“Yes.” A gentle cry slides through her frame. “He was…” She nods yet again. “Yes.”
“What do you suppose will happen to Chapel Hill now that he’s gone?” Fletch asks. “Is there a backup plan?”
“I don’t…” Her expression sparkles with fear. “I’m not sure. I’ll have to speak to Paul’s lawyers, maybe, to see what is set up.”
“Insurance?”
She wrings her hands. “I—I think there’s a trust that’ll keep the doors open for a little while. I don’t… I don’t know what we’ll do.”
“Does Paul have a lover?” Drawing Emilie’s gaze to me, I raise a brow and wait. “Does Paul have someone serious in his life, Ms. Elenora?”
“No.” She reaches up and swipes moisture from her cheeks, then selecting a bunch of carrots, she lines them up on the board and slowly begins chopping. “No one that I know of.”
“No one that he would spend a lot of time with?”
Again, she shakes her head. “No.”
“No one he introduced to you as a good friend? Could be male or female.”
“No, I…” She sniffles. “Not like how you mean. No one like that.”
“So after a long day here at Chapel Hill, Paul would go home and… what?” Fletch pulls Emilie’s attention to him once more. “Home, sleep, back here the next day?”
“Some nights, he would go out to dinner. Most often, those dinners were another way to raise money for Chapel Hill. He was the social butterfly that funded us.”
She brings her gaze to me. “He was the face, he was the smile, he was the social connection, and in the end, he was the one putting money in the bank so I could buy groceries.”
“Alright.” Pasting on a calming smile, Fletch steeples his fingers. “Does Paul have any enemies? Can you think of anyone who might hold a grudge against him? Anyone who would benefit from his death?”
“Paul was a kind man, Detective. He was good and generous and giving. He didn’t seek notoriety for his own ego. It was a necessary means to an end, to allow children to eat each day.”
Noise comes from the front of the building. Voices and footsteps. Laughter and chatter.
Instantly, Emilie’s eyes whip to mine. “What will I tell them?”
“Who?” I remain seated on my stool, but I twist my torso toward the doorway. “Who is coming?”
“The children,” she exhales on a panic. “The children will notice his absence. What do I… Oh god.”
“We can organize counselors to come down here and help you,” Fletch offers. “Child-focused, trained counselors who can help them through their loss, guide them through their emotions, and maybe help those whose situations outside of Chapel Hill are dire.”
“No, I—” She clamps down on her breath and hurriedly swings a hand up to swipe her cheeks free of tears as the first group of teens bustles through the door.
Some shove, and others laugh. A few drag backpacks along the floor, and most of them wear clothes that don’t fit quite right.
But every single one of them learned long ago to spot a cop. So the moment they enter the dining room and find me and Fletch sitting at the counter, they look to Emilie and take on a stance that says they’re ready to fight.
“Emilie?” A boy in the front, one of the tallest boys, breaks away from the pack, drops a backpack in the middle of the floor, and rushes around the counter.
Where I could think he might be going in to hug her, to pull her close, I pay attention when he pushes her back and stands in front to shield her. “Why are the cops here?”
“Chevy.” Emilie wraps her hand around his wrist. “It’s okay, mijo.”
But he stares dead into my eyes and demands again, “Why are the cops here?”
Slowly pushing up to stand, since we’re not likely to get anything else from her this morning, I take out a business card and set it on the counter for Emilie. Then I take out another and place it beside the first.
Looking straight at the boy—and noting he can’t be more than fifteen or sixteen—I slide both cards closer. “Call me if you want to discuss anything. Anything at all. We’ll probably be back in the coming days with a few follow-up questions. But in the meantime…” I lean a little to the left and meet Emilie’s tear-filled gaze, “I’m sorry for your loss. Detective Fletcher and I will work tirelessly until we have answers for you.”
Turning to face the group of teens, I tap Fletch on the shoulder and nod toward the doorway. “Let’s go.”