"Good morning, Elijah." "Is the man with the H going to jail?" "Yes." "He is already in jail." "He will not be coming out." Elijah considered this. He nodded once, gravely. The way he had nodded at every important piece of information he had received in the past 18 hours.
"Mr. Caldwell."
"Yes?" "Is Mr. Patel going to be okay?" "Mr. Patel is going to be fine." "I am going to go see him this afternoon and you can come with me if you would like." "I want to talk to him about something." "About what?" "About whether he might like a different job." "A job at my company." "Something that pays him properly." "Something with insurance." "So that he does not have to work nights anymore if he does not want to." Elijah's eyes widened slightly. "Can you do that?" "I can offer." "He will decide." "He is a proud man." "He may say no." "I am hoping he will say yes." The boy thought about this for a long moment. Then he climbed out of the armchair and crossed the room and stood beside Richard at the window. He was very small beside the tall pane of glass. The mist on the lake was beginning to lift.
Two ducks moved across the silver water in a slow line.
"Mr. Caldwell."
"Yes, Elijah?"