“I agree,” Decker said. “Only thing weird that I’ve found is her disconnected landline.”
“People are doing that more and more. Save on expenses. Do you know when it was disconnected?”
“No. It could have been months ago.”
“I’ll drive by the house in a few days and see if more mail is piling up. We can reevaluate at that time. How old is she?”
“Forty-three, I believe.”
“Okay. Vacation is looking like an option. Anything else?”
“No, I think you about covered it, Sergeant. Thank you very much.”
“We’ll talk again. I hope by then I have news for you. Bye.”
McAdams hung up his phone. “What do you think?”
“Who knows?” Decker shrugged. “I do hope that Bertram Lanz and Elsie Schulung have better outcomes than our missing campers.”
“Yeah, right.” McAdams looked out the passenger window. “That’s really our job, boss. We deal in awful outcomes. We pick up the shattered pieces of broken lives and try to make some sense of the unfathomable. Most of the time all we really do is shove the pieces back in place, but nothing is ever whole again. The lives still remain in tatters.”
The car was silent. Decker said, “Feeling overwhelmed?”
“Maybe, although I shouldn’t be. I’m done with law school. I am studying for the bar, and it’s going well. This case is just hitting close to home. I could imagine Chucky out there by himself . . . not good.”
“When was the last time you had a vacation, Harvard? As far as I remember, it’s been either school or the job. Maybe you can use a few days off.”
“Not with Bertram missing.”
“Tell you what, Harvard. I’m going back to the station house to look up the camper cold case. You go to the Zeke Anderson’s crime scene and let me know what’s happening there. Or . . . you can help the team scour the woods for Bertram Lanz.”
“I’ll go to the crime scene. From what I understand, the two are roughly in the same area.” McAdams was quiet for a moment. “I’m at loose ends. I don’t know where I’m going after I pass the bar.”
“Do you have to make a decision right away?”
“No.”
“Then don’t worry about it. This job is open for as long as you want. You’re a big asset to the department. That’s not pressure, that’s just a fact. It’s never a bad idea to take your time to think about major decisions. And empathy is always a good thing.”
McAdams gave a brief smile. “I’ve traded my lifelong sarcasm for deep introspection. I think that’s a mistake. Being bitter and angry feels a hell of a lot better than crying in my beer.”
Decker laughed. “Harvard, you can be a schmuck with me anytime you want.”
“Thank you, boss. Kinder words were never spoken.”
It was dusk when they returned to Greenbury, tired and road weary. The ride home had taken longer than expected and now there was little reason to make a stop at the crime scene. The bulk of the remains had been disinterred and were on their way to the morgue. Decker’s plan for tomorrow: a stop at the crime scene and a visit to the coroner’s office.
What a job he had chosen for his lifelong profession. Most of the time, he was impervious to the gruesome aspect of his work, intensely focused on bringing justice to the families. But then there were the days where it really got to him.
As soon as he arrived at the station house, he poured himself a strong cup of coffee and called his wife. Her voice made him smile. “Hey there.”
“Hey there, yourself. Are you back or calling from the road?”
“We’re back. No luck finding Bertram, but while the cops were out in the woods looking for him, they came across some buried remains.”
“‘Remains.’” A pause. “Not a recent case, then.”
“About ten years ago three male college students went camping and never returned. We may have found one of them, judging by remnants of clothing. We’ll know more if we get a positive identification.”
“And this happened ten years ago?”
“Yes.”
“Do you know the date? I’ll look it up.”
“Mid-October.”
“Who goes camping around here in mid-October? The woods can get very cold.”
“A few hearty souls.”
“Was it an exceptionally warm autumn?”
“No idea. I suspect that back then there were lots of marijuana farms hidden in the woods. Our climate isn’t the best for growing things, but if it was a warmer October, there still could be some plants to harvest. If you were a local dealer ten years ago, when marijuana was illegal in the state, hidden farms would have been one way to get material without going through a middleman.”
“Any indication that the boys were dealers?”
“I haven’t read the files, so I don’t know. I’m going to spend a couple of hours reviewing the case. You don’t have to wait up for me, but if you do, I won’t yell at you.”
Rina let out a small laugh. “I think I can manage to stay up until ten. Did you eat?”
“I’ll manage.”
“Nonsense. I’ll bring you some dinner at the station house. What about Tyler?”
“He could use food. He seems hangry. Or a version of depressed-hungry. We can call it dungry.”
“He’s depressed?”
“He just finished law school. He’s a little lost.”
“He has a lot of options.”
“Sometimes it’s better not to have so many options,” Decker said. “But I’m not shedding tears over his plight.”
“You’re going to be busy with this case. Ten years old and a lot of material to cover.” She paused. “Maybe it’s a good time for me to go to New York and deal with Gabe’s issues.”
“Sure.”
“How about if I leave on Sunday?”
“Fine with me. Is Gabe still holed up with us?”
“No, he left this morning, almost as soon as you left. I’ll call him and let him know my plans.”
“Good luck.”
“I don’t mind going. No sense being home by myself.”
Decker felt a pang of guilt. “I’ll take some time off as soon as I catch my breath.”
“Oh, for goodness’ sakes, Peter, I’m perfectly fine going to the city, visiting our kids and grandchildren, and taking in a little shopping. Hannah can always use some help with the baby.”
Their youngest now had a baby of her own. It made Decker smile . . . and feel a little old. “How’s my princess doing?”
“Sleep deprived. She sounds like the walking dead. If time permits, I’ll go to Philadelphia and visit Cindy the next day.”
Decker’s daughter from his first marriage. It was lovely that she and Rina were friends. “She has time off?”
“Well, like her father, she’s always working on a number of big cases. I’ll give her a call. If she can make it, fine. If not, another time.”
“Where will you be staying?”
“If it’s overnight, I’ll bunk down with Sammy and Rachel and the kids. There are more bodies in their apartment in Brooklyn, but it has two bedrooms. Hannah and Rafi are still in a studio.”