Chapter 2 - The Girl With the Borrowed Uniform
The first siren cut through the restaurant before anyone could move.
Victor raised one hand. His men lowered theirs.
"Nobody touches the girl," he said.
Lily released the giant's wrist and stepped back. Her knees felt loose now. The strength that had carried her through the last ten seconds was draining away, leaving a tremor in her hands.
Marcus hurried over. "Lily, what have you done?"
"Kept him from stabbing someone."
"That's not what I meant."
The giant rolled onto his back. A thin line of blood ran from his mouth. He looked at Lily with something like curiosity.
"What's your name?"
"Don't talk to her," Victor said.
The man smiled. "You don't know who she is, do you?"
Victor's expression did not change. "I know enough."
The police pounded on the front doors. A voice shouted for everyone to keep their hands visible.
Victor's right-hand man, Eddie, leaned toward him. "We can clear the back."
"No," Victor said. "Not this time."
He looked at Lily. "Are you hurt?"
She shook her head.
"Then go with the officers. Tell them exactly what happened. Don't add anything. Don't leave anything out."
"Why are you telling me what to say?"
"Because the man on the floor came here to kill me, and I don't want you caught in the middle."
Lily almost laughed. She was already in the middle.
The officers entered with weapons raised. Their lead detective, a broad-shouldered woman with short gray hair, took in the broken doors, the overturned tables, the fallen guard, and the giant on the floor.
"Victor Castellano," she said. "Hands where I can see them."
Victor obeyed.
The giant began to laugh again.
"That's funny," he said. "You people always arrive after the interesting part."
The detective looked at Lily. "Did you disarm him?"
"Yes."
"How?"
"I used what was nearby."
The detective studied her for a beat too long. "We'll discuss that downtown."
Lily's stomach tightened.
As the officers lifted the giant, a folded photograph slipped from his coat and landed near her shoe. She bent before anyone could stop her.
The photograph showed a younger woman standing beside a boy of about twelve. The woman had Lily's eyes.
On the back, written in blue ink, were four words:
SHE KNOWS ABOUT HARBOR.
Lily forgot the sirens.
May you like
Her mother had been dead for nine years.
And the boy in the picture was Lily.
