“Sometimes being reminded of little moments like that is the greatest gift. Caroline was a person who made every day seem special. It’s an unusual talent.”

“She made everyone feel special, whether or not they deserved to.”

He smiled. “Well put. You have a similar sense of humor, you know. Caroline was very careful about what she said, but if you knew her well, she was a riot.”

That was true. Caroline was decorous to the point of dullness in public, but she was sharply observant and could be sarcastic in private.

“What brought you here today?” he asked.

I didn’t want to tell him about my plan to raid the pantry. “I don’t have anywhere else to be right now. I just got fired from my job.”

“Fired?” His brow knit in concern. “Why? What happened?”

“Honestly? I kicked the shit out of a slimeball who groped me.”

“Deirdre!” He was clearly shocked. At first, I thought it was my choice of words, but I was wrong. “Are you going to sue? Do you have a lawyer?”

“No.” I didn’t want to add the obvious, that I was never going to be able to afford one.

“You do now.” He extracted a case from his pocket. I assumed it was a wallet, but when he opened it, there were only business cards inside. He removed one and handed it to me. “This is one of mine. He’s young but he is brilliant. Don’t hold it against him, but he was a classmate of my son’s. You should call him.”

I glanced at the name embossed on the front. Hugo Laraya, Attorney at Law, Casper Peters McNally. “I can’t afford him.”

“You don’t need to pay him a dime. He’s on retainer here.”

“Thanks.” I stuck the card in my pocket.

“Do you need money? I’d be happy to help.”

I could feel my face flush. I wasn’t used to taking charity, and the spreadsheets on Caro’s memory card made me wonder if his finances were on the up-and-up.

“I’m fine.”

“I don’t want to intrude if you’d prefer solitude,” he said. “Theo was in here yesterday. He’s already flown off to Germany. Berlin, I believe.”

That made my head swivel. “He left already? Did he take Teddy?”

“No,” Theodore said. “Teddy has had enough upheaval. I won’t permit someone as unstable as my son to disturb his life.” There was steel undergirding his words.

“Why would Theo take off like that? Why Berlin?” I’d never been outside the US, but the city was synonymous with decadence in my head. In fairness, that was from watching Cabaret and Babylon Berlin.

“I know he’s my son, but I find it impossible to understand him or the choices he makes. Theo is used to doing whatever he wants,” his father said quietly. “I can only blame myself for that.”