Hangman (4 page)

“Your father’s messed up. You wouldn’t happen to know his flight number, would you?”

Gabe shook his head.

“Do you know what airlines he usually chooses?”

“When he doesn’t fly privately, he takes American first class coast to coast. He likes to stretch out.”

“If he left the L.A. area, where do you think he’d go?”

“He could go home. Or he could go to Nevada and camp out there for a while.”

“He owns brothels in Elko, doesn’t he?” When the boy blushed, Decker said, “Would you know the name of his places?”

“One’s the Pleasure Dome.” His face was bright red. “The Pleasure Palace…he has like three or four places with word ‘pleasure’ in them.”

“Have you tried calling the places?”

The boy shook his head. “I don’t have the numbers. They might be listed. I could call up information if you want.”

“No, I can take it from here. Why don’t you pack a few things, take out the money and the jewelry from the safe, and then I’ll walk you back to the lobby.”

“I’m so sorry to be a pain. I feel like a jerk.”

“It’s no problem.” He put his arm around the boy’s shoulders. At
first the kid stiffened, but then his shoulders relaxed under the weight of Decker’s arm. “And don’t be too concerned. It’ll probably work out.”

“Everything works out. Sometimes it works out good. And sometimes it works out bad. It’s the bad that concerns me.”

T
HE CAR WAS
quiet on the way home, the boy staring out at the passenger window, looking like a forlorn puppy. Rina didn’t even bother to try to engage him. It took all of her energy to drive Peter’s Porsche. He had souped up the engine to God-only-knows-how-many horsepower and the clutch required muscle. Thank goodness most of the ride was on an empty freeway and in one gear.

As soon as she parked in the driveway, the kid leaped out of the car like a caged cat finally set free. His baggage was a school knapsack that he carried by one strap, a laptop, and a small duffel. He was tall for his age, with spindly legs. His pants had a hard time staying on his nonexistent hips.

Rina put the key in the front door lock. “Lieutenant Decker and I have four children, but only our daughter still lives at home. She’s seventeen.” She opened the front door and yelled out a hello. From behind the bedroom door, Hannah answered back.

“We’ve got company,” Rina said. “Could you come out a moment?”

“Now?”

“It’s okay.” Gabe cringed.

Rina tried to look reassuring as Hannah came storming out in her pajamas and robe. The two teens took each other in with a quick sweep of the eye. Rina said, “Hannah, this is Gabe Whitman. He’s going to be staying with us tonight. Could you show him to your brothers’ room and make up the bed?”

“I can do it,” Gabe said, pink-cheeked.

“So can Hannah,” Rina said.

“I’ll do it.” Hannah shrugged. “You need anything to eat? I was gonna get myself some cherries. You want to look around the fridge?”

“Uh…sure.” Gabe followed her into the kitchen and that was that.

Sometimes peer counseling was far superior to the best mothering.

AFTER HANNAH WASHED
the cherries, she gave him a handful in a paper bowl. “These are really good. I think my mom got them at the farmers’ market.”

“Produce is really good out here.”

“Out here? Where are you from?”

“New York.”

“The city?”

“The burbs.” He studied his fruit. “Do you know New York?”

“I have lots of friends out there.” She bit into a cherry and spit out the pit. “And my brother goes to Einstein Med School.”

Gabe said, “My mom worked at Mount Sinai for a while. She’s an ER doc.”

“Are you interested in medicine?”

“Not a chance.” He finally picked up a cherry and ate it. “You know I’m perfectly capable of putting on my own sheets.”

“Fine with me. Can I ask why you’re here?”

“My mom’s gone…like missing. I think your dad is looking for her. He said it was illegal for me to stay in a hotel by myself, so he offered to take me in tonight.”

“That sounds like my dad.”

“He’s a nice guy?”

“He’s a very nice guy,” Hannah said. “He comes across as very cop, but he has a heart of mush. My mother is even mushier. They’re both pushovers. You want something to drink?”

“No, thanks. I should probably get to bed.” He put the fruit down on the counter. “Thanks for the cherries. I don’t think I’m so hungry.”

“Are you going to be able to sleep?”

“Probably not.”

“I’ll show you how to work the TV. It’s a little funky because it’s from the Stone Age. My brothers have been out of the house for a while. What grade are you in?”

“I was in tenth. My mom and I just recently moved out here, so I haven’t been going to school.”

“So you’re fifteen?”

