Brad and Billy Dowd stood next to the car, their backs to me. Brad wore a light brown linen suit and gestured with his right hand. His left arm rested on Billy’s shoulder. Billy wore the same blue shirt and baggy Dockers. Half a foot shorter than his brother. But for his gray hair, the two of them could’ve passed for father and son.

Dad talking, son listening.

The sound of my engine cutting made Brad look over his shoulder. A second later, Billy aped him.

By the time I got out, both brothers were facing me. The polo shirt under Brad’s jacket was aquamarine pique. On his feet were perforated, peanut-butter-colored Italian sandals. Cloudy day but he’d dressed for a beachside power lunch. His white hair was ragged and he looked tense. Billy’s face was blank. A grease stain rorschached the front of his pants.

He greeted me first. “Hi, Detective.”

“How’s it going, Billy?”

“Bad. Nora’s nowhere and we’re scared.”

Brad said, “More worried than scared, Bill.”

“You said— ”

“Remember the brochures, Bill? What did I tell you?”

“Be positive,” said Billy.

“Exactly.”

I said, “Brochures?”

Billy pointed at the house. “Brad went in there again.”

Brad said, “First time was superficial. This time I opened some drawers, found travel brochures in my sister’s nightstand. Nothing seems out of place except maybe some extra space in her clothes closet.”

“Packed to go,” I said.

“I hope that’s it.”

“What kind of brochures?” I said.

“Places in Latin America. Want to see them?”

“Please.”

He jogged to the Caddy and brought back a stack of glossies.

Pelican’s Pouch, Southwater Caye, Belize; Turneffe Island, Belize; Posada La Mandragora, Buzios, Brazil; Hotel Monasterio, Cusco, Peru; Tapir Lodge, Ecuador.

“Looks like vacation plans,” I said.

“Still, you’d think she’d tell us,” said Brad. “I was going to call you to see if you found any flights she took.”

Nora’s passport hadn’t been used.

I said, “Nothing so far but still checking. Does Nora ever fly privately?”

“No. Why?”

“Covering all bases.”

“We’ve talked about doing that,” said Brad. “Mostly, I’ve talked about it. Being so close to Santa Monica Airport, you see those beauties take off and it looks real inviting.”

Same thing Milo had said. For the Dowds it could be more than fantasy.

I said, “What did Nora think?”

“She was ready to do a time share. But once I found out the cost, I said forget it. The cool thing would be owning my own plane but that was never an option.”

“How come?”

“We’re not close to that financial league, Detective.”

“Did Nora agree with that assessment?”

Brad smiled. “Nora isn’t much for budgeting. Would she charter something on her own? I suppose it’s possible. But she’d have to get the money from me.”

“She doesn’t have her own funds?”