“It’s a skeleton crew right now. It’ll keep until the morning.”

“The desk sergeant told me that someone from West L.A. Missing Persons will call me. Whoever catches the call has to know who they’re dealing with.”

“So everything’s under control. Let’s go.”

“I’m too worked up to face the kid right now.”

“You’ll be okay by the time we get back to the Valley. If not, I’ll buy you a cup of hot cocoa at one of the twenty-four/seven convenience stores.”

Decker smiled. “Hot cocoa?”

“Once a mother, always a mother. Vega may be brilliant, but I still look out for her.” Marge patted his shoulder. “We know better than anyone else on the planet that the smartest people can do dumbest things.”

CHAPTER FIVE

AT TWO IN the morning, the house was dark and quiet, just the way it should be. Decker closed the front door as softly as possible, waiting for the kid to emerge out of his sons’ room. When he didn’t, he tiptoed into his bedroom, undressed, and slid under the covers. Rina rolled over and draped an arm across his back.

“Everything okay?”

“Nothing to report, one way or the other.”

Rina was quiet, but then she sighed. “You’re upset. I’m sorry.”

“Yeah, I’m a little upset. I should have talked her out of the meeting.”

“You’d only be postponing the inevitable.” Rina sat up. “From what you’ve told me over dinner, she wasn’t planning to leave him permanently.”

“You’re right, but the fact still remains that she’s missing.” He rolled over and faced her. “Rina, what am I going to tell the kid?”

“That you’re doing all you can and you’ll keep him posted. The bigger issue is what we do with him. He certainly can stay here for a few days, but if it should drag on longer, we’ve got a decision to make.”

“Well, he has a grandfather living in L.A., but he doesn’t like the man. Terry didn’t like him. He said his aunt is nice but ditzy.”

“How old is she now?”

“Around twenty-one…a very young twenty-one is what Gabe told me.”

“Ugh, that’s way too young to be handling a teenager and probably a troubled one at that. Does she work? Does she go to school?”

“I don’t know anything about her except that she recently had an abortion.” Decker exhaled. “I’ll deal with it in the morning. Let’s get some sleep.”

“Sounds good.” They both slipped under the covers. Peter was out within ten minutes, but Rina lay awake for a long time, haunted by images of a lost, lonely boy.