The Lost Boys

by Faye Kellerman

  Rosner handed her the pile, and McAdams glanced through the drawings. There was a slew of happy faces. He said, “Can I look through the drawers for a moment?”

  “Knock yourself out,” Rosner said.

  McAdams bent down and started at the very bottom. He scanned through the papers and noticed that one pile featured mostly sad faces. Tears from the eyes and a big frown. “Huh!”

  “What?” Decker asked.

  McAdams pulled out another group of papers and sorted through them. “You know, most of the faces are unhappy until you get to the very top of the middle drawer. The last, what, thirty or forty pages are happy faces.” He held up a finger. “You know what these are. These are mood indicators that a psychologist might give the residents to determine how they feel. If I’m right, Kathrine was very upset until forty pages ago. Which would mean that if she saw a therapist every workday, her mood abruptly changed about two months ago.”

  Rosner nodded. “Clever.”

  “We should talk to her therapist,” McAdams said.

  “Who won’t say anything because Kathrine still could be alive,” Decker said.

  “I bet I can get something out of her.”

  Decker concurred. “Then go find her therapist, Tyler. I’ll catch up with you.”

  “Sounds good.” He gathered up the pages and left.

  Rand said, “How’d he figure that one out?”

  “I guess college wasn’t wasted on him.”

  “Psych major?” Rand asked.

  “I have no idea,” Decker said. “I’m going to start to pull apart her bed.”

  “I’ll do the closet,” Rosner said. “Mike, you want to do the bathroom? Or do you want to switch?”

  “I’ll do the bathroom.”

  “Great.” Rosner started checking out the built-in structure, examining the walls and drawers for hidden compartments. She worked quietly for a few minutes. Then she said, “I got it.”

  “Got what?” Decker had folded the sheets back and was checking the mattress for anything hidden.

  “The mood faces,” she said. “Your partner’s got a sibling or a kid with emotional problems, right?”

  Decker pulled the mattress onto the floor to examine the box spring. He looked at her and smiled. “Clever.”

  She smiled back. “Which one is it?”

  “I said clever.” Decker laughed. “Beyond that I plead the Fifth.”

  OPENING THE COOLER in the trunk of the car, Decker pulled a soggy tuna sandwich from a paper bag. He immediately put it back and hunted around. There was a thin pool of cold water at the bottom. The ice packs that Rina had made with quart-size zip-up plastic bags must have leaked and turned everything wet. The sandwiches were supposed to be for the ride home. It was either soggy tuna or nothing.

  McAdams was looking over his shoulder. He said, “There must be a bagel place somewhere. Bagels are ubiquitous.” He consulted his phone. “Aha! There is a coffee place that sells pastries and bagels about three miles from here. Let me call and see what they have at this time of day.”

  “Sure.” Decker rolled his shoulders. “I suppose I can use a cup of coffee anyway. The thermos is just about empty.”

  “Just let me dump this out in the garbage.” McAdams hoisted up the cooler and looked around for a trash can. “No sense smelling up the car. I’ll save the drinks.”

  Decker got in the driver’s seat and turned on the engine and AC. He waited until McAdams was back and seat-belted in, then took off. Ten minutes later they were parked in a lot and eating in the car. It didn’t take long for Decker to polish off his lunch.

  “You still hungry?” McAdams said. “I am.”

  “I’ll go for round two.”

  “Another coffee?”

  “No, when they say a large coffee, they mean large.”

  McAdams went inside and emerged five minutes later with the grub. He slid into the passenger’s seat and doled out the food. “Are we going to talk about the case or just stuff our faces?”

  “Does it have to be either/or?”

  “Kathrine left voluntarily,” McAdams stated.

  “And Bertram?”

  “My opinion? Him too. But that doesn’t mean it didn’t turn into something bad. I’d feel better if you hadn’t found blood in Elsie Schulung’s kitchen. Any news on that?”

  “Not yet.” Decker took another bite of his bagel. “I keep coming back to what you said a couple of days ago—that Elsie took off before Bertram went missing. Maybe she’s using Bertram and Kathrine as shields. Who would think that a woman with two dependent adults would be hiding something sinister? She’s not old enough to be their mother, but she could pass them off as her sister and brother.”

