“And you don’t have a gun?”

“I don’t. Feel free to look around.”

Rina shrugged. “But you know how to shoot, right?”

“Yep.” A pause. “Chris took care of that.”

“Are you a good shot?”

“Not as good as Chris, but I’ve got a decent aim. Honestly, I hate guns.”

“That makes two of us. But I also know how to shoot. I learned because my husband thought it might be a good idea.”

“Same with Chris.” He was thoughtful. “My dad has lots of enemies. He said that I needed to learn to protect my mom and myself. He used to drill me. He used to shoot at me just to get me used to the sound of whizzing bullets.”

“That’s insane.”

“My dad’s insane.” The boy smiled. “Maybe they were blanks. He never said.”

“That’s outrageous, Gabriel.”

“Yeah, it was pretty bad. Chris wouldn’t have been my first choice in fathers.” A shrug. “I guess he’s a step up from his own dad. Chris never abused me.”

Rina raised her eyebrows. “You don’t consider shooting at your child abuse?”

“I mean physical abuse. Chris’s father used to beat him. Normally I’d think that Dad was lying, but I’ve seen the scars.” He regarded Rina. “I’m sick over my mom. I really miss her. But there’s this tiny part of me that misses Chris, also. Is that weird?”

“Not at all. I’m sure you miss your old life.”

“Yeah, probably. It wasn’t pretty, but at least I owned it.”

IT TOOK ABOUT fifteen minutes before the gate opened to the condo’s parking lot. Marge followed the car inside, freaking out the woman driver. After she and Oliver displayed their badges, she calmed down. The driver was in her thirties with a mocha complexion. “You scared the life out of me.”

“Sorry about that,” Oliver said. “Would you happen to know Mandy Kowalski? She’s a nurse at St. Tim’s.”

“What unit is she in?”

Marge gave her the number. “She’s usually at home at night, but she isn’t answering her door.”

“Maybe she’s soaking in the hot tub.”

Mandy didn’t appear like the hot-tub type. Marge said, “Do you know her?”

“No, sorry. There are lots of units here.”

Marge gave her a card. “If you see her, give us a call.”

The woman threw the card into her purse. Marge and Oliver watched her until she disappeared behind a door leading to the elevators. Then Marge scanned the parking lot for Mandy’s car. “About forty double spaces?”

“Yeah, but a third are half full,” Oliver said. “You take the left, I’ll take the right.”

“And I’ll be in Scotland afore you,” Marge quipped.

Twenty minutes later, they met up, neither of them claiming success at locating Mandy’s car. Oliver said, “It’s past nine. I’m not liking this.”