“So can Hannah,” Rina said.

“I’ll do it.” Hannah shrugged. “You need anything to eat? I was gonna get myself some cherries. You want to look around the fridge?”

“Uh…sure.” Gabe followed her into the kitchen and that was that.

Sometimes peer counseling was far superior to the best mothering.

AFTER HANNAH WASHED the cherries, she gave him a handful in a paper bowl. “These are really good. I think my mom got them at the farmers’ market.”

“Produce is really good out here.”

“Out here? Where are you from?”

“New York.”

“The city?”

“The burbs.” He studied his fruit. “Do you know New York?”

“I have lots of friends out there.” She bit into a cherry and spit out the pit. “And my brother goes to Einstein Med School.”

Gabe said, “My mom worked at Mount Sinai for a while. She’s an ER doc.”

“Are you interested in medicine?”

“Not a chance.” He finally picked up a cherry and ate it. “You know I’m perfectly capable of putting on my own sheets.”

“Fine with me. Can I ask why you’re here?”

“My mom’s gone…like missing. I think your dad is looking for her. He said it was illegal for me to stay in a hotel by myself, so he offered to take me in tonight.”

“That sounds like my dad.”

“He’s a nice guy?”

“He’s a very nice guy,” Hannah said. “He comes across as very cop, but he has a heart of mush. My mother is even mushier. They’re both pushovers. You want something to drink?”

“No, thanks. I should probably get to bed.” He put the fruit down on the counter. “Thanks for the cherries. I don’t think I’m so hungry.”

“Are you going to be able to sleep?”

“Probably not.”

“I’ll show you how to work the TV. It’s a little funky because it’s from the Stone Age. My brothers have been out of the house for a while. What grade are you in?”

“I was in tenth. My mom and I just recently moved out here, so I haven’t been going to school.”

“So you’re fifteen?”

“Four months shy. A lot of people think I’m older ’cause I’m tall.”

“Yeah, same with me. But I don’t mind.” She hopped off the counter. “Follow me. And try not to worry too much about the situation. My dad may be a mush ball with me, but he’s really tough when it comes to police work. Whatever it is, he’ll get to the bottom of it.”

“That’s good.” Gabe smiled weakly. “I just hope that when he gets there, the bottom doesn’t drop out.”

DECKER’S FIRST CALL was to his favorite detective, Sergeant Marge Dunn. “I’ve got a situation here. I could use some help.”