Lisa put her feelings aside and tried to see things from her father’s point of view. The result was even bleaker than she had expected: total alienation from his family with no possibility of reconciliation. She wondered why he had accepted his fate so calmly, but she knew he didn’t have much of a choice with such hostile opposition from her and her mother.
“You need to tell him to stand up for himself,” said Veronica. “He’s being ridiculous. If they’re really going to get divorced, they should split everything evenly.”
“Veronica, if he makes things difficult for Mom, she’ll just hate him more,” said Lisa. “It won’t change anything, so what’s the point?”
“It’ll make them think about what they’re doing,” said Veronica. “They might even start liking each other again if they spend enough time together. Please, Lisa, just talk to Dad. You always seem to know what to say.”
Lisa studied Veronica’s face and realized the situation was even worse for Veronica than it was for her: since Veronica didn’t know about the murder, the separation probably seemed incomprehensible.
“Fine, Veronica, I’ll talk to him,” said Lisa. “I don’t know when, and I don’t know how, but I’ll do it. There, are you happy?”
Veronica nodded.
“Thank you,” she said. “I’m sorry for yelling at you, Lisa. I’ve been in a bad mood ever since Stephen left, but I shouldn’t have taken it out on you. You’re a wonderful sister.” She breathed a sigh of relief and smiled at Lisa. “I can’t wait to see Stephen tomorrow.”
“Good night, Veronica,” said Lisa.
She went into her room, but she couldn’t sleep. She bitterly regretted her promise to Veronica. The more she thought about talking to her father, the more impossible the task seemed. She didn’t even know if she wanted him to be a part of her life, but at the same time, she couldn’t bear the thought of shutting him out completely.
∞∞∞
Lisa’s father returned to the hotel, consumed by gloomy thoughts. He regretted his treatment of Lisa, and although he desperately wanted to fix his relationship with her, he felt like he made additional mistakes every time he interacted with her. An apology would be insufficient to heal the countless wounds he had inflicted with his careless words. When Graham appeared unexpectedly from the bushes, he was so discouraged that he barely even flinched.
“It’s not a good time,” he said to Graham.
“You’re not the only one with problems,” said Graham, following him into his room. “I’ve been at the hospital for the last hour, sitting at the bedside of an old friend. He was in an accident—got his head all bashed up—but the poor man just won’t die.” He sat down in the chair near the window. “I don’t know how you do it, Andrew, dealing with sick people. It makes you see the world differently. Nothing is permanent. Everything is hanging by a thread, waiting to snap.”
“Graham, what do you want?” said Lisa’s father.
“My boss is miffed, to put it bluntly,” said Graham. “Not only did you fail to deliver the requested tissue samples, but you sabotaged the entire project. I trusted you, but thanks to your incompetence, my reputation is now as tenuous as your future.”
“I did the best I could,” said Lisa’s father.
“Well, it wasn’t good enough,” said Graham. A haunted expression appeared on his face, and his eyes roved across the floor. “Never before have I been verbally assaulted like I was this morning when I finally informed my boss about your massive failure. I’m telling you, Andrew, if my contingency plan doesn’t succeed, I’m going to be in serious trouble. I might even have to rethink my professional career.”
“Your contingency plan?” said Lisa’s father.
“I thought it would be easy, but it’s turning out to be quite a struggle,” said Graham. “I may have overestimated its potential. It wasn’t so bad when I was getting a steady stream of data from you, but now I’ve got nothing to show for it. I’m currently finalizing the details of a last-ditch effort to turn it around.”
“Then why are you here?” said Lisa’s father.
“Because my contingency plan needs a contingency plan,” said Graham. “When you work for a boss like mine, you tend to take precautions. It used to be the original plan, but I convinced my boss it wasn’t feasible because I couldn’t find what I needed to pull it off. My boss doesn’t know it’s still an option.”
“What is it?” said Lisa’s father.
“Richard’s notebook,” said Graham. “I want it.”
“I don’t have it,” said Lisa’s father. “Richard wouldn’t even let me look at it while we were working together. He’s incredibly paranoid about it. Besides, I don’t even know where he is. He left without telling anyone where he was going. I’ve been trying to call him, but he won’t answer his phone.”
“Well, I suggest you find him,” said Graham. “I’m not playing around, Andrew. My boss may think I’m incompetent, but I’m going to prove my value, and you’re going to help me. If you do, I’ll leave you alone from now on. You’ll never have to see me again. Doesn’t that sound like a fair proposition?”
“I don’t know,” said Lisa’s father. “You’re a fast talker, Graham.”
“For which you should be immensely grateful,” said Graham. “My fast talking was the only thing that saved you from a quick trip to hell. My boss wanted you dead, plain and simple, and it would have been easy enough to arrange.”
“So why didn’t you?” said Lisa’s father, who was in such a diminished mental state that he was more curious than disturbed.
“It’s a matter of principle,” said Graham. “My boss has taught me to be pragmatic. It isn’t always easy for me to view people as tools to be used, but I’ve got a decent grasp of the concept. You’re my only link to that notebook. There’s no reason for you to have any loyalty to Richard. He abandoned you, even though he knew I was twisting your arm. Why don’t you return the