“Four months shy. A lot of people think I’m older ’cause I’m tall.”

“Yeah, same with me. But I don’t mind.” She hopped off the counter. “Follow me. And try not to worry too much about the situation. My dad may be a mush ball with me, but he’s really tough when it comes to police work. Whatever it is, he’ll get to the bottom of it.”

“That’s good.” Gabe smiled weakly. “I just hope that when he gets there, the bottom doesn’t drop out.”

DECKER’S FIRST CALL
was to his favorite detective, Sergeant Marge Dunn. “I’ve got a situation here. I could use some help.”

“What’s going on?” In the next breath, she said, “Is it something to do with Terry McLaughlin?”

“She’s missing.” After he explained the state of affairs, Decker said, “She has a sister and a father in town. I’ve already called her sister, Melissa—apprised her of the situation. She hasn’t heard from Terry in a few days. She also told me not to bother with the father. The two of them are barely civil to each other.”

“Did she sound worried?”

“Yes, she did. She told me that Terry would never leave Gabe without a good reason. I told her I’d keep her updated. As far as finding Donatti, I’ve called up all the numbers I have for him and left messages. That’s been a dead end. He owns some brothels in Nevada. I got hold of a receptionist who told me that Chris wasn’t due in until tomorrow afternoon.”

“That means nothing.”

“Of course. I’ve phoned Elko PD and have asked them to tell me when he comes into town.”

“Are they cooperating?”

“Hard to tell. The brothels make a slew of money, so it could be that the department wouldn’t be anxious to give up one of their own. I’m trying to retrace Donatti’s steps, starting with when he came into L.A. I’m checking commercial airlines, leasing companies, and jet card companies. And rental car companies. He has to be driving something, but I haven’t had any luck with that.”

“Have you done a search of the hotel?”

“Not yet. If it shakes out that way, I’ll call West L.A. It’s their district. Right now, I’d like to handle it myself…with a little help.”

“I’m on my way.”

“I came back to the hotel from dinner…turned around as soon as the kid called. I don’t have any of my kits or evidence bags with me.”

“Is something amiss?”

“No, it seems to be pretty much as I left it. There’s a drinking glass I’d like to bag.”

“I’ll bring the stuff down with me.”

“I can think of only two reasons why Terry would leave without notifying her kid. Something scared her off or she had a gun to her head. She took her purse, her keys, and her car, but she left behind a wad of money and her jewelry.”

“Oy, that doesn’t look too good. Didn’t you say that the meeting between them went well?”

“I thought it did. But Donatti is unpredictable.” He gave Marge the address. “It’ll take you about forty minutes without bad traffic.”

“Where’s the boy?”

“He’s with Rina. I’m keeping him at our house for the night.”

There was a pause. “Aren’t you getting a little overinvolved?”

“You should talk,” Decker snapped back. “If you hadn’t adopted Vega after that Father Jupiter debacle, she would have been declared a ward of the state and placed into the state foster care program. She would have probably become a delinquent, gotten pregnant ten times, been hooked on drugs, and turned into a prostitute. Instead, you got overinvolved and now Vega is almost done with her dissertation for a PhD in astrophysics. So you tell me if I’m wrong to get a little overinvolved.”

There was a long pause over the line. Then Marge said, “Hard day, Pete?”

“A little challenging.”

“I’ll see you soon.”

“Sooner is better than later.”

MARGE ARRIVED WITH
the kits, the bags, and the gloves. She had put on a little weight in the last year but almost all of it was muscle. At five ten, she was a lean one-sixty and had added workouts in the gym as part of her daily routine. Her face had lines across her forehead and faint spiderwebs crisscrossing at the corners of her brown eyes. Her blond hair—formerly light brown—was tied back in a ponytail and she had pearl studs in each earlobe. She had dressed in gray slacks and a black sweater, rubber-soled shoes on her feet.

“Thanks for showing up,” Decker said.

“Someone has to take you home,” Marge told him.

It took the two of them over three hours to conduct a preliminary search of the hotel, first going to the bar and the restaurant, then room to room, and finally checking the spa, the storage areas, and the empty banquet hall. Another hour was spent searching Terry’s room. When they had finished bagging whatever paltry evidence there was to be taken, the clock had struck one and Marge saw that Decker was still agitated. The lieutenant was
usually the consummate professional. He said, “What am I going to tell that kid?”

“He’s probably asleep.”

“Would you be able to sleep if you were him?”

