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Mike is quiet in the backseat as they drive to the restaurant, and though William isn't making an effort to combat the silence, it grates on him. He's long since resigned himself to never understanding that boy and what motivates him to do the things he does. He doubts anyone will understand him. By the time they pull into the parking lot, Will already regrets agreeing to come to the party, just a little. He's still reeling from loss and the last thing he wants to do is celebrate anything, but Mari deserves to have as exciting of a birthday as possible despite the circumstances. It wasn't her fault that the timing was bad, and William understood Henry's push for normalcy, but that didn't mean he had to be happy about it.
Regardless, he puts on a pleasant face- a clever mask so carefully constructed he can sometimes fool himself into thinking everything is going to be alright- and they make their way into the restaurant. Mike does perk up a little bit the moment they get inside, a shy grin making its way onto his face as Mari's older brother, Alex, waves and runs up to them.
"You're here!! Mari's gonna be real happy t'see you—Dad's gonna be too, but Mari missed you a lot." The end of the boy's statement is punctuated by a warm smile aimed at Mike, who simply shuffles in place until Alex cheerfully grabs his hand and drags him off, continuing to chatter about whatever comes to mind. Will feels a brief, momentary pang at the sight, then pushes the feeling away. If Mike had wanted to open up to him he would have done so years ago, but that clearly isn't going to happen any time soon, if at all. As irritated as he got with Mike, though, he was genuinely glad he had Alex as a positive influence- Henry's boy was a far cry better option for Mike to hang around than the boys whose company he used to frequent.
Sighing, he turns, ready to head to the party room further into the restaurant, when he spots the gift table off to the side and swears under his breath. He forgot her present. Shit. Well, the only thing he can do is go let either the boys or Henry know that he'd have to make a quick run back to the house to get it, and he turns to go find whoever he can first. It wouldn't take him long, he knew, but he didn't need them starting the festivities without him.
He finds the boys by the main stage and quickly walks up to them, kneeling down to make sure he has Alex's full attention.
"I've gone and blundered things and left your sister's gift at home, so I'm just going to pop out quickly and go fetch it, be a good lad and let your father know where I've gone if you see him and I'm not back yet, alright?"
He gets a nod in response alongside a toothy grin, and he can't help but grin back and ruffle the boy's hair as he stands back up. "That's my boy, I'll be back before you know it."
And with that, he makes his way back outside. He's a tad irritated to see that a heavy downfall has started up in the few minutes he was inside, and silently curses not thinking to bring an umbrella even though the weather hadn't mentioned anything about rain, but his thoughts are interrupted by a small noise off to the side, over by the alley behind the building. His first thought is that a raccoon is messing about with the bins and instinctively heads to his car first before doing any further investigation.
He's got a toolbox in his trunk- an old habit from back when he and Henry were first trying to start up their business and he'd often needed tools for fixing things and got tired of having to go all the way home just to get what he was missing and had started simply keeping the essentials in his car. There's not much in it that will do for protection against anything truly dangerous, but a small animal wouldn't pose much of a problem. Either way, he still grabs one of his sturdier screwdrivers before closing the trunk and making his way back over to the alleyway.
The screwdriver is clutched tightly in one hand as he makes his way down the alley, and at first, he sees nothing amiss or out of place- no raccoon is rummaging through the bins, nor are there any stray cats or dogs to be seen- but he's curious about the noise he heard and wants to make absolutely certain there's nothing back here.
He almost doesn't see her at first with the way she's curled in on herself, tucked right up against the bricks like she's trying to hide or sink into them somehow, and he freezes when he finally does notice. It's Mari. She's soaked clear to the bone and trembling, tiny arms curled around her knees as she hugs them close, trying desperately to ward off the cold and the wet to no avail.
A strange feeling settles in William's bones, thick like smog, or maybe molasses, and time seems to move excruciatingly slowly as she looks up and realizes someone is there. Her eyes light up and she surges to her feet to launch herself at William, throwing her arms around his legs as much as she can reach as she all but clings to him, grinning despite the tears still shining in her eyes.
"Uncle Will, Uncle Will!" She cries, so obviously pleased to see him that she doesn't even notice the shift in his eyes, how his smile doesn't quite reach them. Instinctively, he leans down and gathers her in his arms, the tool still clutched in one hand as he holds her close, tucking her head under his chin like he usually does when she needs comfort and her father isn't around.
It infuriates him that Henry isn't around.
How can a man who cherishes his daughter so much be so unaware of her whereabouts that she manages to find her way out here in the rain by herself? How could he have let this happen? What sort of father is so careless?
