“You look a little rough yourself,” Cannon commented, and Lina shrugged. Then winced at the movement.

“Bruised ribs will heal, so will my face. He really focused on my face.”

“We can have you taken to the hospital now, and talk there once you’ve seen a doctor.”

“I’d rather go when … you’re finished downstairs.”

“Understood.” Riley looked back at Adrian. “Is it okay if we talk in your room, Adrian?”

“I guess so.” She got up, holding her arm in its sling close to her chest. “I won’t let you take my mom to jail.”

“Don’t be silly, Adrian.”

Ignoring her mother, Adrian stared into Riley’s eyes. They were green, but lighter than her mother’s. “I won’t let you.”

“Got it. We’re just going to talk, okay? Is your room up here?”

“Two doors down on the right,” Lina said. “Go on, Adrian, go with Detective Riley. Then we’ll go check on Mimi. Everything’s going to be fine.”

Adrian led the way and Riley put her smile back on as they walked into a room done in soft pinks and spring greens. A big stuffed dog lay on the bed.

“This is a pretty great room. And really tidy.”

“I had to clean it up this morning, or no going to see the cherry blossoms and get ice cream sundaes.” She winced, much like Lina had. “Don’t tell about the sundaes. We were supposed to get frozen yogurt.”

“Our secret. Is your mom really strict about what you eat?”

“Sometimes. Mostly.” Tears sparkled into her eyes. “Is Mimi going to die like the man did?”

“She got hurt, but not real bad. And I know they’re taking good care of her. How about we sit here with this guy?”

Riley sat on the side of the bed, gave the big dog a pat. “What’s his name?”

“He’s Barkley. Harry gave him to me for Christmas. We can’t have a real dog now because we live in New York and travel too much.”

“He looks like a great dog. Can you tell me and Barkley what happened?”

It poured out, a flood through a break in a dam.

“The man came to the door. He kept buzzing and buzzing, so I went out to see. I’m not supposed to open the door myself, so I waited for Mimi. She came out from the kitchen and opened the door. Then she tried to shut it again, really fast, but he pushed it open, and he pushed her. He almost knocked her down.”

“Did you know him?”

“Nuh-uh, but Mimi did, because she called him Jon and told him to go away. He was mad and yelling and saying bad words. I’m not supposed to say them.”

“That’s okay.” Riley kept petting Barkley like he was a real dog. “I get the gist.”

“He wanted to see my mom, but Mimi said she wasn’t here even though she was. She was upstairs taking a shower. And he kept yelling, and he slapped her face. He hit her. You’re not supposed to hit. Hitting somebody’s wrong.”

“It was wrong.”

“I yelled at him to leave her alone because he had her arms, and he was hurting her. And he looked at me—he didn’t see me before, but he looked at me, and it made me scared how he looked at me. But he was hurting Mimi, and I got mad. Mimi said to go upstairs, to me, I mean, but he was hurting her. Then he—he hit her with—with his fist.”

Adrian made one with her good hand while tears began to slide down her cheeks. “And there was blood, and she fell, and I ran. I ran to try to get to Mom, but he caught me. He pulled my hair, he pulled it so hard, and he pulled me up the stairs like that, and I was yelling for Mom.”

“You want to stop, honey? We can wait for you to tell me the rest.”

“No. No. Mom ran out, and saw him. And she kept saying for him to let me go, but he wouldn’t. He kept saying she’d ruined his life, with a lot of bad words. The really bad ones, and she kept saying she hadn’t told, and she’d fix it, but to let me go. He was hurting me. And he called me bad names, and he—he, threw me.”

“He threw you?”

“At the stairs. He threw me at the stairs, and I hit, and my wrist, it went on fire, and I hit my head, but I didn’t fall down the stairs very far. Just like a couple, I guess. And my mom screamed at him, and she ran at him, and she fought with him. He hit her face, and he had his hands on her like …”

She mimed choking.

“I couldn’t move, and he hit her face, but she hit back, she hit back hard, and she kicked him, and they kept fighting, and then … then he went over the railing. She pushed him to get away, to get to me. Her face had blood, and she pushed him, and he went over the railing. It was his fault.”

“Okay.”

“Mimi crawled up the steps while Mom got me and held me, and she said help was coming. And everybody had blood on them. Nobody ever hit me before he did. I hate he was my father.”

“How do you know he was?”

“Because of what he was yelling, what he called me. I’m not stupid. And he teaches at the college where my mom went to college, and she told me she met my father in college. So.” Adrian lifted her shoulders. “That’s it. He hit everybody, and he smelled bad, and he tried to throw me down the stairs. He fell because he was mean.”

Riley put an arm around Adrian’s shoulders and thought: That sounds about right.

They kept Mimi in the hospital overnight. Lina bought hospital gift shop flowers—the best she could do—to take to her room. Adrian had the first X-ray of her life, and would earn the first cast of her life once the swelling went down.

Rather than try to complete Mimi’s dinner plans, Lina ordered pizza.

God knew the kid deserved it. Just like she herself deserved a really, really big glass of wine.

She poured one, and while Adrian ate, broke her long-standing rule and poured a second.

She had a million calls to make, but they’d wait. Every goddamn thing would wait until she felt steadier.

They ate in the back courtyard with its shady trees and privacy fence. Or Adrian ate while Lina nibbled on a single slice between sips of wine.

Maybe it was a bit cool for outdoor dining, and more than a little late to have Adrian fill up on pizza, but a vicious day was a vicious day.

She hoped her daughter would sleep, but had to admit she was a little vague on the nighttime ritual. Mimi handled that.

Maybe a bubble bath—as long as she kept the temporary cast dry. The thought of the cast, and how much worse it could have been, had her longing to top off her wineglass again.

But she resisted. Lina had a good handle on self-discipline.

“How come he was my father?”

Lina looked over, saw those gold-green eyes watching her.

“Because I was once young and stupid. I’m sorry. I’d say I wish I hadn’t been, but then you wouldn’t be here, would you? Can’t fix what used to be, only what’s now and coming up.”

“Was he nicer when you were young and stupid?”

Lina let out a laugh, and her ribs whined pitifully. How much, she wondered, did you tell a seven-year-old?

“I thought he was.”

“Did he hit you before?”

“Once. Only once, and after that I never, ever saw him again. If a man hits you once, he’s probably going to hit you again, and again.”