“Usually with another guy, I think it’s his brother ’cause he seems to be looking after him. Even though the other guy looks older. Sometimes he leaves him there by himself. He’s kind of...you know, not quite right. The other guy.”

“Billy.”

“Don’t know his name.” She frowned.

“Has he bothered you?”

“Not really. Once I was here and the air-conditioning wasn’t working so I had the door open. He came in, said ‘Hi,’ and just stood there. I said ‘Hi’ back and asked if he was thinking of taking a trip. He blushed, said he wished, and left. Only times I saw him after that was downstairs at the Italian place, getting food for his brother. When he saw me he got real embarrassed, like he’d been caught doing something naughty. I tried to make a little conversation but it was hard for him. That’s when I realized he wasn’t normal.”

“How so?”

“Kind of retarded? You can’t tell by looking, he looks like a regular guy.”

“Has Brad ever come in here?”

“Also just once, a couple of weeks ago. He introduced himself, real friendly, maybe too much, you know?”

“Slick?”

“Exactly. He told me he was thinking of taking a vacation in Latin America and wanted information. I offered to sit down with him and discuss choices but he said he’d start with those.” Pointing to the rack. “He grabbed a handful but I never heard back. Did he leave the country or something?”

“Why would you ask that?” said Milo.

“The places we book,” she said. “In the movies they always have bad guys running to Brazil. Everyone thinks there’s no extradition treaty. Trust me, anywhere without a treaty you wouldn’t want to vacation.”

“I’ll bet. Anything else you want to tell us about him?”

“Can’t think of any.”

“Okay, thanks.” He leaned over her desk. “We’d appreciate it if you didn’t mention we were here asking about him.”

“Of course not,” said Lourdes Texeiros. “Should I be scared of him?”

Milo looked at her. Took in the black curls. “Not at all.”

* * *

“Another misdirection,” I said as we descended the stairs. “Wanting us to think Nora traveled with Meserve. Either because he’s protecting her or he made her and Meserve disappear. I’m betting on door number two.”

“All these years he takes care of a coupla mopes who just happen to be members of the Lucky Sperm Club. Why change all that now?”

“Nora had always deferred to him. Maybe that changed.”

“Meserve shows up,” he said.

“And captures her affections,” I said. “Another self-styled player, good-looking, ambitious, manipulative. Younger than Brad, but not unlike him. Could be that’s what attracted Nora to him in the first place. Whatever the reason, she wasn’t giving him up the way she had the others.”

“Meserve worms his way into her affections and her pocketbook.”