Henry doesn't deserve to be a father, he thinks, he doesn't deserve this beautiful little girl, not if he can't even do a simple little thing like keeping her safe.
William's hand twitches as a sudden anger fills him up, fuels him. He shouldn't get to keep this joy, not when mine was taken from me, he muses. The thought bounces around his head like a mantra, or a prayer, echoing and turning over itself until it's the only thing occupying his mind.
He drives the screwdriver home. Once. Twice. And three more times for good measure, shushing her as a warbled little cry slips out, the sound muffled into his chest and drowned out by the rain. She struggles in his arms, tiny legs kicking out, but he holds her tight until her squirming weakens, the fight dripping out of her like the red pooling on the ground at his feet. It's the sight of it, stark and bright until the water washes it thin, that startles him out of the dark haze covering his mind.
There's a moment of calm as the realization settles over him, only a moment, and then panic grips him like a vice.
What the fuck did he just do?!?
He almost drops her, a strangled cry of his own building in his throat and threatening to claw its way out, and he glances around wide-eyed until he spots it. The dumpster. It's a horrible idea and he knows it, but it's the only option he has. Too late to undo what he's done, he has no choice but to hide away this gnawing guilt settling in his chest like cobwebs in his lungs. It's far too easy to tip her body over the edge and let it fall on top of the bags of trash and loose refuse, and equally simple to grab a couple of extra bags that hadn't made it into the dumpster yet and toss those in too. So, so easy.
He feels like he's going to be sick.
He's shaking as he makes his way back up the alley, but he can't tell if it's from the cold or something worse. His dark dress shirt is soaked through from rain and blood in equal measure but with the color it's impossible to tell which is which, and he uses this easy out to stride swiftly but casually to his car, climbing in and driving off and appearing to all the world as calm and collected as usual. But all the while he's writhing inside, hands still shaking slightly as he tries to drive.
He washes his hands methodically when he gets back to the house, scrubbing between the fingers, under his nails, and up his arms to his elbows. He rips his shirt off, shoves it in a fresh trash bag, and then shoves that into the trash compactor under the kitchen cabinet next to the sink. There were already some things in there that hadn't been crushed yet- it wasn't nearly full enough before to warrant turning it on, but the addition of his dress shirt is all the excuse he needs to turn it on now. All he needs is to find the key to start the thing. In his panic-addled state, it takes him far longer than comfortable to track down the object, and he all but shoves it in the lock of the compactor and turns it, letting the little modern marvel do its handy job.
While he waits for it to finish he cleans off his shoes, puts on a fresh shirt, and grabs Mari's gift from the kitchen table, ignoring the sudden, horrifying lurch in his stomach as he places it into a bag to protect it from the rain. By the time he's ready to leave again, the compactor has finished, and he clears out the base of the thing to toss the little brick of trash in the bin outside.
Composed once more and put back together, he schools his features into nonchalance, calm. He will give nothing away, and no one will ever guess, he assures himself. And of course, they wouldn't guess, because what reason would anyone have to suspect him of bringing harm to his best friend and business partner's child, a girl he considered family to the point of calling her his niece?
By the time he makes it back to the restaurant, it's clear something is going on, some uproar has gripped the people bustling around inside past the glass doors. Henry is at the entrance when he walks in, and he stops William before he can make his way to the gift table.
"The boys told me you had to go back to get something you forgot at the house, did you happen to see Mari on your way out the door?" He asks fervently, a wild, fearful look taking over his face. Will shakes his head, plays the part of the concerned family friend even as something bends and twists inside him. He ignores it.
"No, I didn't. I assumed she was with you, was that not the case?"
"I had to head back to the house because I forgot her birthday cake, I couldn't have been gone for more than a few minutes but when I got back she was nowhere to be found and no one had seen her. I don't know what to do, we've been looking everywhere and no one can find her." Henry's voice cracks and he clutches at William, head falling forward to press his forehead to Will's chest. He feels sick again, but swallows against the lump in his throat to comfort Henry.
"Don't worry Hen, we'll find her, I'm sure she just wandered off somewhere and we'll be chuckling about this later," he says, voice gentle and soothing as he can make it, pushing as much warmth and hopefulness as he can into the words to make them feel authentic and believable. It must work because Henry is pulling away to give Will a tired smile.
"Yeah, you're probably right, probably fell asleep somewhere silly like she always does and just can't hear us calling for her." He chuckles and turns from Will, clearly eager to resume looking for Mari now that Will had attempted to soothe some of his fears. If he only knew just how true some of those fears would turn out to be, he might not have been so cheerful.