  “Escaping with two dependent adults would slow Elsie down if she was running away from something. And all that blood makes me think that she is running away.”

  “No argument from me.”

  McAdams said, “Baniff should be looking for her. I hope they know what they’re doing.”

  “I’ll call up Jake Quay when we get home. I should have a few hours before Shabbos. I want to write up a few notes. There are a lot of tentacles, and I want to make sure we’re not missing something.” Decker wiped his mouth, threw the napkin into a bag, and started the car. Driving off, he said, “Are we all set with Zeke Anderson’s parents?”

  “Sunday at three in the afternoon.”

  “Has Kevin found anything else in the woods?”

  McAdams checked his phone log. “He hasn’t called. Let me give him a ring.” A pause. “Straight to voice mail. Maybe that means he’s still in the woods.”

  Decker said, “I forgot to tell you. We’re going out to dinner with the family before we leave the city Sunday night. You’re invited. But I’m warning you. It’s going to be disorganized and loud with the children, their spouses, and the grandchildren.”

  “Yeah, how many are you up to?”

  “Five. Hannah had a baby a couple of months ago.”

  “Wow. Amazing!”

  “Yes.” Then Decker said, “What’s amazing? Do I look too young?”

  “You don’t, but Rina does.” McAdams grinned. “Am I still invited even after the snide comment?”

  “Yes. But now the invitation is given begrudgingly.”

  McAdams patted his shoulder. “Rina is meeting Gabe and his mother, correct?”

  “Yep.”

  “Is she staying with Gabe?”

  “No, Terry’s at a hotel.”

  “And you don’t know what the meeting between Gabe and Terry is all about?”

  “I don’t know the specifics, but I’m sure Terry wants a favor. Probably a big one. The last time we did her a favor, we ended up with Gabe for four years.”

  “How old was Gabe at the time?”

  “Fourteen.”

  “How old are Terry’s current children?”

  “I think around eleven and five. It isn’t going to happen again for us. I think Terry knows that. But Gabe is their brother. She might be hitting him up.”

  “Why do you think she’s dumping her kids on Gabe? Maybe she just wants money.”

  “That request can be made with a phone call. And Gabe would give her money. He has plenty of it. I think she’s escaping something and she doesn’t want the kids with her. Call it a hunch.”

  “Is her current husband as bad as Donatti?”

  “Devek? Don’t know a thing about him other than his name. But Terry’s in New York with the kids and without Devek. If she is running from him, it wouldn’t surprise me. The girl is a doctor; brains aren’t the issue. Her heart is another thing. And the heart can lead to some very poor choices.”

  CHAPTER 12

  ABOUT FIFTEEN MINUTES after the start of the sabbath, Decker’s cell buzzed. It was Kevin Butterfield. Decker had spoken to him an hour before, regarding progress on the search for the two other missing college boys. There had been nothing to report on that front, but obviously something had changed.

  �
��What’s going on, Kev?”

  “One of the uniforms just found Elsie Schulung’s car. You don’t need to come down, Rabbi. I’ll have it towed and brought in for processing. I’ve got someone out here taking pictures. I’ll send them to your phone when she’s done.”

  “Where was it found?”

  “About a mile and a half from the diner.”

  Decker’s stomach dropped. “How’d we miss that?”

  “According to the officer—it was Bill Jensen—the vehicle was parked behind a big clump of brush and not visible from the road. But in answer to your question, I have no answer except that we’re looking at a very overgrown area.”

  “Of course. Did you have a chance to look it over?”

  “For forensics, not yet. But Bill did a once-over check including the trunk. No bodies, so that’s hopeful.”

  “Yes, it is.” Decker gathered his thoughts. Let’s keep going with a search crew and make sure we didn’t miss anything else.”

  “I’m on it, Deck.”

  “Any luck with residences or businesses in the area?”

  “No, not really.”

  “I know. It’s rural. I just keep hoping.”

  Kevin said, “There are some trailers, but no CCTV that I could spot except for the rest stops, which so far haven’t yielded anything.”

