The Budding Metalinguist

XIV

Lillian wished she knew what Kern wasn't telling her.

She suddenly felt a strong pang of guilt. She shouldn't be thinking that way. She imagined the expression on Galena's face that first day when Lillian received the results of the DNA test and how Galena knew she was hiding something. Galena was much worse off, Lillian reminded herself. Ashley, Beanie, and now Lillian were all keeping secrets from her.

Or even Rachel. Rachel knew nothing, because Lillian hadn't cared enough to tell her. She had been scared to tell her. Rachel, Lillian reminded herself, was her closest friend. Rachel deserved to know at least who she really was.

Lillian unlocked the door of the bathroom and scooped up her phone. She was going to Rachel's house.

☙❧

Dakota couldn't stop ruminating about how Lillian was feeling and what she was thinking and if she missed him the same way that he missed her. He certainly wondered.

How was she spending her time back in Eugene? Dakota remembered something about her wanting to look at her baby journals, but he doubted those would be of much use to her now. Did she have anyone to visit there besides Chris and Morgan? Possibly a mutual friend of hers and Rory's that she was spending time with? Dakota suddenly hoped that she wasn't deciding to confide in anyone.

He vaguely recalled her saying something about a friend, someone she was planning to visit. What was it? Rylie? Reagan? No, Rachel. She had seemed genuinely deeply excited to see Rachel; they had probably known each other for a long time. But how long compared to Rory?

Dakota felt a sudden and bitter surge of jealousy, something he hadn't felt in a long time. Why had Rory gotten to grow up alongside Lillian, to share a friendship with her? Why did Rory have the privilege of knowing her, of being close to her? Bitter, sullen Rory?

Dakota tried to tamp down his furious envy. Rory had been watching her. The phrase echoed in his mind: Rory is watching you, something he had heard long ago and used to laugh at. Rory had been her guardian, and only that.

And yet there was more to it than that. Rory was bitterly hurt, the same way Dakota had been for a long time after the takeover. Dakota recognized it- Rory had lost someone he cared about. Just like Dakota. Just like Ashley. But for Rory, the wound was deeper and raw.

As much as Dakota wanted to tell himself that Rory had only been there to guard over Lillian, he couldn't help but admit: Rory and Lillian cared deeply for one another. He wondered exactly how close they were.

In a sudden fit of confidence, he rose swiftly from his office chair and entered the mirror in the corner of his office.

☙❧

Galena and Diane stood stiffly at the end of the room. The witnesses' end. The end where the interviewees brought in by the DIAO answered their questions. The end where Lillian sat for her regular briefings and for those initial tests.

Rolf sat at ease, at the head of the table. Flanking him were Janelle, sitting in Galena's seat, and an empty seat saved for Erica, who as usual was taking Presidents' Day off. Derek and Evan displayed their support only too clearly by casting veiled looks in Galena's direction.

"There's no spy." Rolf stated incredulously.

Diane nodded slowly, looking him squarely in the eye.

Rolf leaned back in his chair and surveyed the room with a completely self-absorbed and tyrannical air. "I think we all know that's not true," he explained in a patronizing tone of voice.

Galena felt almost despondent. At this rate, she had no hope of getting the DIAO to believe her. But she also knew it was not her duty to back down and let them walk over her. She was the best investigator here. And it didn't matter whether they all thought she was a spy; she would prove to them that she wasn't.

"On the day Beanie broke in, Ashley was at the DIAO," Diane said tonelessly, in plain statement of facts. "She dropped Galena off. She saw the van we were all leaving in. That was how Beanie knew how to break in."

Galena noticed a brief flicker in Evan's expression. He was taking into account all of the evidence and determining whether it added up. Evan was a very logical person, Galena recalled. He would see the truth.

"Beanie has been known to walk around campus and the park," Diane continued. "It is easy to see the minivan that we normally rent from a variety of angles. If Beanie saw the minivan, or even simply that the lights in the DIAO were out, he could easily have contacted Ashley to let her know that the DIAO were looking for her."

No one looked particularly swayed by this argument.

"There is no evidence that Galena informed Beanie or Ashley about anything happening at the DIAO," Diane finished.

"Ashley is Galena's mother," Rolf returned. "She is embroiled in a serious investigation, much of which we only have Galena's testimony to rely on."

Diane and Galena exchanged a look. Rolf was a lost cause. But if they could convince Evan or Derek to listen... maybe they would be able to sway the rest.

"Thank you, Assistant Director Tarmont," Rolf finished, and looked away in cold dismissal. Something Galena couldn't ignore.

She walked to the end of the table and stood over Erica's empty seat. "Without me," she explained coldly, "you would never have found anything at all."

Satisfied, she returned to Diane's side, and the pair left without a word.

☙❧

Rolf snorted as soon as the door slammed shut. "What blather." It wasn't an expression that he used often, but now seemed more appropriate than ever.

Janelle's mouth twisted up in outright disgust. "I can't even believe it. If there was ever a weaker argument."

Rolf decided to try out his new idea. "Do you think Diane is working with her?" he asked cautiously.

Derek made a sound of disdain. "After that? Either Diane is a fool or a spy. I'm inclined to believe the latter."

"Diane has been here for quite a while," Evan put in.

"What's your point?" Rolf asked sharply.

"Just that she's been very good at what she does. She's certainly not a fool. And she's been here quite a long time," Evan repeated, a bit nervously.

Rolf turned away. He would worry about Evan later. He set his elbows on the table and leaned forward with a commanding air. "We're all in agreement, then?"

Janelle placed her outstretched hand on the table, and Derek and a hesitant Evan followed suit. It felt odd not having the ever-supporting Erica there, but Rolf knew that she would agree without question.

He just wished that everyone else behaved likewise.