“He might be, but he’s more likely to steal a guitar than to play it. I believe that your guy was moving back and forth between all three places. When he was arrested in Kelbo, they searched his motel room and found stolen property linked to cases in Branson and in Springfield. Kelbo PD is a small operation. They have about twenty uniforms and ten detectives in a Criminal Investigative Division.”

“I’ll give them a call. Thanks, princess. You don’t know how much this helps.”

“Least I could do after torturing you and Mom as a teenager. I’ve got a name and number. Do you have a pen?”

“I do.”

“Contact Sergeant Loretta Stoltz.” She spelled it, then she gave Decker the phone number. “Stoltz heads Burglary, which is not only the biggest department in the detectives squad but also the most active department. I looked up their stats. Not an exceptional amount of violent crimes, but a lot of property crimes.”

“And where is Brock Baer at the moment?”

“I think he’s behind bars, but I’m not positive where he is. I’m sure Stoltz knows.”

“I’ll call her as soon as I hang up with you,” Decker said. “Sergeant Kutiel, if you ever want a position in Greenbury, I’d be happy to give you a letter of recommendation.”

“No, thanks,” Cindy said. “I’ve been ordered by my sons that if we ever make a move, it must be to a city that has all three major league sports teams. We not only have the Eagles, the Phillies, and the Seventy-Sixers, but as icing on the cake, we also have the Flyers. Sorry, Charlie. Greenbury just cannot compete.”

CHAPTER 25

TWO WEEKS AFTER the Labor Day debacle, I was reading my divorce papers, sitting in Chris’s desk chair in his downstairs office—the space where he often held his intimate parties. There was a lot of legalese in the contract, things that had to do with Devek’s taking full responsibility of the debt incurred during our marriage. Since I wasn’t asking for any financial remuneration—there was nothing to be had—I was asking for full custody of both children. The office door was closed and I had privacy. But Chris kept on coming in and out, searching for papers he needed, or looking up something on his computer, or just asking me if I had questions.

I had a lot of questions. The next time he came in, I said, “Am I reading this correctly or does it say that Devek gets Sanjay over the summers?”

“That is correct,” he said.

“That is unacceptable.”

He sat on top of his desk. “Baby, it was his set-in-stone demand from his lawyers. I have to speed the process along. The longer Devek and Sanjay are under threat, the more that threat becomes a reality.”

I became weepy. “Once Devek has Sanjay, I’ll never see my son again.”