Page 29 of Thin Ice

Alex

We'll see.

Liam

Text me after?

Alex

I will.

I put the phone on the nightstand and looked at myself in the mirror. Navy sweater. White collar underneath. The belt. The trousers. My grandfather's Patek on my wrist — the one I'd worn every day since sixteen without questioning it, the way I'd questioned nothing in this house until I met Liam. The same man who gave me the watch could have been the same one who stole the trophy.

I didn't want to wear the watch, but I wore it anyway. Taking it off tonight would be a tell, and I couldn't afford tells. Not tonight.

At 6:58, I went downstairs.

The dining room was lit for a formal dinner. Chandelier on its second setting, candles on the table, the good china, cloth napkins. My mother was already seated, wine in hand, wearing a sweater I'd never seen before, sage green, and she looked up when I came in with a quick, warm smile.

"There you are. You look nice."

"Thanks, Mom."

"Sit. The soup's coming."

My father arrived at 6:59. Sat at 7:00. The housekeeper brought the first course at 7:01, which was late by his standards.

"Alexander."

"Dad."

We performed the meal. He opened with the market, moved to a board appointment, and touched on a colleague's holiday plans. My mother contributed warmth at the intervals warmth was scheduled. Nobody mentioned the folder. The table ran on its script, course by course, and the script did not include the reason we were all sitting here.

Then, over the lamb, he set his glass down.

"I trust you've had time to review the materials," he said.

"I have."

"Good. Then you understand the plan. Courses, the internship, the training schedule. I'd like your sign-off before the new year."

"I understand the plan."

"And?"

He waited.

"I have questions," I said.

"Good. That's why we're here."

"Why Caldwell?" I set my fork down.

My mother's hand stopped moving on her napkin.

My father's expression didn't change. That was the tell. With anyone else, the question would have landed. With Thomas Harrington, the stillness was the flinch.

"Richard Caldwell is on the Kingswell board. His involvement is administrative."