“Right.” He smiled with what looked like relief. “Can I pick you up at six?”
“Sounds great.”
“Okay.”
“Okay.”
He tugged at the edges of his coat as he sauntered out of the room.
Wow. A real grown-up date. That was almost easy. Even the idea of looking for an evening gown before Friday didn’t seem so scary.
“What was that all about?” said a sly voice near her shoulder.
Celia turned to her mother. “I’m going on a date.”
“With Detective Paulson?” That was her father, standing by Spark and scowling.
“Yeah, with Detective Paulson,” Celia said.
All four of them were there now. Mom beamed. Robbie, her surrogate uncle, looked like he wanted to ruffle her hair and crack a joke. Arthur seemed thoughtful, like he always did. Then there was the Captain, who appeared annoyed. He’d worn the same sour, frowning expression before every date she’d ever gone on.
Time to get out of here. “I’ll see you guys later.”
Feeling intensely smug, she strolled out of the courthouse, swinging her attaché case.
* * *
She’d been kidnapped the first time when she was sixteen.
She got the call at home, at the West Plaza penthouse. Back then, no one knew that the top floor served as the headquarters of the Olympiad.
Celia knew, but if she told anyone, who would believe her?
She was doing math homework at the kitchen table when the phone rang. Sighing with frustration—she was actually starting to understand trigonometry and was annoyed at being interrupted—she answered, expecting that it was her mother asking her to start fixing supper, or a friend inviting her to a movie or party that she wouldn’t be allowed to go to.
“Hello?”
“Celia! Thank God! I need your help, come to City Park right now—”
“Dad?” She pressed the phone closer to her ear, as if that would make his voice come through clearer. He’d never sounded like this, harried and desperate. It was enough to make her panic. “What’s wrong?”
“I can’t explain. I need your help, please hurry!”
What could she possibly do to help? But there must be something, or he wouldn’t have called. He must be in trouble, him and Mom both. Maybe this was her chance. He was trusting her. She wouldn’t let him down.
“Yes, yes, I’ll hurry. City Park?”
“By the fountain.”
“Okay, Dad. I’m on my way.” She hung up the phone before hearing his response.
It was only four blocks away. She could reach it by bike in a few minutes. She hoped that was fast enough; he must have known she wouldn’t have another way to travel. Maybe he’d called her as a last resort. That would mean that all of the Olympiad was in trouble.
Security let her keep her bike behind the desk in the lobby. The guard on duty, an older guy named Damon, called a friendly greeting to her as she hauled it toward the doors, but she didn’t have time to respond. Her heart was racing. God, this was just like some kind of secret mission. Was this what her parents felt every time the Olympiad’s alarm rang?
She still couldn’t think what her father was doing calling her with a mission. He’d call the city dog catchers before he called her. Nevertheless, he’d called, and he’d said he needed her. That was enough.
On her way to the park, she ran two red lights and didn’t look back at the noise of screeching tires as cars barely missed hitting her. It didn’t really occur to her that her chance at completing a mission for the Olympiad would be utterly destroyed if she were creamed by a garbage truck. She just had to get to the park before it was too late.