As Patch and Lia rode up together in the Chiltons’ elevator, Patch examined himself in one of its panels of antiqued mirror. He was glad he had dressed up a little bit for the cocktail party, even if that had only meant trading his sneakers for loafers and jeans for wool slacks. Even after all these years, he still never felt like he knew what to wear to functions like this one.
“Stop primping,” Lia said. “You look great.”
“So do you,” Patch said, drawing her close and giving her a kiss on her cold nose. He hoped it would be okay that he was bringing a non-Society member to the event, but he figured it probably was-and after all they had been through, a big part of him didn’t care anymore about the Society’s petty rules.
Lia had been running late, so they had decided to meet in the Chiltons’ lobby; he hadn’t had a chance yet to tell her about everything that had happened. The previous day, when Patch had found out the news about his relationship to the Bell family, he had felt like he needed to process the information alone before sharing it with anyone else. Now he wanted to tell Lia about it, but he didn’t know when he would be able to find the right time.
“Do you really want to go to this thing?” she asked.
“What do you think?” Patch grinned.
“So we can bust out early and grab burgers?”
“Absolutely,” he said as the doors opened to the Chilton apartment.
Once inside, Patch made the necessary introductions before he and Lia grabbed drinks and retreated to a corner of the Chiltons’ dining room.
“I have some good news for you,” she said.
“What’s that?”
She lowered her voice. “Remember that producer friend of my parents? He saw your DVD and he really liked it. He wants to meet with you.”
“Cool.” Patch smiled. “I appreciate it. But you know I can’t officially start working on anything until June.”
“I know. I just think it’s a good sign. And who knows, maybe he’s interested in working on something else with you. I mean, it’s not like a show about Chadwick kids is the only thing that you can do, right?”
“No, of course not.” He had tons of ideas for different shows and documentary projects. Besides, it would be good for him to get away from the whole Chadwick scene for a little bit. If he did a show about something that wasn’t related to the school, then the Society couldn’t claim that they had control of it.
Maybe he had never really needed the Society at all, not to provide an angle for the show, nor to help him get it produced.
“You look like something’s bothering you,” Lia said.
“It’s just-” A few of the party guests were starting to walk by the dining room. “It’s been an incredible two days.” It all came spilling out: He told Lia about what he had learned yesterday morning, about Parker Bell being his real father, Nick being his half brother, and about his inheritance from Palmer. It felt strange to talk about money so openly with Lia, but he felt like he needed to give her the whole picture. “And then today, we found-well, we found something that we think might be able to get us out of the Society. Except that Nick might have messed it up. It’s not really clear.” Some of the other Society members had entered the dining room and were nibbling at the buffet that had been set up. “We probably shouldn’t be talking about this here.”
“Do you think we could sneak out?” Lia asked.
Patch thought about it for a moment. They had already said hello to Claire and to Mr. and Mrs. Chilton. “I think so. You’re going to have to grab our coats, though. If they see me out there, they’ll notice and ask if we’re leaving.”
“No problem.”
Lia went to find their coats. Patch waited for her in the dining room, and then motioned for her to follow him when she returned. The two of them discreetly slipped out of the dining room and across the hall into the kitchen. A team of caterers was busy putting canapes on trays and barely noticed them.
Patch opened the back service entrance next to the pantry. The service area was a gray-painted stairwell with a garbage chute and recycling bins.
“Had you been to this apartment before?” Lia asked.
“Nope. But most apartments like this have a back staircase that goes off the kitchen.” He looked down. “We’re only on the sixth floor. I think it’s worth it to walk.”
They put their coats on and walked down the six flights to the lobby, where they were able to escape undetected. Ten minutes later, they were sitting in a booth at Genie’s favorite coffee shop on Second Avenue.
They ordered two cheeseburgers, plus a coffee for Lia and a hot chocolate for Patch. After they were alone again, he explained about the trove of stolen art they had found. “You can’t tell anyone about this, you understand?” he said. “It’s up to Nick what happens with this information. We all promised him we wouldn’t say anything.”
“But I thought you were upset that he wasn’t able to get you guys out of the… you know.”
“I am. But this information is the last card we hold. And I think I have a plan for how we can use it.”
Lia rolled her eyes. “You never stop, do you?”
He ignored her jab. He had some ideas, but his scheme wasn’t fully developed yet.
“The story gets weirder,” he said. “Have you ever heard of a caul bearer?”
Lia shook her head.
Patch explained what it was. “It’s supposed to bring luck to the child who’s born with it.”
“You just said you inherited thirty million dollars. I’d say that’s pretty lucky.”
The waitress arrived with their drinks, and they lowered their voices.
“Parker gave me this big lecture about how I had disappointed him, how I was meant for greatness, but I hadn’t exhibited it yet.”
“How is he so sure that he’s going to be the one who sees the greatness in you?” Lia asked. “Maybe your greatness isn’t meant to emerge yet.”
She was right. What did he care about Parker’s opinion of him? Parker had little conscience about his own actions, so how was he fit to judge Patch?
“You’ll do your own thing,” Lia said. “But I have a feeling it’s not going to happen with these idiots.”
“I guess you’re right. I think what would make it all more clear for me would be if I could really understand what went on between him and my mother. Why would she get involved with him? Did my father not know about it? My grandmother won’t tell me-and I’m not even sure if she knows exactly what happened herself.”
Lia took a sip of her coffee. “I think there’s only one way you’re going to solve all this,” she said. “I know you don’t want to do it, and I know it’s not going to be pleasant.”
“What’s that?”
“You need to go and see your mother.”