“Daddy?”
How long had he’d been staring at her, lost in his own thoughts?
Monty kissed her forehead. “Morning, Lizzy girl. Did you sleep well?”
She nodded, but she looked toward the bed, where Boo Bear should have been.
“You hungry?” Monty asked, wanting to avoid her questions for a little while longer. Wanting to avoid telling her about Elayne a little while longer. “Let’s see what Officer Karl and Miss Ruth left for us.”
There were eggs in the fridge, as well as bread, milk, butter, and a small jar of grape jelly. The box of cereal in the cupboard wasn’t the sort that would tempt a child. Wouldn’t even tempt him. So he scrambled four of the eggs and toasted the bread. And since he didn’t find any coffee, they both had a glass of milk.
Why make coffee up here when you could go downstairs for Tess’s brew? Would she be open at this hour?
“Can you watch TV or read a book while I take a shower?” he asked as he quickly washed the dishes.
“Okay. Are we going to work?”
He looked into those big dark eyes and felt his heart stutter, sure that no man had ever loved a child more. And sure no child should face what Lizzy would have to face today. “Yes. We’re going to sit down with Captain Burke, and you’re going to tell him everything you remember about going to the train station and riding the train to Lakeside.”
“Then we can get Boo Bear?”
Monty dried his hands and hung up the dish towel. “No, honey. Boo Bear has to stay at the station to help the police.” And between the jewels hidden inside the bear and the blood on the bear, it wasn’t likely that Boo Bear was ever coming back.
He’d avoid telling her that bit of truth for as long as possible.
“If we don’t have Boo Bear to protect us, can the Wolf police come with us? Nathan has big teeth. Even bigger than Boo Bear’s.”
Ah, damn. “Honey . . .”
“Please, Daddy.”
Defeated, he said, “I’ll ask.” Then he retreated to the bathroom before Lizzy could think of something else she needed in order to give her statement.
CHAPTER 19
Watersday, Maius 12
Do not bite the messenger. If you bite him, he won’t work for you. Do not bite the messenger.
Sitting in the Business Association’s meeting room with Vlad, Henry, and Tess, Simon refocused his attention on Pete Denby and the excruciating list of papers that needed to be filled in or signed or some other such thing in order to purchase a building.
Why couldn’t they just give the human female a bag of money and then pee on the building so that everyone would know it was theirs?
This was one of the reasons a few terra indigene went through a human-centric education that exceeded what anyone wanted to know about the clever meat. But even having that education wasn’t sufficient for enduring such an irritating process.
“Title search. House inspection,” Pete said. “Those have to be done. Since you’re paying cash, we might be able to push the paperwork through and close the deal by the end of the month.”
“We could inspect the house ourselves,” Simon said. “Give it a good sniff.”
“You still need the paperwork. And from a legal standpoint, a good sniff just isn’t sufficient.”
Simon sighed. He’d rather be out with Meg, doing whatever she was doing.
“You get the papers we need,” Henry told Pete. “Then we will give the human the money and claim the house.”