Part 19 (2/2)
”Your Honor?”
”Am I not speaking clearly enough today? Was the hangar locked the night these people supposedly broke into it?”
”Yes, Your Honor.”
”Did these people break a window or a lock to get into the hangar?”
”No, Your Honor.”
”Then who unlocked the hangar and admitted these people?”
”On the video, it appears the guard did, Your Honor.”
”Did they compel him, point weapons at him?”
”No, Your Honor.”
”Did they conspire with him to get into the hangar?”
”Not as far as we know, Your Honor.”
”Thank you, Special Agent.” Judge Wallace turned back to the attorneys. ”All charges are dropped. Case dismissed. Mr. Ping, Ms. Lantern, you are free to go.”
Mara watched Ping give Sam a thumbs-up. The boy saluted and smiled. They stood up as the judge left.
”Absolutely amazing. If I were a more generous man, I would tell you to send the payment to that young man over there,” Sullivan said, nodding toward Sam. ”But since I'm not, you'll get my bill in the mail in the next week or so.” He shook Ping's hand and then Mara's. ”Congratulations.”
Diana walked up to the railing and leaned in for a hug from her daughter. ”Now can you explain to me what is going on? What was all of that about you being at a hangar?”
”It was just a big misunderstanding,” Mara said.
”I'll see you back at the shop,” Ping said to Mara. ”It was nice to meet you, Mrs. Lantern. Next time I hope it is under better circ.u.mstances, and we have more time to talk. I need to get the boy back to school.” He walked over to Sam, who was staring at Diana and Mara.
Mara noticed him eyeing Diana.
”h.e.l.lo, are you there?” Diana said to Mara, leaning into her field of vision. ”Why don't you let me buy you lunch?”
”I would like that.” Mara smiled, raised her hand toward the doors, indicating she was ready to go.
After a few steps, her mother stopped and turned. ”Tell me something.”
”Yes?”
”Who is that red-headed boy? He looks familiar.”
CHAPTER 31.
A CLATTER REVERBERATED throughout the empty bakery as Sam slid the last table from the center of the customer area. He picked up a three-foot roll, laid it down on the floor in the open s.p.a.ce he had created and unrolled the new banner.
”Here's the new sign with the new opening date,” Sam said, pointing to the floor. ”You like the cake and balloon graphics?”
”We need to expose her to more facts, more quickly, so she can draw her own conclusions sooner,” Ping said, leaning against a gla.s.s display, staring out the front windows.
”What? Expose who to what?”
”Your sister. We need to expose her to more of the reality of the situation in order to convince her to help us.”
”Good luck. She won't even admit she's my sister,” Sam said. He dropped down on his knees and wiped away a speck on the banner.
”Does that bother you? How did you feel about seeing your mother in the courtroom yesterday?”
”I didn't feel anything. Remember, the only reason Mara didn't kill me on the plane was she knew Mom wanted to do it herself. I'm not going to get all weepy seeing their counterparts in this realm. It's not like I'm missing anything.”
”Yes, but now you can see the kind of sister and mother they would be if they had chosen differently in your realm.”
”Mara has made it clear she doesn't want a brother. There's no point worrying about it. Are we going to hang this up or what?”
Sam dragged the banner across the floor to the front door.
Since it was Sat.u.r.day, Ping was unsure if Mara would come into work. The fix-it shop appeared closed when he and Sam hung the new Grand Opening banner out front. Ping had some ideas about how to move Mara along, but he hesitated calling her at home, not wanting to do anything that would cause her to put up a wall between them. Resigned to waiting until Monday, he spent a few hours working on the computer in his office.
Just as he finished up and powered down his computer, Ping heard a knock out front.
Mara stood at the front door of the bakery.
Ping waved and walked over to let her in.
”I just wanted to stop by and thank you for your help in getting the lawyer and everything,” she said.
”It was nothing,” Ping said. ”After all, I was the one who talked you into going out to the hangar in the first place.”
”I suppose that's true, but I suspect Special Agent Suter would have found some other pretext for dragging me in if we hadn't given him that one,” she said. ”Where is Sam? I wanted to thank him for what he did in court.”
”He ran down the road determined to get a corn dog.”
”A corn dog?”
”He's never had one before. You should have seen him with his first pizza. He got very excited when I told him he could eat it with his hands.”
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