“Did she give her money to Chris?” A shrug. The kid was stalling. “Would you mind if I looked at your credit card receipts?”

“I haven’t charged anything except a couple of cups of coffee and some books.”

“I just want to see the pathway. I’m still trying to locate your father, and if he pays for everything, maybe the bank might have some information on him.”

Gabe looked down. “Lieutenant, it might be better to leave my dad out of it. If he didn’t have anything to do with it, why bug him and get him all pissed? And if he did do it, I wouldn’t want to know about it.”

“So that would be a no about into looking at your credit card receipts?”

Gabe cringed. “Can I think about it? I don’t like Chris, but I wouldn’t want to send him to jail or anything like that.”

“Even if he murdered your mother?” The boy was quiet. Decker said, “Look, you seem to be a little hesitant about the papers. For all I know, your father’s contacted you and has given you instructions on what and what not to do.” He paused and regarded the kid as his cheeks pinkened. He was putting the boy in a bad position. “Gabe, I’m a cop. I’m going to ask. But you don’t have to do anything that’ll make you sorry. Just think about it. I want to do what’s best for your mom. You do, too.”

“I’ll think about it. Thanks for being understanding.”

“Who says that I’m understanding?” Decker tousled his hair. “Your dad is on my to-do list and nothing’s going to dissuade me from finding him. But you’re not me and you don’t have to give him up. I understand split loyalties.”

His smile was angry. “Story of my life.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

WEDNESDAY MORNING, EIGHT A.M., Decker was in his office, sipping cappuccino courtesy of an espresso maker and Marge’s recent barista skills. She had brought in the machine about a month ago and squad-room coffee has never been the same. Currently, she held the number one spot as the most popular detective. She was the only one who knew how to froth milk.

“You looked at all the cassettes?”

“I did.” She sipped and gave herself a milk mustache, which she licked off with her tongue. “I was getting eyestrain toward the end. Povich said we can keep them for another day, so I’ll look through them again.”

“You saw her go in, but you didn’t see her go out.”

“Like I told you yesterday, there were lots of unidentifiable people. That’s why I’d like to see them again.”

Decker said. “What about Garth Hammerling?”

“Didn’t notice him if he was there, but ditto on lots of unidentifiable people.”