Decker said, “Want to go out tonight? Veggie Thai. Seven o’clock?”
“That sounds fine. If you show up in time.”
“I promise I’ll make it.”
“Don’t make promises you can’t keep.”
“I do it because I choose to give you hope.”
“Ah, hope: it inevitably disappoints.” Rina laughed. “Pandora really shouldn’t have messed with that box.”
“I don’t know what more I could possibly say to help you.” Lionel Lewis unlocked the door to his office and swung it open. He motioned for Decker to step inside, pointed to a chair, and sat down behind his desk. The administrator was dressed in a tan jacket over a green plaid shirt and a solid red tie. Jeans and slip-on shoes with no socks rounded out the attire. “You’re the one in charge of finding him.”
Decker sat. “It’s harder than it looks on TV.”
Lewis was quiet. He folded his hands. “I’m sorry if I appear rude. I’m dealing with everyone here, trying to calm down frightened people. We’re all upset. I just don’t understand why you can’t find him.”
“We’ve scoured those hills,” Decker said. “I’m beginning to wonder if he’s out there. We’ve searched a huge perimeter. So thoroughly that we found another set of remains.”
“Remains?”
“We think the bones might be from a ten-year-old case.”
“And you’re positive they’re not Bertram’s?”
“They are not Bertram’s bones,” Decker said. “By mentioning that, all I’m saying is we went over the area inch by inch.”
“Obviously better than you did ten years ago.”
“I’ll ignore that.”
“Maybe whoever did that to your remains, did . . .” Lewis didn’t finish his sentence. “You know—the proverbial bogeyman in the hills.”
“I haven’t discounted that idea that Bertram may have encountered someone harmful. But first I’d like to rule out planned abduction.”
“Abduction?” Lewis shook his head. “Why would you say that?”
“His parents have money. Why wouldn’t I say that?” Decker paused. “When you talked to them last night, how did they sound?”
Lewis looked upward. “I didn’t talk to them. They were out of town, and their private secretary—the one I spoke to—said they’d be hard to reach.”
It took several moments for Decker to integrate the words. “Their son is missing. If that doesn’t constitute an emergency, what does?”
“He said he’d pass along the message once they were in reach of communications.”
“‘Reach of communications’?” Decker made a face. “Are they at an ashram in the Himalayas? I betcha even ashrams have cell phones.”
“I don’t know, Detective. I’m just as confused as you are. But I can’t make him tell me where they are.” Lewis bit his thumbnail. “It’s anxiety provoking. I have to have this conversation sooner rather than later. Anyone would assume that the parents would want to know.” A pause. “I’ve seen this before. Issues come up and the parents just don’t want to deal with them.”
“This is more than an issue. Did you deal with the parents when planning Bertram’s living arrangements?”
“No, just a series of secretaries and caregivers,” Lewis said. “We hadn’t been informed of any problems from Bertram’s prior facility, so we took him in.”
“He was in love with another woman there. A woman named Kathrine? Did you know that?”
“Yes, I did know. How did you find out?”
“Some of the people I interviewed yesterday told Detective McAdams and me all about her. Could he have run away with her?”
“Not without someone else’s help.”
“How about Elsie Schulung? She’s not home and there’s mail in her box.” When Lewis didn’t answer, Decker said, “Can I have the name of Bertram’s previous residential facility?”
“Why?” Lewis asked. “Ah, you want to find out if Kathrine’s still there.”
“Exactly. Because if Kathrine isn’t there, that gives me an avenue of inquiry. Maybe they ran away together. Can I have the number of the facility?”
“I have to get the number. And I’ll make the phone call.” Lewis buzzed his secretary, asked her for what he needed, then hung up the phone. “Say you call Bertram’s old facility and Kathrine is there. Then what?”
“I have to consider abduction.” Decker leaned forward. “Do you think it’s possible that the parents have received a ransom note and don’t want the police involved?”
“Being as I haven’t had any communication with them, how would I know?”
“Can I have your contact number for them?”
“You cannot. It’s private information.” Again, his thumbnail went to his mouth. “And why would you get any more details from the secretary than I did?”
“Sometimes police involvement makes it more official.”
“Let me think about it.”
“Do that,” Decker said. “In the meantime, I’d like to talk to your staff. I didn’t have a chance to interview them yesterday. Maybe they know something. I’ll keep it short.”
A frustrated exhale. “Who do you want to talk to?”
“Anyone who dealt with Bertram on a regular basis. Just a few questions.”
“It’s clear you’re not going to leave me alone unless I do what you ask.”
“Mea culpa,” Decker said. “I care.”
“I’ll see what I can set up.” Lewis stood. “I don’t know what’s taking Linda so long to get a phone number.”
“And I’d really like the name of the previous residential care house. I really need to find out about Kathrine.”
“Let me call first, and if something is a problem, I’ll tell you. Fair?”
Decker didn’t answer. Then he said, “I’d like to look at any files you might have on Bertram. I know he’s a legal adult, but he has been missing for almost two days.”
“The files would be in another room. I’ll see what I can do.” Lewis stood up. “Just wait here. And no snooping.”
Decker gave him a Stan Laurel smile. “God forbid.”
“Leave the door open.”
“Of course.” As soon as Lewis left, Decker quietly got to his feet and started rummaging through Lewis’s desk drawers. He pushed a few items around but didn’t find anything that looked consequential: no stacks of cash, no hidden valuables, no weapons, and no practice ransom notes. There were patient files, but nothing with a heading of Bertram Lanz. He thought about doing some electronic rifling, but Lewis would surely catch on to his spying. A computer search dumped evidence that was hardware retrievable. What Decker did was copy down the names of many of his computer files even if he didn’t open them up. To a cop, an order of “no snooping” was a direct invitation to do the opposite. If Lewis didn’t realize that, the man, despite his degrees, knew nothing about human behavior.