Chapter 4 - THE MAN BEHIND THE SCHOLARSHIPS
“Find Martin Keene.”
Sebastian's voice was so calm that I found it more frightening than shouting.
Detective Delgado raised a hand.
“Not your way, Mr. Caruso.”
He looked at her.
“Excuse me?”
“We have fifteen young people who need protection, twelve more who were nearly sent away, and a missing sixteen-year-old. Whatever influence you have in this city, I need you to use it to preserve evidence, not intimidate witnesses.”
Sebastian's jaw tightened.
Then he nodded.
“Tell me what you need.”
It was the first time that evening I saw him surrender control.
And he did it for his daughter.
Damon returned from the ballroom.
“Keene is still here. He's speaking with Julian near the stage.”
Sebastian started toward the door.
Delgado stopped him.
“Let me handle the first questions.”
“That's my brother.”
“Which means you're the last person he should talk to alone.”
Sebastian looked at me.
“Grace, stay with Mother.”
Eleanor immediately signed.
NO.
I translated.
“I want to see Julian,” she continued. “He has hidden behind my deafness long enough.”
Nobody argued.
A few minutes later, we entered a small conference room adjoining the ballroom.
Julian Caruso stood beside Martin Keene.
Keene was in his early sixties, with neatly combed gray hair and a polished manner that made him look more like a retired college president than a man accused of exploiting teenagers.
He smiled when he saw Sebastian.
“Everything all right? The guests are asking why the buses haven't departed.”
Sebastian ignored him.
He looked at Julian.
“Where is Lucia?”
Julian's face changed.
Only for a second.
But everyone saw it.
“Sebastian, we discussed this years ago.”
“No. You discussed it. You told me my daughter ran away.”
Julian glanced at Eleanor.
Then at me.
His expression hardened.
“This is because of that interpreter.”
“Her name is Grace,” Sebastian replied.
Julian laughed bitterly.
“Wonderful. You've known her two hours, and suddenly she's more trustworthy than your own brother?”
Eleanor raised her hands.
Julian looked away.
I stepped forward.
“Your mother is speaking.”
“She's always speaking,” he snapped.
“And you've spent years making sure no one hears her.”
I translated Eleanor's signs.
YOU STOLE MY LETTERS. YOU LIED ABOUT MY GRANDDAUGHTER. LOOK AT ME WHEN I SPEAK TO YOU.
Julian finally met his mother's eyes.
His face crumpled for an instant.
“Mom, you don't understand.”
Eleanor answered immediately.
I UNDERSTAND BETRAYAL.
Keene cleared his throat.
“Perhaps everyone should calm down.”
Detective Delgado introduced herself.
Keene's smile faded.
She explained that the young passengers had raised serious concerns about the program.
Keene folded his hands.
“Those are unfortunate misunderstandings. These children come from difficult backgrounds. They sometimes misinterpret strict training policies.”
“Taking passports isn't a training policy,” Delgado replied.
Keene said nothing.
Sebastian stepped forward.
“Tell me where my daughter is.”
Keene looked at him with surprising composure.
“Before we discuss your daughter, we should discuss the agreement waiting in my office.”
“What agreement?”
“A necessary restructuring of the foundation's commercial partnerships.”
Sebastian stared.
“Why would my signature matter?”
“Because your companies provide access to the facilities our partners use. Your approval would remove some complications.”
Delgado was watching closely.
“What sort of complications?”
Keene smiled again.
“Administrative ones.”
I noticed Julian's hands.
They were trembling.
He wasn't looking at Sebastian.
He was looking at Keene.
And I finally understood something.
Julian wasn't simply protecting a secret.
He was afraid of the man beside him.
Keene reached inside his jacket.
Damon immediately stepped forward.
But Keene only removed an envelope.
He placed it on the table.
“Sebastian, I believe this will help you understand why cooperation is preferable.”
Inside was a photograph.
A teenage girl stood beside a window.
She wore a plain cream sweater.
Her dark hair was longer than in the photograph Eleanor carried.
She was thinner.
Older.
But her eyes were unmistakable.
Lucia.
Sebastian picked up the photograph with both hands.
“My baby,” he whispered.
Eleanor reached for the picture.
When she saw her granddaughter, tears spilled down her cheeks.
I translated her signs.
SHE IS ALIVE.
Keene nodded.
“She was photographed this afternoon.”
Sebastian looked up.
“Where?”
“Sign the agreement, and we'll discuss arrangements.”
Detective Delgado stepped closer.
“Mr. Keene, that sounds like an attempt to condition information about a missing child on a business transaction.”
Keene's smile disappeared.
“I suggest you choose your words carefully.”
I was barely listening.
Something in the photograph bothered me.
Behind Lucia stood a cream-colored sofa.
Its wooden armrest had a carved orchid.
I had seen that sofa before.
Not in a warehouse.
Not in a training center.
In the private corridor outside the hotel's luxury suites.
I grabbed Sebastian's arm.
He turned sharply.
“What?”
I pointed at the photograph.
“The furniture.”
He frowned.
I explained.
“The hotel has six sofas with that carving. I passed one upstairs when I arrived.”
Delgado took the photograph.
Damon immediately contacted hotel management.
A minute later, he received confirmation.
A private suite on the sixth floor had been reserved through a company associated with Martin Keene.
Sebastian stared at him.
“What suite?”
“Six-fourteen.”
Keene stepped backward.
Julian closed his eyes.
And then Eleanor signed something that made me turn toward her.
SHE IS HERE.
I looked at Sebastian.
“Your mother says Lucia is in this hotel.”
But Eleanor wasn't finished.
Her hands moved urgently.
May you like
DON'T LET KEENE GO UPSTAIRS.
Because Keene had already reached for the conference room door.
