Chapter 17

Dominick Rochester, the father of Katie, sat at the head of the dining room table. His three boys were there too. His wife, Joan, was in the kitchen. That left two empty chairs hers and Katie's. He chewed his meat and stared at the chair, as if willing Katie to appear . Joan came out of the kitchen. She had a platter of sliced roast beef. He gestured toward his near-empty plate, but she was already on it. Dominick Rochester's wife stayed home and took care of the house. None of that working-woman crap. Dominick wouldn't have it . He grunted a thank-you. Joan returned to her seat. The boys were all chowing down in silence. Joan smoothed her skirt and picked up her fork. Dominick watched her. She used to be so damned beautiful. Now she was glassy-eyed and meek. She hunched over in a permanent cower. She drank too much during the day, although she thought he didn't know. No matter. She was still the mother of his children and kept in line. So he let it slide . The phone rang. Joan Rochester leaped to her feet, but Dominick signaled her to sit with a wave of his hand. He wiped his face as though it were a windshield and rose from his seat. Dominick was a thick man. Not fat. Thick. Thick neck, thick shoulders, thick chest, thick arms and thighs . The last name Rochester he hated that. His father had changed it because he wanted to sound less ethnic. But his old man was a weakling and a loser. Dominick thought about changing it back, but that would look weak too. Like maybe he worried too much about what other people would think. In Dominick's world, you never showed weakness. They had walked all over his father. Made him shut down his barbershop. Poked fun at him. His father thought he could rise above it. Dominick knew better . You bust heads or you get your head busted. You don't ask questions. You don't reason with them at least, not at first. At first, you bust heads. You bust heads and take licks until they respect you. Then you reason with them. You show them you're willing to take a hit. You let them see you're not afraid of blood, not even your own. You want to win, you smile right through your blood. That gets their attention . The phone rang again. He checked the caller ID. The number was blocked, but most people who called here didn't like people to know their business. He was still chewing when he lifted the receiver . The voice on the other end said, I have something for you . I t was his contact at the county prosecutor's office. He swallowed the meat. Go ahead . There's another missing girl . That got his attention . She's from Livingston too. Same age, same class . Name?Aimee Biel . The name didn't mean anything to him, but he really didn't know Katie's friends very well.