She poured both of them two cups of coffee and sat down.

“Have you made any progress finding Terry?”

“I’d let you know if I had.” Decker sipped coffee. “I interviewed several workers at the hotel where she and Gabe were staying. Everyone told me that the boy plays piano like a professional. Is having him here a strain?”

“Not really.”

“Rina, you must tell me. If you get any kind of bad feeling about him, we can send him to his aunt’s apartment. Because we really don’t know a thing about him except that he’s musical.”

“He seems to be okay. Maybe we should rent a piano for him.”

“A piano?”

“Why not?”

“Don’t you think that might be getting a bit overinvolved?”

“You brought him home.” When Decker didn’t say anything, she said, “Why don’t you talk to him and find out how committed he is to his playing? I’d hate to be the one to stall his progress, especially if he was one of those prodigy kids.”

“His development is not our responsibility.”

“It will be if he stays here.”

“And do we have to stop at a piano? What about a teacher? And what if he needs a special teacher who costs a fortune?”

“Why don’t we start with a piano,” Rina said.

“How much does renting one cost?”

“I don’t know. I’ll find out.”

“And what do we do with a piano if his mother suddenly shows up, or if his father shows up, or if he decides to pick up and leave?”

“I took lessons when I was little. I’m not getting any younger. I think it’s time to get reacquainted with my creative side.”

WHEN DECKER KNOCKED, the music stopped. A moment later, Gabe answered the door. “Hi.”

“You got a minute?” Decker crossed the threshold and sat on one of his sons’ twin beds. “How are you doing?”

“I’m fine.” Gabe laid the guitar down and kneaded his hands. “Is anything wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong, but we haven’t made much progress. We’ve talked to several people at the hotel today. Your mother was a friendly gal, especially to the staff, which might make our job easier.”

“How’s that?”

“They remember her.” Decker paused. “Maybe if I talk to enough of them, someone will remember something that you didn’t know about.”

“Like what?”

“Like your mother bringing a guest to her hotel room.” Gabe didn’t answer, so Decker said, “Do you remember her making contact with anyone other than family…maybe calling up an old friend?”

The boy shook his head no. “But I wasn’t always around. She rented a practice room for me at UCLA, so I was gone probably six hours a day.”

“So it’s conceivable that your mother had a life that you didn’t know about.”

“Like what are you saying? That she ran off with someone?”