“No. He’s not one of those kids with a crowd, let alone a girl. He likes being on his own, mostly. I don’t know how to say it. He’s not popular. Can’t get along and stuff. Besides with his sister. And this boy named Darrell. A really good kid. He’s like a mentor to Rowan, like a role model. He’s in the house with the motorcycle out front. But I asked him, and he said he hasn’t seen him.”

“We’ll talk to him. Anyone else he might have reached out to?”

“Maybe Mrs. Spooner?” Telly said. “Did you call her, Glow?”

“She hasn’t seen him neither.”

“Who’s Mrs. Spooner?”

“She’s his favorite teacher,” Telly said. “And during the summer she volunteers at the library. Older lady. First house on the north side when you come into Pinchkiss Circle. Likes Rowan a lot.”

“I’ve never been comfortable with her, if you ask me. The way she dotes on him.”

“Glow, seriously. She’s nearly sixty-five at least. Lost her husband. Lives alone with some cats. I don’t think she can do much harm.”

“You never know.” She looked at the man with the moon tie. “It just plucked my radar, if you know what I mean.”

“I do,” the man said. He wrote down more. “We’ll talk to her. We’ll talk to all your neighbors.”

Gloria’s eyebrows pushed together again. She was crying more. “It’s just—I didn’t mean…I’m being foolish. I’m sure that lady got nothing to do with it. Telly moved out. Came last night for dinner and didn’t stay like we all thought he would. That’s what set Rowan off. It’s been so hard on the boy.”

“You don’t got to say that, Glow.” Telly’s face got red. “Don’t you think I’m torn up enough?”

“It’s the truth, Telly.”

Telly stood up. “I need a smoke.” He went out on the porch. The policeman followed him.

Gloria kept talking. “Telly left a month or so before school ended. Moved in with some other woman, right out of the blue. It was quite the blow. To all of us really. Rowan’s been acting up since. Just distraught, I suppose. I mean, can you blame him? It’s been impossible on me, trying to keep his spirits up and work most days and watch after Maisy.”

“I can imagine,” he said. The man wrote everything down. “Difficult relationship between the two of them, then?”

“Oh, yes. It wasn’t healthy. Pick, pick, pick. That can drive a kid bonkers.”

He wrote down some more. Telly’s smoke stink came into the house. He was against the screen. The policeman was talking to him and Telly smoked hard. His cheeks were pulled and I could see what he looked like if he was just a skeleton.