“No.” A few moments passed. “If he’s up, this is what you’re going to tell him. You’re going to tell him that you’ve done everything you could do on a Sunday night. Tomorrow you’ll call the phone company to see if his mother’s cell has been used, you’ll call the credit card company and see if there has been any activity, and you’ll call her bank to see if there’s been any suspicious withdrawals.” Marge smiled. “More like you’ll assign someone to do it because you’re a busy guy and this isn’t even your jurisdiction. Have you called in to West L.A. yet?”

“I did indeed. I put in a need-to-locate on Terry’s car shortly before you arrived. It’s a 2009 Mercedes E550. Somebody has to come back and interview all the personnel. I’ve only talked to the desk clerk and she doesn’t know a thing.”

“It’s a skeleton crew right now. It’ll keep until the morning.”

“The desk sergeant told me that someone from West L.A. Missing Persons will call me. Whoever catches the call has to know who they’re dealing with.”

“So everything’s under control. Let’s go.”

“I’m too worked up to face the kid right now.”

“You’ll be okay by the time we get back to the Valley. If not, I’ll buy you a cup of hot cocoa at one of the twenty-four/seven convenience stores.”

Decker smiled. “Hot cocoa?”

“Once a mother, always a mother. Vega may be brilliant, but I still look out for her.” Marge patted his shoulder. “We know better than anyone else on the planet that the smartest people can do dumbest things.”

A
T TWO IN
the morning, the house was dark and quiet, just the way it should be. Decker closed the front door as softly as possible, waiting for the kid to emerge out of his sons’ room. When he didn’t, he tiptoed into his bedroom, undressed, and slid under the covers. Rina rolled over and draped an arm across his back.

“Everything okay?”

“Nothing to report, one way or the other.”

Rina was quiet, but then she sighed. “You’re upset. I’m sorry.”

“Yeah, I’m a little upset. I should have talked her out of the meeting.”

“You’d only be postponing the inevitable.” Rina sat up. “From what you’ve told me over dinner, she wasn’t planning to leave him permanently.”

“You’re right, but the fact still remains that she’s missing.” He rolled over and faced her. “Rina, what am I going to tell the kid?”

“That you’re doing all you can and you’ll keep him posted. The bigger issue is what we
do
with him. He certainly can stay here for a
few days, but if it should drag on longer, we’ve got a decision to make.”

“Well, he has a grandfather living in L.A., but he doesn’t like the man. Terry didn’t like him. He said his aunt is nice but ditzy.”

“How old is she now?”

“Around twenty-one…a very young twenty-one is what Gabe told me.”

“Ugh, that’s way too young to be handling a teenager and probably a troubled one at that. Does she work? Does she go to school?”

“I don’t know anything about her except that she recently had an abortion.” Decker exhaled. “I’ll deal with it in the morning. Let’s get some sleep.”

“Sounds good.” They both slipped under the covers. Peter was out within ten minutes, but Rina lay awake for a long time, haunted by images of a lost, lonely boy.

UP BY SIX,
but Rina wasn’t the first one out of bed. Gabe was sitting on the living-room couch in the near dark, his head back, his eyes closed behind his rimless glasses, his bags at his feet. He wore a black T-shirt, jeans, and giant sneakers that looked to be around a size twelve.

“Good morning,” Rina said softly.

The kid’s head snapped up. “Oh.” He rubbed his eyes. “Hi.”

“Going somewhere?” When he shrugged, Rina said, “Would you like some breakfast?”

“I’m not too hungry…but thanks.”

“How about some hot chocolate or coffee?”

“If you’re making coffee anyway, that would be good.”

“Come keep me company in the kitchen.”

Reluctantly, the boy got up and followed her. He squinted when she turned on the overhead light, so she immediately turned it off and settled for the under-the-cabinet lighting.

“Sorry.” Gabe sat down at the kitchen table. “I’m like a bat in the morning.”

“It’s too early for a lot of light anyway,” Rina told him. “Are you sure you’re not hungry? It might be a good idea to eat and keep your strength up.” He certainly didn’t look as if he had a lot of reserves to draw upon.

A sick smile. “Yeah, okay.”

“How about some toast?”

“Okay.” A pause. “Thanks for putting me up for the night.”

“Were you comfortable?”

“Yes, thanks.”

“I’m sorry, Gabe. If you need anything, please let me know.”

“So your husband didn’t…I mean, my mother is still missing?”

