t want anything to do with us. I knew that wasn’t true or you wouldn’t have agreed to be my donor.” She looked hurt, angry, and hopeful all at the same time—a trifecta that only a teenager could pull off.
Well shit, Ellery thought. Now she had a second missing kid to deal with, and this time she’d be booked as the kidnapper if she didn’t watch her step. She sighed and took Tula’s hand again. “You may as well come home with us for now,” she said. Her one-bedroom apartment was starting to resemble a crowded subway car.