  “I think McAdams said something about a truck stop about two miles away?”

  “I’ll check it out. We’ll be out there again at daybreak, canvassing the woods and knocking on doors of any structure in the vicinity. I’ll call if we find anything important. If we don’t, I’ll call you after the sabbath.”

  “Do you have enough people? Between this and searching for the lost boys, we’re getting stretched. Should we ask for more people from neighboring departments?”

  “I think we’re okay for now,” Butterfield told him. “Lucky for us that there’s not much crime in town. Enjoy a little peace, Rabbi. Isn’t that what you say? Shabbat shalom?”

  Decker smiled. “It is indeed what we say. Shabbat shalom to you as well.”

  EIGHT O’CLOCK SUNDAY morning, they hit the road for the big city. Rina said, “I’m going to try to relax a little.”

  “Tired?” Decker asked.

  “A bit.”

  “Close your eyes and rest, honey.”

  “Thanks.” She leaned back the seat, put on earbuds, and listened to music on her phone. Every so often she’d open her eyes and glance at her husband. He stared straight ahead, his thoughts unreadable. At ten, Decker’s cell sprang to life through Bluetooth. It was Kevin Butterfield with the latest update. “A whole lot of nothing.”

  In some ways disappointing, in other ways a big relief. That meant no new bodies. Decker said, “Any details on your nothing?”

  “The car is still being processed. It’s Sunday and things are slower. We did find lots of crap inside—food wrappers, cans of Coke, empty drink cartons, empty water bottle, an empty jar of nuts, several boxes of raisins. Everything pointing to a trip to a convenience store.”

  “You can get more wholesome food at a convenience store,” Decker said. “It sounds like they stopped at a convenience counter at a gas station.”

  “We’re checking out the fuel stops in the area.”

  “My guess is that she drove toward the diner in her own car and had another car waiting at a designated spot.”

  “She swapped them out,” Butterfield said. “Which means we’ve been looking for the wrong car.” A pause. “This must have been set up a while ago. How did Elsie Schulung find Bertram in the woods? Did the two of them have a meeting place? I mean, how well could Bertram follow a map?”

  “The woman who was sitting next to him on the bus said that Bertram was following the bus on a map app like Waze. Maybe Elsie had programmed something into his phone.”

  “That’s possible,” Kevin said.

  Decker said, “How did Elsie get a second car? Bertram doesn’t drive.”

  “Another person was involved?” Kevin said.

  “It’s beginning to look that way.” Decker shook his head. “Are you sure you have enough people? I can send McAdams back. I have to interview Zeke Anderson’s parents, but he doesn’t have to be there.”

  “I take it he’s not with you in the car?”

  “No, he’s in the city already. But he can return to Greenbury if you need him.”

  “Tyler is a good cop,” Butterfield said. “Life and a few gunshots have humbled him to the point of nobility. But in my frank opinion, he’s better at desk work than fieldwork. Let me get a little further along. When there are calls to be made or CCTV to check out, I’ll let you know. Tyler’s good at that stuff. He’s got a sharp eye.”

  “Fair enough.”

  “I really do like the kid. I’d appreciate it if we keep this conversation between you and me.”

  “Fair enough as well.”

  RINA TOLD DECKER to drop her off in front of the Carlyle at Seventy-Sixth and Madison. Before she could get out of the car, Gabe flagged them down. Decker slowed and Gabe got into the backseat. “Change of plans. She’s on the West Side now near Columbia. Do you mind driving us?”

  “Of course not.”

  “Thanks.” Gabe got in and slumped in the backseat. He wore a white open-necked dress shirt and a pair of jeans. High-tops on his feet. “Leave it to her to change plans. She must be in trouble. Husband trouble most likely.”

  “Do you want me along?” Decker asked. “I have about an hour.”

  “No, but thanks, Peter.”

  “You’re coming tonight?” Rina asked.

  “Right. The dinner.” He slapped his forehead. “Yes, Yasmine and I will be there. Mom has me totally discombobulated mentally. I can fend off a gang of armed thugs, but I can’t face my mother.”

