Toys frowned and nodded to a manuscript of a play left open inside a Plexiglas case.

“The History of Cardenio?” he mused. “Really? I thought that was one of Shakespeare’s lost plays. So, what’s this? A re-creation? A novelty? Or did someone sell you a high-end phony?”

Church sat back in his chair, crossed his legs, and brushed a tiny piece of lint from his trouser leg. “What can I do for you, Mr. Chismer?”

Toys kept looking around for a few more moments, making occasional grunts. Then he sighed and looked at Church.

“Did Junie Flynn tell you about her premonition the night Ledger went missing?”

“She did. She also discussed it with Dr. Sanchez.”

“Did she tell you she passed out when she had it? We were at FreeTech, celebrating the completion of the water purification system we set up in Botswana, and she dropped her glass and went tits up. I thought she’d had a bloody heart attack. But it was that vision of Joe Ledger being in some kind of trouble. And she hasn’t been the same since, and it’ll be a month tomorrow.”

Church said nothing.

“I know she’s been calling here ’round the effing clock, and all Scott Wilson will tell her is that Ledger is on a mission and unavailable. But I know for a fact that Top and Bunny are in the States working on something else. And that Belle and Andrea are off working on something in the UK. All of which suggests the ‘on a mission’ thing is tosh.”

Church did not ask how Toys knew all this. The young man was notoriously resourceful.

“Given what happened on Christmas Eve,” continued Toys, “my guess is that Ledger has gone ’round the twist. Something dodgy like that. Maybe you have him locked up somewhere for his own good, and if so, then all’s right in the world and I can go back home. I can even try to sell Junie a story that’ll let her get some sleep at night. But … I don’t think that’s it, is it? I think something’s happened to Ledger, and on some level somehow, Junie knows it. Feels it. Whatever.”

“Is there a point to all this?” asked Church.