Decker started his search there. Three hours later, he ended his search there. He had come up with a big, fat goose egg. Nobody he had talked to had an inkling about the kid. He figured Dov made the call and ran.

Several theories, each one flawed.

One: The entire family was on the lam. Dov had momentarily escaped from them to make a farewell call to his cousin.

Then why would the parents’ passports be left behind when the boys’ passports were missing?

Two: Dov and Gil were directly involved—as perpetrators—in their parents’ disappearances. They killed the parents and split. Dov made the farewell call before disappearing.

Then where did they do the killing? No evidence in the house. And where were the parents’ bodies? Furthermore, why was Gil’s car still in the garage if the boys had taken off in a hurry?

Three: Dov and Gil had nothing to do with their parents’ disappearance. But they knew something bad had happened to their parents. They were worried they might be the next victims. So they grabbed their passports and left, Dov making his final call before blending into the miasma.

Then why didn’t they use Gil’s car? And wouldn’t they have packed something?

Four: Dov killed his brother and his parents. That would explain Gil’s car in the garage. Dov wasn’t old enough to drive.

But why would Gil’s passport be missing, too? And wouldn’t Dov have packed something or emptied out his bank account? He would have needed something to live on.

Five: Marge’s spy theory. Someone whacked the entire family, parents first. The boys tried to escape, allowing Dov to make his call, but then they caught up with the boys and whacked them, too.

If this was the case, Decker would never find the bodies.

No bodies, no evidence.

If a homicide falls in the forest…

Tug Davidson sorted through the logs and reports.

“You got nothing unusual in the bank accounts.” He paged through the papers. “Credit is fine, the Yaloms were current. Looks like the Jew knew how to hold a buck.”

Decker was impassive. Was Davidson riling him on purpose? Probably not. The statement was made too casually. He’d promised Marge he’d let her do the talking. She wanted it that way and he was happy to oblige her.

Davidson said, “You got interviews with the neighbors and friends and schools.” He squinted as he read Marge’s synopsis. “The kids were in school the entire day?”

Marge said, “Their last-period teachers had them marked as present.”

“When does school get out?”

“Three-ten.”

“And then they disappeared.”

“We can’t trace their whereabouts after three-ten.”

“Did the older kid drive to school that day?”

“No one’s sure,” Marge said. “That’s why I’d like a little more time—”