Decker followed his daughter into the kitchen, took out a knife, and halved one of the grapefruits he’d picked last night. It was pink and juicy. “You’re certainly chipper this morning.”

“I got sleep.” Cindy poured bottled drinking water into a four-ounce bottle and added a teaspoon of sugar. “When I’m rested, I’m invincible.”

“How’s your memory, Superwoman?”

“Uh-oh.” Cindy sat down and began to feed the baby. “Something’s on the sergeant’s mind.”

Decker was silent. Cindy said, “Really, Daddy. Do you need to ask me something?”

“When you were in the nursery, Cindy, do you remember any black women hanging around Marie Bellson?”

“Black women?”

“Or just maybe a specific black woman. Don’t confine yourself to nurses. She could be a doctor, an orderly, a janitor, an administrator, a medical-supplies salesperson—just as long as she’s big and black.”

“Why?”

“I’ll tell you in a moment, after you’ve answered the question. But take your time. Think sequentially, Cindy—take it day by day.”

Cindy was quiet as Hannah happily downed her sugar water. “You may be asking the wrong person. I tried to avoid Marie as much as possible.”

Decker cut wedges of his grapefruit. “Do you remember any black women loitering around the nurseries, period?”

Cindy thought for a long time. “I think I remember a black cleaning woman.”

“You know, I remember one, too,” Decker said. “I’m going to have to go over my notes inch by inch.”

“And of course, there was Lily. But she belonged there.”

Decker looked up from his grapefruit. “Who’s Lily?”

“One of the neonate nurses.”

“What?”

“What’s wrong, Daddy?”

“This Lily is black?”

“Last time I saw her she was.”

“Don’t be cute. Do you know her last name?”

“No, but Darlene would. I think Lily was one of her trainees.”

“Why the hell don’t I remember the name?” Decker dashed out of the kitchen and opened his briefcase, quickly sorting through his notes. Cindy followed, babe in arms, and took a seat at the dining-room table.

“What is it, Daddy?”

“Just a sec, okay?”

“What are you looking for? Maybe I can help.”

“It’s not what I’m…just hold on, please.” Decker sat down and began to examine his notes more carefully. “I don’t have any Lily written down for Nursery J. Just a Christine Simms.”

“What about Christine? She isn’t black.”

“I know that. Do you remember seeing Christine the night Caitlin Rodriguez was taken?”

Cindy furrowed her brow in concentration. “Yes…yes, definitely.”

“How about this Lily person?”

Again Cindy thought a while. “I don’t remember if I met her the night of the kidnapping or the night before. But like I said, Darlene would know if Lily was on duty.”

“According to my notes, Darlene didn’t mention Lily, and I asked her all about the people under her care.”