Turner.”
“Yes, we met briefly.”
Lily leaned back and met Rule’s eyes. She gave a tiny shake of her head to tell him she hadn’t found any magic on the man.
Edward Yu spoke quietly. “We will begin now.” The other conversations drifted to a halt. “Thank you. I have two decisions to make. Please understand that they will be my decisions, but I value your opinions. First I wish to make sure we all have the same information. Lily, is there anything you can tell us?”
Lily looked down at the notebook she’d set on the table, but she wasn’t consulting her notes; the notebook was closed. She spoke slowly. “Not yet. I mostly have negatives, and they aren’t confirmed.”
Mequi’s husband frowned. Jim Chung was a solidly built man with a sweet tooth and a fondness for crossword puzzles. He earned a good income as a tax attorney. Lily said that her uncle Jim made up his mind about as fast as glaciers traveled, but once it was made up, he never changed it. “What does that mean, you have negatives?”
“We’re fairly sure it wasn’t a potion, for one. And no,” she said when her uncle started to speak, “I am not going to go through the list of things we think it wasn’t.”
Mequi spoke crisply. “You owe us more than that. It is clear that Julia was hurt because she is your mother. What other reason could there be? If we are in danger because of you—”
Edward’s palm slapped the table hard. “Enough! We are not going to—”
“She has a point, Edward,” Lily’s other uncle said. Feng was normally a cheerful man, easygoing and sociable. He looked ruffled now. “If Lily’s job is putting us and our children in danger . . .” He glanced nervously at Rule. “Or maybe it’s her association with lupi. Whichever, we deserve to—”
“Deserve?” That was Madame Yu, her voice cold and sharp enough to cut flesh along with the others’ speech. “You will tell
me
what you think you deserve,
bái mù
, for blaming the one who fights evil instead of blaming the evil she fights.”
Rule didn’t know the Chinese phrase she’d used. Clearly Feng did. Just as clearly, it was an insult. He went white around the mouth.
Edward spoke into the sudden silence. “If terrorists in Afghanistan blow up a girls’ school and kill the students, are their teachers to blame for teaching them? Are their parents at fault for wanting their daughters to be taught, or are the Afghan people to blame for not giving in to the terrorists?”
Feng spoke stiffly. “I was not blaming Lily.”
To Rule’s surprise, his wife, Deborah, said firmly, “Yes, dear, you were. Not in so many words, but that’s what Mequi and you meant. And very upsetting that must be for poor Lily.” She reached across the table and patted Lily’s hand. “Pay no attention to them, sweetheart.”
“Thank you, Deborah,” Edward said. “I would like to stop wasting time now. We are going to hear from two experts who disagree about Julia’s diagnosis, but first I must make you aware of a difficult decision I face. Some of you have met Dr. Babbitt already. He is a well-credentialed psychiatrist recommended by both Susan and Paul. He believes I need to have Julia declared incompetent.”
“Oh, no,” Deborah said. “Oh, no.”
“That can’t be right,” Lily muttered. “I don’t see how that can be right.”
“It’s not as bad as it sounds,” Susan said. “Mother—well, she thinks she’s twelve. She won’t react the way she would if she were . . . if she thought of herself as an adult.”
“Edward,” Feng said. “You’re considering this?”
Mequi looked severe. “Of course he is. What else is to be done?”
“I’m considering it,” Edward said evenly. “I haven’t decided. From what Dr. Babbitt tells me, the medical power of attorney I hold for Julia doesn’t apply in the current situation.”
“The problem is,” Dr. Babbitt said gently, “that the law regards Julia as an adult. She’s not
“Yes, we met briefly.”
Lily leaned back and met Rule’s eyes. She gave a tiny shake of her head to tell him she hadn’t found any magic on the man.
Edward Yu spoke quietly. “We will begin now.” The other conversations drifted to a halt. “Thank you. I have two decisions to make. Please understand that they will be my decisions, but I value your opinions. First I wish to make sure we all have the same information. Lily, is there anything you can tell us?”
Lily looked down at the notebook she’d set on the table, but she wasn’t consulting her notes; the notebook was closed. She spoke slowly. “Not yet. I mostly have negatives, and they aren’t confirmed.”
Mequi’s husband frowned. Jim Chung was a solidly built man with a sweet tooth and a fondness for crossword puzzles. He earned a good income as a tax attorney. Lily said that her uncle Jim made up his mind about as fast as glaciers traveled, but once it was made up, he never changed it. “What does that mean, you have negatives?”
“We’re fairly sure it wasn’t a potion, for one. And no,” she said when her uncle started to speak, “I am not going to go through the list of things we think it wasn’t.”
Mequi spoke crisply. “You owe us more than that. It is clear that Julia was hurt because she is your mother. What other reason could there be? If we are in danger because of you—”
Edward’s palm slapped the table hard. “Enough! We are not going to—”
“She has a point, Edward,” Lily’s other uncle said. Feng was normally a cheerful man, easygoing and sociable. He looked ruffled now. “If Lily’s job is putting us and our children in danger . . .” He glanced nervously at Rule. “Or maybe it’s her association with lupi. Whichever, we deserve to—”
“Deserve?” That was Madame Yu, her voice cold and sharp enough to cut flesh along with the others’ speech. “You will tell
me
what you think you deserve,
bái mù
, for blaming the one who fights evil instead of blaming the evil she fights.”
Rule didn’t know the Chinese phrase she’d used. Clearly Feng did. Just as clearly, it was an insult. He went white around the mouth.
Edward spoke into the sudden silence. “If terrorists in Afghanistan blow up a girls’ school and kill the students, are their teachers to blame for teaching them? Are their parents at fault for wanting their daughters to be taught, or are the Afghan people to blame for not giving in to the terrorists?”
Feng spoke stiffly. “I was not blaming Lily.”
To Rule’s surprise, his wife, Deborah, said firmly, “Yes, dear, you were. Not in so many words, but that’s what Mequi and you meant. And very upsetting that must be for poor Lily.” She reached across the table and patted Lily’s hand. “Pay no attention to them, sweetheart.”
“Thank you, Deborah,” Edward said. “I would like to stop wasting time now. We are going to hear from two experts who disagree about Julia’s diagnosis, but first I must make you aware of a difficult decision I face. Some of you have met Dr. Babbitt already. He is a well-credentialed psychiatrist recommended by both Susan and Paul. He believes I need to have Julia declared incompetent.”
“Oh, no,” Deborah said. “Oh, no.”
“That can’t be right,” Lily muttered. “I don’t see how that can be right.”
“It’s not as bad as it sounds,” Susan said. “Mother—well, she thinks she’s twelve. She won’t react the way she would if she were . . . if she thought of herself as an adult.”
“Edward,” Feng said. “You’re considering this?”
Mequi looked severe. “Of course he is. What else is to be done?”
“I’m considering it,” Edward said evenly. “I haven’t decided. From what Dr. Babbitt tells me, the medical power of attorney I hold for Julia doesn’t apply in the current situation.”
“The problem is,” Dr. Babbitt said gently, “that the law regards Julia as an adult. She’s not
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