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“I guess now that I’m her unofficial bodyguard I should actually meet the young lady.”
Alicia composed herself and rose. “She’s just finished doing some factoring exercises for me.”
“What?”
“Viggie has the ability to factor large numbers in her head. Not so large as to make my work obsolete, but there could be something lurking in the recesses of her mind that provides the key to unlocking the shortcut I’ve been looking for.”
“And the vulnerable little girl brings the world as we know it to a screeching halt?”
Alicia smiled. “Well, it’s said that the meek shall inherit the earth.”
CHAPTER
30
SEAN HAD EXPECTED TO FIND a shy, quiet type in Viggie Turing; however, the girl was full of energy, and her wide, blue eyes seemed to capture every movement around her. She wore a bright red shirt, Capri pants and was barefoot. After being introduced by Alicia, Viggie immediately took Sean’s hand and led him over to the piano.
“Sit.”
He sat.
“You play?” she asked, staring at him with a pair of eyes that were uncomfortably intense.
“Bass guitar. Only four strings, not so complicated. And when you’re losing millions of brain cells every day like I am that’s a good thing.”
She didn’t bother to acknowledge his little joke. Viggie sat down and played a tune that he’d never heard before.
“Okay, you stumped me,” he said. “Who is it?”
Alicia supplied the answer. “ ‘Vigenère Turing.’ It’s an original composition.”
Sean stared at the girl, impressed.
“You like it?” she asked simply.
He nodded. “You’re a very gifted musician.”
She smiled, and Sean could finally see the eleven-year-old girl inside, for it was a shy, eager-to-please sort of expression. And this scared him. It might make her trust people she shouldn’t. Spies here, Rivest had said.
“Viggie, do you—”
She started playing another song. When she finished, Viggie got up and walked over to a chair at the kitchen table and stared out the window. As Sean watched, her wide, dancing eyes retreated to slits.
Sean rose. “Viggie?”
Sean looked over at Alicia, who was motioning him to join her on the couch.
Speaking quietly she said, “She sort of withdraws into a little world of her own. If we wait she’ll come around.”
“Has she been seen by experts? Is she on medication?”
“I don’t know about the experts, but she’s not on medication. Now that I’m her guardian I’m going to look into it right away.”
“What do you know about Viggie’s mom?”
“Monk said they were divorced, years ago. He had full custody.”
“That’s what Rivest said. But you know, Alicia, if Viggie’s mother shows up a court will likely grant her custody unless she’s in prison or otherwise incapable of taking care of her daughter.”
