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“I didn’t scare the gate attendant,” I remarked sharply. “I simply laid out my very clear plan of how I would use my millions to dismantle this place piece by piece and lay the blame solely at his feet if he didn’t let me inside.”
“Because that’s not scary?” Kane snorted. “Besides, it’s easy to discredit a roach like Eli. Bianca never should have lost her job in the first place and my pockets are deeper than that bastard.”
“Still,” Liam mused. “It was impressive. Callie would be grateful if we could just find her. Do you think Marie will be okay with Bianca?”
“Callie trusts her,” I replied. “That’s all I need to know about her character.”
We stopped near an arch way that led deeper into the facility. Elderly people milled about in front of us, engaged in a variety of activities from puzzles to art. The glass double doors at the far end opened out into a beautiful garden and I hated to admit I was impressed. When Bianca revealed that Eli was Callie’s ‘friend’ helping pay for her mother, I hadn’t expected a place so decent.
He really knew how to manipulate people, didn’t he?
“Can I help you?” A woman with tightly curled hair and a navy blue dress appeared beside us. She flashed us all the same thin, polite smile. “Are you here to see a parent?”
“Actually, I’m hoping to ask you a few questions.” Liam lightly clasped her elbow and turned her away from me. As he and Kane took her attention with questions, I slipped deeper into the activity room and headed toward one woman I recognized but had never met. Callie kept a picture of her mother on her desk, and while she didn’t speak about her much, it was easy for me to pick her out of the crowd.
She sat in a large armchair by the window, gazing out at the vast, colorful garden and nursing a drink from a pink plastic cup.
“Sarah? Sarah Everheart?”
She turned to face me, and a bright smile stretched across her wrinkled face. “Yes? Oh, aren’t you so handsome! My goodness, when did they start hiring men like you?” She cackled softly, but despite the lightness in her voice and the spread of her smile, there was something distant in her eyes.
No wonder Callie had taken the work project so personally.
“Hello, it’s lovely to meet you.” I held out one hand, then clasped her trembling hand when she reached for you. “My name is Sawyer. Sawyer Crane.”
“Crane!” Sarah gasped and pressed shaking fingers to her lips. “Oh, my daughter knows a Crane. I can’t remember his name, though.”
An unexpected flutter lifted through my heart. Callie had spoken about me to her mother? That was oddly adorable.
“I actually wanted to ask you a couple of questions about your daughter, if that’s alright?”
Taking the seat across from Sarah, I watched as confusion fogged her features for a moment. “My daughter? My… oh, Callie! Oh, she’s such a good girl. Such a good girl. She takes such good care of me, yes she does.”
Sarah nodded firmly.
“I know. She’s a very caring person. Bottles a lot of her feelings up though. Have you seen her recently?”
“Callie? Oh yes, she was here this morning but she was in such a state.” Sarah tutted softly. “I think she had a fight with that husband of hers.”
Her husband? Callie had insisted she wasn’t married. Was her husband the same as her ‘friend’? “They had a fight?”
“I don’t know. She was so sad, the poor dear. So sad this morning but she wouldn’t tell me why. She kept apologizing but I… I don’t know why.”
“Did she say anything at all that might…” Despite my desire for answers, I trailed off. Sarah’s attention drifted back to the window and that sad fog passed over her face once more. I suspected the window of clarity I had just witnessed had now closed.
“Sarah?”
Her eyes drifted back to me. “Oh my! Are you new? You’re so handsome.”
“Thank you. I wanted to ask you about your daughter?” Was it worth me trying again? I wasn’t sure. This time, the fog remained around Sarah and she shook her head slowly.
“My daughter?”
“Yes, your daughter. Callie?” It pulled at my heart to see her like this, even though I barely knew her. I couldn’t imagine what it must have been like for Callie to sit here again and again and see nothing but blankness in her mother's eyes.
“Oh my daughter!” A light flashed behind Sarah’s eyes and she sighed wistfully. “I wish she would visit me. I haven’t seen her in so long, and if she isn’t careful, class will start without her.”
Class? Immediately I knew not to press further. Instead, I leaned forward and used the jug to top up her drink. Sarah smiled warmly at me.
