"Okay."
She was scooping the ice cream at a steady clip. The bizarre combination of flavors alone was enough to land her in the hospital. Speed would only hasten the belly ache. "Slow down a little," he said. She ignored him. "Morgan, did you hear what I said?"
She scooped even faster. He was angry for a split second, then concerned. She seemed more hungry than defiant. "Morgan, did you eat lunch today?"
She shrugged.
"Does that mean you don't remember, you don't care, or you don't think so?"
She shrugged again, still dipping into her ice cream. "Are you worried about something, sweetheart?"
She stopped eating, speaking into her * sundae. "Aren't you?" *
He knew what she meant, but he didn't want this to be their talk about Beth. Not yet. "Actually, I am a little worried. About you."
"I'm okay."
He looked away, then back. "Morgan, I'm going to ask you a question. I promise you, I won't get angry, no matter how you answer it. So long as your answer is the truth. Is that a deal?"
She nodded. Melted ice cream was dripping from her chin. Gus reached across and wiped it away with the napkin. "Do you remember that little wooden horse in my office? The one I said was not a toy?"
"Yes."
"Did you take it?"
She froze, saying nothing.
"Just tell me the truth. I won't get mad. Did you take it?" She lowered her eyes. Her head moved almost imperceptibly, but it was definitely a nod.
"Why did you take it?"
She shrugged again. "I don't know."
"You know that's wrong, don't you? Did anyone ever tell you that it's wrong to take things without permission?"
Another shrug.
"I'm confused again, Morgan. Are you saying you don't know it's wrong to steal things?"
She just sat there. Gus studied her expression. She seemed troubled, as if she were hiding something. "Morgan, did anyone ever tell you it was okay to steal?"
Her shrug was slower this time, more exaggerated. More ambiguous.
"Is that a yes?"
"No one really told me that. I just .. ."
"You just what?"
She lowered her chin to the tabletop. Her eyes locked on the half-empty ice cream dish before her. "I saw Mommy do it."
He winced, incredulous. "You saw your mother steal something?"
She nodded.
"Where?"
"At Nordstrom's."
That was Beth's favorite department store. "Are you sure?"
"Mmm-hmm."
"Tell me what happened."
"She just . . . put some clothes in her bag."
"Mommy put clothes in her shopping bag?"
"Yeah. And then we walked out."
"You didn't stop at the cash register to pay for it?" She shook her head.
"Are you sure about that?"
Her voice was flat, but the answer was firm. "I'm sure. It happened lots of times."
"What do you mean lots of times? More than twice?" She nodded.
"More than three times?"
Again, she nodded.
"More than five times?"
Morgan was still. Slowly, she nodded.
Gus leaned back in his chair, flabbergasted. Then it hit him, and the shock gave way to pity. He suddenly understood. Morgan was angry, that was all. She was afraid her mommy had left her, and now she was making up bad stories about her.
"Morgan, are you mad at Mommy for something?"
She shrugged. Gus had seen enough of her shrugs to know which ones meant yes, which ones meant no. This was definitely a yes.
"You shouldn't be mad at Mommy. But it's normal to be a little worried. I'm a little worried, too."
"You are?"
He nodded. "In fact, I've already asked some people to help look for your mother."
"Did something bad happen to her?"
"We don't know that. There are certain things I have to do, just to be extra careful."
"What kind of things?"
He paused, afraid it might overwhelm her to talk about the FBI and the media. "Remember last year, when your class took a field trip to the zoo and you got lost for a little while?"
"Yeah."
"Your teacher got really nervous, because you were gone, and she didn't know where you were. She had the other kids looking for you, the other teachers, the zookeepers. I think the chimpanzees were even looking for you."
She smiled a little. "Not the chimps."
"All right, maybe not the chimps. But a lot of people were worried and looking for you. And the whole time you were just standing and watching the polar bears."
"You think that's where Mommy is?"
"No. But it could be something that simple. She could be just fine. So promise me you won't get scared if you see people looking for Mommy, wondering where she is. We're all just being very careful."
She stopped eating her ice cream. She was staring down at the table.
"Morgan? You promise?"
She was silent. After a few seconds he noticed a slight movement, a very faint shrug of the shoulders. He decided not to push.
"Come on, sweetheart. Let's go home."