“They won’t let us walk through the main doors with those badges hanging on their coats.”

“Then we don’t use the main doors,” Claire said.

They walked across the frozen asphalt toward the east wing of the sprawling University Conference Center.

The late afternoon wind bit sharply through Claire’s cardigan.

Owen stepped slightly in front of his mother as they approached a small group of parents smoking near a concrete pillar.

He shielded her from their curious glances while keeping his eyes fixed straight ahead.

Arthur led them down a narrow concrete walkway lined with heavy metal dumpsters.