Golden Lies - Barbara Freethy [37]
"What?"
"Your family. Where did your grandmother get the dragon?"
"She doesn't know."
"Maybe someone in your family knows," she said, repeating his earlier statement and liking the fact that the Hathaways weren't the only ones under the microscope.
"There's no one else in my family to ask. My grandfather has Alzheimer's. He can't even remember his name."
"No other relatives?"
"Nope. Dead or gone pretty much accounts for all of them."
She thought about that blunt statement. "What about your parents?"
"Dead or gone," he repeated.
She didn't know what to say to that. Riley certainly didn't know how to make polite conversation. "I'm sorry," she said awkwardly.
"It's not your fault. But you're right. We can't overlook anything, in my family or in yours. I'll do some digging. Hell, I'll even pay my grandfather a visit. Maybe he'll have a lucid moment."
"Does that happen often?"
"Almost never."
"That must be difficult for your grandmother."
"She was crazy about him. Still is, even when he doesn't recognize her, which is most days. The hardest times are when he's struggling to remember something, when he has enough awareness to realize it's gone. That's when it gets to me—when I see that look of panic in his eyes, and I can't do anything to stop it." He shook his head. "I hate feeling helpless."
She knew exactly what he meant. She'd felt that way when her sister died, and she'd felt that way all last night. "Thanks for the ride. I guess I'll see you later."
"You can count on that."
* * *
By seven o'clock that night, everyone in San Francisco knew that David Hathaway had been assaulted in Chinatown, that he was fighting for his life, and that a potentially valuable Chinese dragon might have been the motivation for the attack. Riley hit the mute button on the television, irritated with himself for mentioning the dragon to the police detective the night before. Obviously, Tony had not kept that fact to himself. With the press watching the Hathaways every second, it was no wonder the news had leaked out. At least his grandmother's name had not been mentioned. He didn't care if the Hathaway reputation took a hit, but he'd prefer not to have his grandmother in the spotlight.
His phone rang, and he leaned over to pick up the extension, seeing his grandmother's number. "Hello, Grandma."
"Riley, I just saw the news. I feel terrible about what happened to poor Mr. Hathaway. And that my dragon might be the cause of it all is so upsetting."
"We don't know that for sure."
"The reporter who talked to me seemed to think it was the reason."
His gut tightened. "What reporter?"
"Someone from the Herald called. He was very nice. He asked me all, kinds of questions about the dragon. Of course I could only tell him what they told us, and I didn't even remember all of that."
"I wish you weren't mixed up in this," he grumbled. "Don't talk to anyone else, Grandma. Just let the answering machine pick up the phone. Maybe I should come over there."
"And do what? Babysit me? I'm too old for that, honey. Besides, Patty and Lila are coming over to play cards in a few minutes. I won't be alone."
"What about later tonight?"
"I'm a big girl. I'll lock the doors and windows, and I'll make sure I turn on that security system your grandpa put in a few years ago."
"All right, but be careful."
"Of course I'll be careful, but I don't understand why you sound so concerned."
"I'm concerned because someone may have been willing to kill David Hathaway for your dragon." He heard Nan's small gasp of breath and cursed himself for being so blunt. He should have chosen his words more carefully.
"Well," she said, "I didn't quite see it like that, but I don't think I have to worry. After all, I don't have the dragon anymore."
She had a point, but he still couldn't shake the feeling that he was missing something.
"I'm beginning to think I wasn't meant to have that dragon, Riley," she added.
"Why would you say that?"
"I've been racking my brain trying to figure out where it came from. It had to have been brought into