“Stine wasn’t absolutely sure that Roberts moved to L.A., but he sounded reasonably certain.” Marge stopped talking, then said, “You know, Pete? To hear Stine talk, his tone of voice, it sounded to me like Roberts left Berkeley under a cloud.”

Decker gently placed Hannah over his shoulder. “Tandy’s father moves to L.A. and becomes a phantom. Marie is Tandy’s friend, and she’s suddenly a phantom. And we still don’t have a thing on her.”

“First let’s find Geoff,” Marge said.

Decker knew she was right. “Okay. If you were an English prof, where would you live in the area?”

“Near a major university,” Marge said. “I’ll check the phone books around UCLA, USC, Cal State Northridge, Cal State Long Beach, Cal State Fullerton…in other words, the whole damn area.” She stood and smoothed her gray slacks. “You coming with me to the station house?”

“You go ahead. I have to wait for Hannah to burp, then I have to finish her feeding.” He smiled. “I don’t have to finish feeding her. I want to finish feeding her. And if the FBI doesn’t like it, tough shit!”

Frustrated and defeated, Decker slid into bed. It was after midnight Friday morning—the Sabbath about twenty hours away. Now he realized why God made a day of rest. He lay on his back, eyes focused on the ceiling, staring at a cobweb that caught the glint of moonlight. He felt a warm hand touch his arm.

“Is she up?” Rina croaked out.

“Who? Hannah?”

“Yes. Is she up?”

“No, honey. Everyone’s asleep. Did I wake you? I’m sorry. I tried to be quiet.”

Rina turned and faced him. “You didn’t wake me, my breasts did. I just got another milk letdown.”

“You want me to nurse to relieve the pressure?”

Rina smiled. Decker could see it even in the dark. He said, “You want to express your milk in a bottle. I’ll be happy to feed her so you can sleep.”

“S’right. I love feeding her,” Rina said.

Decker was silent. Rina could tell he was disappointed. The baby was a big source of joy for her. No doubt she created pure love in Peter as well.

Rina said, “I suppose I could use the rest. Hand me a bottle and my breast pump.”

Decker got up and gave Rina the nursing accoutrements. “Might as well do something useful.”

“You’re sounding like me.” Rina sighed. “You’re upset. Talk, Peter.”

Decker was silent.

“Please?”

Decker smiled at her. “Morrison decided to turn the case over to the FBI. It’s a kidnapping, it’s his prerogative. Officially, I can still work on the case, but when there’s more than one agency, we step all over each other’s toes. I’ll let them handle it. It’ll be out of my hands.”

“You don’t sound relieved.”