“Lentil thought it was our ladder. He arrived late and was anxious to get in on the action. He pulled it back over the wall. Vicki gave him an earful, but it was an innocent mistake. The ladder was wiped clean. The point is that the kidnapper did not leave the way he came in. He did not take a route he had already established to be safe.” Charlie paused. “Guess.”

“He walked out the front door with the baby?”

“Yes.”

Kelly considered. “Why would he do that?”

“Because he now had the baby in his hands and he wanted to be careful. He didn’t want to risk dropping it while he switched the ladder from one side of the wall to the other.”

Kelly nodded. “He cares about the baby.”

Charlie nodded. “He peeked at Mom. He might care about her as well.”

“Interesting.”

“How was your interview?”

“Amy lied to me. She lied about an old boyfriend.”

“Do we know the guy’s name?” Charlie asked.

“Matt Connor. But he’s dead.”

“Then why do you care about him?”

“Because I sense she did.”

“I don’t see the good that does us. How many old boyfriends does she have?”

Kelly shook her head. “Don’t know. I need to get her alone and drill her. But not today. She’s a mess.”

“You don’t think she stole the baby?”

“No way.”

“What about the husband?”

“A prick.”

“Aren’t they all,” Charlie said.

They returned to the house. Vicki wanted to talk to Charlie. The house was still under siege. Kelly wandered around inside, ended up downstairs in Amy’s studio. There were bright watercolors on the walls: landscapes and country villages. The woman had talent. On an easel stood the beginning of a portrait of her son. Kelly felt a sharp pang. She thought of Anna suddenly taken from her.

Through a crack in the top drawer of Amy’s desk, Kelly glimpsed a picture in a small frame. She let out a gasp. She recognized the guy—he was the one she had seen in the paper the day Slate had introduced her to the Acid Man. It had been his boyish yet intense face that had got her thinking about “Mai Mai and the Man,” and “The Tears of Rati.” The photo was the same as the one that had appeared in the paper. What a coincidence.

“May I help you?” Amy asked at her back.

Kelly whirled. “Sorry. I was waiting for my partner and I thought I’d have a look around.”

Amy was not bothered. “That’s the boyfriend I mentioned, Matt Connor.”

“I read about him. He died in a plane crash?”