Chapter 5 - THE WOMAN IN THE PHOTOGRAPH
That afternoon, Dante asked Elena to return to the mansion.
She arrived carrying Lily's small backpack. The girl held a stuffed rabbit by one ear and looked uncertainly at the guards.
“Mr. Moretti said he wanted to speak with you,” Marco explained. “You are not in trouble.”
Elena nodded, though her shoulders remained tense.
Dante was waiting in the library.
“Please sit.”
She stayed standing.
“I'd rather not.”
He accepted that.
“I need to ask about the department store. Did you see Lorenzo handling my tie?”
“I didn't. I was trying to find Lily's shoes. She wandered toward the men's clothing department for a moment, and I went after her.”
“Did she tell you about the man then?”
“No. She told me later that evening that a man had shown her a secret. I thought she meant a magic trick.”
Dante glanced at Lily.
“Can you tell me what else you remember?”
Lily sat on a large chair, her feet not reaching the floor.
“The man had a picture.”
“What picture?”
“A lady and a little boy.”
Dante leaned forward.
“Did you see the lady's face?”
Lily nodded. “She had red hair.”
Elena looked confused.
“Lily, you never told me that.”
“She was in the man's phone,” Lily said. “He said the lady was waiting for him.”
Dante exchanged a glance with Marco.
“Did you recognize her?”
Lily shook her head.
Dante opened a drawer and took out a photograph of the people who worked closely with him. He placed it on the table.
“Is the man here?”
Lily pointed to Lorenzo.
“That's him.”
Then she pointed to another photograph.
“And that's the lady.”
Dante looked down.
The woman was Sabrina Voss, an outside consultant who had been hired six months earlier to review the security arrangements for several Moretti properties. She had recently resigned, claiming she was moving abroad.
Marco's expression darkened.
“She had access to the building plans.”
“And the security schedules,” Dante said.
Elena finally understood the seriousness of what Lily had seen.
“Are you saying that woman was working with him?”
“We don't know yet,” Dante replied. “But we're going to find out.”
Lily raised her hand.
“Can I have a cookie now?”
May you like
For the first time that day, Dante almost smiled.
“Yes, Lily. You can have as many as you like.”