“So far as I know, yes.” She put two pieces of bread in the toaster. “Lieutenant Decker should be getting up soon. You can ask him whatever you want.”

The boy just nodded. If there was a personification of the word “miserable,” Rina was looking at it. The toast popped up and she placed the plate in front of him, along with jam, butter, and a cup of hot coffee. “Cream or sugar?”

“Please.”

“Here you go.”

“Thanks.” The boy nibbled at the dry bread. “Do you know where I’m going?”

“Lieutenant Decker told me that you have an aunt and a grandfather in L.A.”

He nodded. “So he’s gonna call them up or…”

“I don’t know the procedure. Let me peek in and see if he’s up.” Rina went into the bedroom just as Decker finished his shower. “Coffee’s ready.”

“I’ll be out in a sec.”

“Good. The poor kid’s wondering where he’s going to stay until things get resolved.”

“If they get resolved. He’s up already?”

“He’s up, packed, and looking wholly dejected. Do you blame him?”

“It’s a rotten deal.” He put on his pants and shoes.

Rina paused. “Maybe we should put him up for another couple of days…just until he gets his bearings.”

“And then what?” Decker said. “I feel for him, but he’s not our problem, Rina.”

“I didn’t say he was.”

“I know you. You’re softhearted. I already got overinvolved with Terry and look where it got me…where it got her…Lord only knows where it got her. Where’s the kid?”

“In the kitchen.”

Decker buttoned his shirt. “I’ll deal with him and you wake up our daughter.” He laughed as he knotted his tie. “I’ve got the easier assignment.”

THE BOY WAS
staring at the tabletop. Decker said, “Hey, Gabe.”

He looked up. “Hi.”

Decker placed a hand on the kid’s shoulder. “We haven’t found your mother yet.”

A forced smile that hid a quivering lip. “What about Chris?”

“We’re working on the both of them. We’ve still got lots to do and lots of options. So the only thing I can say is sit tight and we’ll keep you posted.”

He blinked several times. “Sure.”

“We’ve got a couple of things to talk about right now, though. I know your father’s an only child and an orphan. And we know about your mom’s relatives. Before we explore that, do you have anyone in New York that you want me to get hold of?”

“Like relatives?”

“Relatives, friends, buddies…”

“I have friends, but no one I’d want to stay with. At least not right now.”

“Okay, so that leaves us with your mom’s relatives.”

“I barely know my grandfather. My mother and he didn’t get along.”

“So we’re down to your very young aunt.”

“I guess I could stay with her.” He looked down. “What are my options if I don’t go with my aunt?”

“On a long-term basis, you’d become a ward of the state—that’s foster care. You don’t want that.” Decker poured himself a cup of coffee. “Tell me why you don’t want to live with your aunt.”

“She has no money to support me. She’s been living off of what my mom gives her. She parties all the time. She smokes pot and her place is a sty. I know she’d let me stay with her. And I actually like her. But she’s not very responsible.” He dropped his head into his hand. “This really sucks in a life that already sucked!”

Decker sat down. “I’m sorry, Gabe.”

“That’s…” He took off his glasses and wiped them with a napkin. “I’ll be okay. Thanks for putting me up.” He drummed his fingers across the kitchen table. “You know, I have my own money. I have savings and trust funds and stuff. Do you think a judge would let me live alone?”

“Not at fourteen.”

He looked at Decker. His voice was melancholy. “Could I just stay here for another couple of days until things get sorted out? I’m really quiet. I don’t eat much and I promise I won’t get in your way. I’ll be happy to pay you—”

“Stop, stop.” The kid was breaking his heart. “Of course you can stay here for a few days. I’ve already talked to Mrs. Decker. She agrees with me. It was actually her idea.”

Gabe closed his eyes and opened them. “Thanks so much. I really appreciate it. I’m sorry to be such a pain.”

“You’re not a pain and there’s no need to apologize. You’re in a bind right now. I feel for you. We’ll take it one step at a time.”

At that moment, Rina walked in with Hannah. Gabe got up. “Excuse me.”

As soon as he was out of the kitchen, Decker raised his eyebrows. “He asked to stay here a few more days.”

Rina looked at Hannah. The young girl shrugged. “It’s fine with me as long as he’s not a psycho or anything like that.”

Decker blew out air and whispered, “He doesn’t appear to be a
psycho. But his father is a psycho and I really don’t know a thing about him.”

“He doesn’t want to live with his relatives?” Rina asked.

“Apparently not,” Decker said.

