a family emergency. What happened?”
Then he saw the table.
He stopped.
The briefcase slipped from his hand.
For the first time since I had known him, Julian seemed completely speechless.
“Charlie found your phone,” I said.
Then I lifted the paper crown.
“He found this too.”
Julian rubbed the back of his neck.
His face turned red.
“I was hoping you wouldn’t find out like this.”
I walked toward him.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
He looked at me carefully.
“I wasn’t hiding another life.”
“I know.”
“Charlie told you?”
“Pretty much everything.”
Julian groaned.
“The castle?”
“Yes.”
“The volcano?”
“Yes.”
I pointed toward his wrist.
“So that wasn’t marker.”
He almost smiled.
“No.”
“Daddy Dinosaur?”
Julian covered his face.
“Oh, God.”
“And Confused Turtle.”
“Charlie is an excellent turtle.”
Then his expression became serious.
“You told me something once.”
I waited.
“You told me the waiting room was
