Or it could mean that this experience was so raw that even tenderness especially tenderness would sting like hell . Claire Biel had served them tea. Loren really hadn't wanted any, but she learned that most people relaxed if you allow them to be in control of something, of anything, if you allow them to do something mundane or domestic. So she had accepted. Lance Banner, who remained standing behind her, had declined . Lance was letting her take the lead. He knew them. That might help for some questioning, but she'd get the ball rolling. Loren took a sip of the tea. She let the silence work them a little let them be the first to speak. Some might view it as cruel. It wasn't, if it helped find Aimee. If Aimee were found okay, it would be quickly forgotten. If she weren't, the discomfort from silence would be nothing compared to what they would then endure . Here, Erik Biel said, we made a list of her close friends and their phone numbers. We've already called all of them. And her boyfriend, Randy Wolf. We spoke to him too . Loren took her time looking over the names . Have there been any developments? Erik asked . Erik Biel was, Loren thought, the poster boy for uptight. The mother, Claire, well, you could see the missing kid etched into her face. She hadn't slept. She was a mess. But Erik, with his starched dress shirt and tie and recently shaved face, somehow looked more harried. He was trying so hard to keep it together that you just knew that there would be no slow fray here. When it came apart, it would be ugly and maybe permanent . Loren handed the paper to Lance Banner. She turned and sat up straight. She kept her eyes on Erik's face as she dropped the bomb: Do either of you know a man named Myron Bolitar?Erik frowned. Loren moved her gaze toward the mother. Claire Biel looked as if Loren had asked if she could lick their toilet . He's a family friend, Claire Biel said. I've known him since junior high . Did he know your daughter?Of course. But what does What sort of relationship did they have?Relationship?Yes. Your daughter and Myron Bolitar. What sort of relationship did they have?For the first time since they'd entered the house, Claire slowly turned and looked to her husband for guidance. Erik too turned toward his wife. They both wore the faces of someone who'd been smacked in the gut by a two-by-four . Erik finally spoke. What are you suggesting?I'm not suggesting anything, Mr. Biel. I'm asking you a question. How well did your daughter know Myron Bolitar?Claire: Myron is a family friend . Erik: He wrote Aimee a recommendation letter for her college application . Claire nodded with vigor. Right. Like that . Like what?They didn't respond . Loren kept her voice even. Do they ever see each other?See each other?Yes.