“How many days are we talking about?” Hannah asked.

“I’m hoping to locate one of his parents soon.”

“So let him stay.” Hannah smiled. “Even if he is a psycho, there isn’t a lot here to steal.”

Decker said, “A couple of days won’t make that much of a difference. If it drags on longer than that, we’ll reevaluate.”

Rina said, “He should be in school.”

“Not our school,” Hannah said.

“Why not?” Decker said. “It’s filled with misfits anyway.”

“It’s an Orthodox day school, Abba, and I don’t think he’s Jewish.”

“Neither are half the kids in the school.”

“That’s not true,” Hannah said. “Look, I can take him to school. He’s real cute and I’m sure all the girls will fall madly in love with him. Just don’t blame me if the rabbis have a fit.”

Rina said. “Sitting around here is only going to make him feel worse.” She turned to Hannah. “Go in and tell him that you’re taking him to your school.”

“You want
me
to tell him?”

“Yes, I do,” Rina ordered.

“I have choir practice tonight. I won’t get home until late.”

“Take him with you,” Decker said. “I seem to recall that he plays the piano. Maybe he can accompany you guys.”

“Right!” Hannah snorted and went in to fetch Gabe from her brothers’ bedroom.

When she was gone, Decker said, “I hope this doesn’t come back to bite us.”

“It might,” Rina said. “But even God judges us for our present actions only and not on what He knows we’ll do in the future. How can we mortals do anything less?”

“That’s a nice little speech, but we mortals have to use the past to
judge the future because we’re not God.” He shook his head. “What kind of a teenager doesn’t want to live with his young irresponsible aunt who parties and dopes?”

“A kid too mature for his age.”

HE SAT ON
one of the twin beds, his backpack at his feet, staring at nothing while other people talked about his fate. A position he had been in umpteen times before. The room was filled with athletic trophies, paperback books, comic books, CDs, and DVDs, mostly from the nineties. There were posters of Michael Jordan and Michael Jackson, one of Kobe Bryant when he was about seventeen years old. The CDs included Green Day, Soundgarden, and Pearl Jam.

An utterly normal room in an utterly normal house with an utterly normal family.

What he would give to live an utterly normal life.

He was tired of dealing with a psycho for a father, a totally unpredictable maniac with a violent temper. He was sick of having a psychologically beaten-down mother—recently a physically beaten mother. He feared his dad, he loved his mom, but he was sick to death of both of them. And although he was sincerely passionate about his music and the piano, he detested growing up a prodigy. It drove him to do more and more and more and more.

All he wanted was to be fucking normal. Was that so hard of a wish to grant?

He heard the knock on the door and wiped his eyes. He looked in the mirror and noticed they were red-rimmed. Fucking-A great! The girl probably thought he was a real wuss.

Mom, where the fuck are you? Chris, what the fuck did you do with Mom?

He answered the door. “Hey.”

“Hey.” She smiled. “You know if you want to hole up here for a few days, you’re more than welcome.”

“Yeah, your dad already told me that. Thanks. I really mean
that.” He bit his lower lip. “I’m sure things will sort out by then. Tell your parents I won’t be any trouble.”

“I’m enough trouble for the both of us.” She smiled. “Hate to tell you this, bud, but my mom wants you to go to school with me.”

“School?”

“Don’t shoot the messenger.”

“Right.” He laughed. What else was there to do? “Sure. Why not?”

“It’s a religious school.”

“What religion?”

“Jewish.”

“I’m Catholic.”

“It’s fine. You won’t have to do anything against your beliefs.”

“I have no beliefs except in the innate evil of human beings.” He looked at her. “Except your parents.”

“If it’s too much for you to handle, I can probably talk my mom out of it.”

“No, it’s okay.” A pause. “I’ll deal. Do I need a notebook or something?”

“I’ll get you an extra one. You’re in tenth grade, you said?”

“I was.”

“Algebra two or pre-calc?”

“Pre-calc.”

“I’ll take care of it. I also heard you play the piano.”

His eyes showed a twinkle of animation. “Do you have a piano?”

“My school does. Are you good?”

For the first time, Hannah saw a genuine smile. He said, “I can play.”

“Then maybe you can stay after school and accompany our choir. We’re terrible. We could use some sort of a lift.”

“I probably can help you out there.”

“C’mon.” She motioned him forward. “I’ll guide you through it. You may not know it, Gabe, but you’re looking at a BMOC.”