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Instead of answering it, I crept down a ladder on the opposite side of the tanker and slipped away as the whistle became louder and more insistent.
Chapter
80
The sweet little girl with sleepy eyes carried a piece of sheepskin about the size and shape of a face towel. Lizzie rubbed it against her porcelain cheek and sucked her thumb as she ambled across the room to her grandfather.
He had terrible things twisting and knotting his mind, but seeing her so precious, so innocent, they all unraveled. He scooped Lizzie up, said, “Time for bed, young lady?”
She nodded, snuggled into his arms, made him feel perfect. She was hardly a weight at all, not a burden, never a burden. Lizzie’s grandfather carried her from his office down the hall to her bedroom.
He got her safe and warm under her sheets and blanket. Her eyes fluttered toward sleep, but she said, “Tell me the story. What happens next to the fairy princess? To Guinevere?”
Her grandfather hesitated, and then said, “One day, a dragon came into Princess Guinevere’s kingdom.”
Lizzie became more alert. “Did the dragon hurt Guinevere?”
“He tried, but Guinevere’s grandfather, the fairy king, sent out his best warriors to slay the dragon. Guinevere’s older brother tried first but failed to kill the beast that threatened the fairy kingdom. A girl warrior went next.”
Lizzie was listening raptly now. She said, “Did she have a bow and arrow?”
He nodded, said, “She shot at the dragon as he flew by and missed him by an inch.”
A soft knock came behind him. Meeks stood there, dead serious.
“Someone downstairs needs to see you,” Meeks said.
He understood, nodded. “I’ll be a minute yet.”
“No, Grandfather,” Lizzie complained. “What about the dragon?”
“I’ll tell you tomorrow night,” he said.
“Oooh,” she moaned. “I can’t wait. Does she get another shot at the dragon? The girl warrior? What’s her name?”
He thought, said, “Lace. And, yes, Lace gets another shot at the dragon, but I won’t tell you what happens until tomorrow.”
Lizzie yawned, said, “Lacey will get the dragon. She’ll save Princess Guinevere. I just know it.”
As her eyes started to flutter shut, he leaned over and kissed her cheek. He turned the light off but left the door to the hallway open a crack, just the way she liked it. He walked down the hall, thinking how many changes were under way and how many challenges they created.
Downstairs, he walked past oil paintings and sculptures into a library.
Finn Davis was standing there, looking unsure and uncomfortable.
“What is it?” Lizzie’s grandfather asked.
“We lost a company man,” Davis said. “His deliveries were never made.”
“Product?”
“All but three pounds intact.”
“Runner, then.”
“You want him tracked down?” Davis asked. “Dealt with?”
“Of course, but we have more pressing problems.”
