Then answered.
“My son drew it.”
Lucy looked surprised.
“You have a boy?”
Hammer's expression softened.
“I had a boy. His name was Benjamin.”
She frowned.
“Where is he?”
Hammer swallowed.
“He died when he was eleven. He was very sick, and he spent a lot of time at this hospital.”
Lucy looked toward the garden.
Then back at him.
“Did he make birds too?”
Hammer smiled through tears.
“Yes.”
“What colors?”
“Yellow. Blue. Sometimes red.”
Lucy considered that.
Then she pointed toward the tattoo.
“Did he make that one?”
Hammer nodded.
“He drew it on a piece of paper. His hand was tired that day, so one wing came out uneven.”
Lucy studied the bird.
For a moment, she seemed thoughtful.
Then asked.
“Why didn't he fix it?”
Hammer's voice broke.
“He said it didn't need fixing.”
Lucy looked up.
Hammer continued.
“He told me a bird with a crooked wing could still fly.”
For several seconds, neither spoke.
Then Lucy looked toward her yellow crane.
Its wings were uneven too.
She smiled faintly.
“Mine's crooked.”
Hammer looked toward the paper.
He nodded.
“A little.”
Lucy studied it.
Then whispered.
“But it still looks like a bird.”
Hammer smiled through tears.
“It does.”
For a moment, the child seemed peaceful.
Then her expression changed.
She looked directly into his eyes.
“Did you know the bad man?”
Hammer felt his heart tighten.
He could have avoided the question.
Could have told her the matter was complicated.
Could have asked her aunt to explain.
But the girl deserved a truthful answer suited to her age.
So he nodded.
“Yes.”
She looked down.
“Was he your friend?”
Hammer swallowed.
“Yes.”
For several seconds, she remained quiet.
Then she whispered.
“Why didn't you tell the grownups?”
The question struck him harder than anything Rook had said during the investigation.
Hammer looked toward his hands.
For a moment, he couldn't speak.
Then he answered.
“I should have.”
Lucy stared.
He continued.
“I knew there were things wrong that I needed to tell the police. I was afraid to believe somebody I trusted had done something terrible.”
The girl's face tightened.
Hammer took a breath.
“But being afraid wasn't a good reason to stay quiet.”
Lucy looked toward Mara.
Then back.
“You were supposed to tell.”
Hammer's eyes filled.
“Yes.”
For a moment, she seemed angry.
And Hammer accepted that.