  Traffic was crawling on Madison but eased up as they went north. Decker turned left on Central Park North, which turned into 110th. He went west until he hit Broadway, then turned right.

  Gabe said, “It isn’t much farther.”

  Rina said, “Why don’t you let us off here? I really could use a little walk to clear my head.” She turned to Gabe. “Is that all right?”

  “Yeah, of course.”

  Decker pulled over and they both hopped out.

  Gabe stuck his head in the driver’s window. “I’ll see you tonight, Peter. And thanks again.”

  “Whatever your mother wants, Gabe, you can say no,” Decker told him. “You are an independent adult.”

  “You’re right. But it’s hard for me to say no to my mom.” He looked at Rina. “Will you say no for me?”

  “Sorry, Gabriel,” Rina said. “I’m your support system but not your mouthpiece.”

  SHE OPENED THE door to the hotel room, and her face fell as soon as she looked past Gabe and saw Rina. Terry’s gold eyes wavered between disappointment and anger, but she had no choice but to be gracious and let them both in. “Hi, there.” A big smile. “I didn’t know you were in town, Rina.”

  “Peter had business. I decided to tag along.”

  “Not true,” Gabe said. “I invited her to come. Well, that’s not true either. I asked her to come.”

  Terry’s cheeks pinkened. “I thought we might enjoy a little alone family time.”

  “Mom, she is family.”

  “Of course.” Terry looked at Rina. “I apologize.”

  “No need, Terry. We’re all friends.”

  “I wonder.” Terry looked at Gabe. “How about a hug?”

  Gabe regarded his mother. At forty-two, she was beautiful and lithe with long auburn hair that had been kissed by the sun. Her complexion was pure porcelain. If she had aged, Gabe couldn’t detect it. Usually, she was mistaken as his sister. No miracle there because she had given birth to him in her teens. Even so, she looked young for her years. The passage of time had been kind to both his parents, probably because they never gave a damn about anything other than themselves. He gave a smile and a hug, and she clung on longer than she nee
ded to. When she finally let go, her eyes were wet. The woman always did know how to turn on and off the emotional faucets.

  “Looking good, Mom,” Gabe granted.

  “You look … like a man,” she told him. “I still have this image in my head of you as a teenager.”

  “You just saw me last year in Mumbai.”

  “I know,” Terry said. “But it was a brief encounter and I still have this idea of who you are that’s out of date with reality. Sit down. Both of you.”

  “I’d rather stand, if you don’t mind.” Gabe looked around the hotel suite. It was done up with brown silk walls, a red couch, black lacquer chairs, and Asian vases with silk flowers spilling out. A wall of mirror framed by gold and some minimalist art hung on the walls. There was a small kitchenette and a view of the Hudson’s whirling gray-green waters. Soft music was playing from a Bose radio system. It was quiet, considering that her children were eleven and five. They were nowhere to be seen. “Where are Juleen and Sanjay?”

  “In the bedroom watching TV.”

  “I want to say hi.”

  “I thought I could talk to you first while they were occupied. Once they see you, it’ll be like trying to put toothpaste back in the tube.”

  Gabe shrugged. “What’s up?”

  Terry looked at Rina and then back at her son. “I don’t know where to begin.”

  A moment later a door opened and a little boy ran out, an ear-to-ear smile on his face. Sanjay was dark complexioned with big brown eyes and black hair. He was built thick and short and was the image of his father. He ran to Gabe and threw his pudgy arms around his knees. Gabe picked him up under his shoulders and planted a kiss on his forehead. “How’s my boy?”

  “Are you staying?”

  “For a little bit.” He turned and faced his sister. Juleen’s complexion was halfway between his mother’s and Devek’s skin tones. She was a delicate little thing, thin and waifish, with dark hair and eyes a shade darker than gold. She seemed aloof and reserved, standing near the doorway. Gabe said, “You’ve grown.”

  Juleen gave him an appraising look. “You haven’t.”

  “Ha ha and ha.” Gabe walked over to her and gave her a peck on her forehead. “How have you been, beautiful?”