THE LITTLE WITNESS

No one moved.

Dominic recovered first. He crouched, wearing the patient smile adults put on when they wanted a child to doubt herself. "Sweetheart, you must have seen someone else."

"No," Lily said. "It was you."

"Maybe you're confused."

"I saw your lion."

Her finger pointed at his right hand. The gold ring caught the light.

Dominic's smile faltered. Only for a second. I had known him long enough to recognize a missed step.

"That's enough," Rosa said, moving between them. "Please stop telling her what she saw."

"I'm trying to help," Dominic replied.

"Then let her speak."

I held up my hand. "Everyone out except Rosa and Lily. Thomas, wait outside. Dominic, you too."

"Vincent—"

"Now."

When the door closed, I moved around my desk and sat in a chair across from Lily. I didn't want to tower over her. Rosa stayed beside her, one hand resting on her shoulder.

"You're not in trouble," I told Lily. "I just need you to tell me what happened, from the beginning. Where were you?"

"In the little room where Mommy puts her apron."

"Why?"

"I wanted to surprise her. I was behind the laundry basket. It was dusty."

"And then?"

"The lion man came in. He had something shiny. He put it in Mommy's pocket, and he went away. I thought he was leaving a present."

"Did he see you?"

She shook her head. "I was really good at hiding."

Rosa squeezed her shoulder. "You should have told me, baby."

"I didn't know it was bad."

"Of course you didn't," Rosa whispered.

I kept my questions simple. Lily couldn't tell me an exact time. She remembered a squeaky laundry-cart wheel and a red scratch on the changing-room cabinet. Her answers didn't sound rehearsed. They were the kind of unnecessary details children noticed precisely because adults didn't.

I thanked her and asked Rosa to take her to the kitchen for a snack. Rosa hesitated.

"Are you going to fire me?"

"Not on an accusation I haven't verified."

"And Lily?"

"No one is going to punish her for telling us what she believes she saw."

Rosa's chin lifted. "She told you what she saw, Mr. Moretti. I need you to understand that."

I deserved the correction. "I do."

After they left, I called Dominic back.

"I want every camera recording from the west service corridor between two and four," I said.

"That area's camera was down for maintenance."

"Convenient timing."

He gave a thin smile. "Systems fail."

"Then there will be a maintenance ticket."

"Of course."

He had an answer for everything. Yesterday, that had reassured me. Today, it irritated me.

I inspected the room myself. Rosa's apron had hung on a peg beside a red-painted metal cabinet. A laundry basket stood close enough to hide a small child. The cabinet latch bore a fresh-looking scrape. None of it proved who placed the watch in the pocket. It did prove Lily knew the room.

I returned to my office and called Daniel Mercer, a former compliance investigator who had helped audit several of my legitimate businesses. Daniel wasn't part of Dominic's security department, which was suddenly the only qualification that mattered.

"I need an independent look at my surveillance system," I told him.

"Has there been a breach?"

"Possibly. Don't request records through Dominic. I'll grant you access myself."

"Understood. I'll bring a technician."

Before dinner, I met Rosa in the hall. Lily was sitting on the floor with crayons spread around her, drawing what appeared to be a dinosaur wearing sunglasses.

"Until this is resolved, you're on paid leave," I told Rosa. "I don't want Dominic or his staff questioning either of you. You'll continue receiving your normal wages."

Her expression tightened. "So we're being sent away?"

"No. You can remain in the staff apartment. This is a precaution."

"I don't want special treatment. I want the truth."

"So do I."

"Then please don't decide I'm innocent just because my daughter is cute. Believe the evidence."

I had expected gratitude. Instead, I felt an uncomfortable respect.

"That's fair," I said.

Lily looked up from her drawing. "Am I still your bodyguard?"

"That depends. Are you still taking the job?"

"Yes. But Mommy says I have to ask before I come into your office."

"A sensible new rule."

She smiled and returned to her dinosaur.

At eight thirty, Daniel called. His voice had lost its usual dry humor.

"Your camera didn't malfunction, Vincent. Someone with administrator privileges disabled the feed at 3:12 p.m. The maintenance ticket was created afterward."

"Who signed in?"

There was a brief pause.

"Dominic Cole."