"No," she said firmly. "No police. Jack and I are both adamant on that point."

"I have friends in the FBI "

"No."

He thought about his conversation with Win. "When Jack lost at Merion, who was his caddie?"

She hesitated. "Why would you want to know that?"

"I understand Jack blamed his caddie for the loss."

"In part, yes."

"And that he fired him."

"So?"

"So I asked about enemies. How did the caddie feel about what happened?"

"You're talking about something that happened over twenty years ago," Linda Coldren said. "Even if he did harbor a deep hatred for Jack, why would he wait so long?"

"This is the first time the Open has been at Merion since then. Maybe that's reawakened dormant anger. I

don't know. Chances are there's nothing to this, but it might be worth checking out." '

He could hear talking on the other end of the line.

Jack's voice. She asked Myron to hold on a moment.

A few moments later, Jack Coldren came on the line.

Without preamble, he said, "You think there's a connection between what happened to me twenty-three years ago and Chad's disappearance?"

"I don't know," Myron said.

His tone was insistent. "But you think "

"I don't know what I think," he interrupted. "I'm just checking out every angle."

There was a stony silence. Then: "His name was Lloyd Rennart," Jack Coldren said.

"Do you know where he lives?"

"No. I haven't seen him since the day the Open ended."

"The day you fired him."

"Yes."

"You never bumped into him again? At the club or a tournament or something?" +

"No," Jack Coldren said slowly. "Never."

"Where did Rermart live back then?"

"In Wayne. It's the neighboring town."

"How old would he be now?"

' ' Sixty eight. ' ' No hesitation.

"Before this happened, were you two close?"

Jack Coldren's voice, when he finally spoke, was very soft. "I thought so," he said. "Not on a personal level.

We didn't socialize. I never met his family or visited his home or anything like that. But on the golf course" he paused "I thought we were very close."

Silence.

"Why would he do it?" Myron asked. "Why would he purposely ruin your chances of winning?"

Myron could hear him breathing. When he spoke again, his voice was hoarse and scratchy. "I've wanted to know the answer to that for twenty-three years."

Chapter 6

Myron called in Lloyd Rennart's name to Esperanza.

It probably wouldn't take much. Again modern technology would simplify the feat. Anyone with a modem could type in the address www.switchboard.com -a Web site that was virtually a telephone directory of the entire country.

If that site didn't work, there were others. It probably wouldn't take long, if Lloyd Rennart was still among the living. If not, well, there were sites for that too.

"Did you tell Win?" Esperanza asked.

"Yes."

"How did he react?"

"He won't help."

"Not surprising," she said.

"No," he agreed.