“We’ve been back a couple of hours and you already sound frustrated.”

“I’m okay. At least the latest victim is in our jurisdiction.”

“And since the body is Pauline, you’re certainly not starting from scratch.”

“Yes, we’ve got suspects. First thing we need is Corbett’s crime scene. She wasn’t killed where she was buried.”

“Pauline’s blood was in Elsie Schulung’s house.”

“Yes, but I’m still bothered by the scant amount. It’s not enough.”

“It’s a start,” Rina said.

“Well, yes and no,” Decker said. “She and Elsie lived there. Pauline’s blood could be old. She might have had a bad accident once.”

“Well, someone buried her.”

He shook his head. “Maybe there are forensics at the scene.”

“It’s still early days, Peter. I’m sure you’ll be right on it once you’re back home. In the meantime, we’ve still got our mothers to deal with. One issue at a time.”

Decker laughed. “Right you are.”

“You’re right about one thing,” Rina said. “Chris did call me. Three times. It was almost two weeks ago. I wonder what he wanted.”

“We are not taking Juleen.”

“Yeah, that could be what he wants,” Rina said.

“I’ll call Gabe. Maybe he knows what’s up. At the very least, I’ll get an update on Terry.”

Gabe answered after three rings. “Rina?”

“Hi, honey. How are you?”

“I’m fine. I’m just about to go into rehearsal. Are you back?”

“Yes, we’re in Miami. How’s your mom?”

“Thank God she’s much better. She left the hospital last week.”

“What happened?”

“A couple of men broke into her apartment. They took Sanjay, but Juleen escaped. Mom was beaten up pretty badly—broken bones, black eyes—her jaw’s wired. She got kicked in the kidneys.”

“Oh, that’s so awful!”

“Yes, she looked awful. But thank God she’s healing.”

“And Juleen?”

“She’s fine except for a twisted ankle. They’re both at my dad’s place. I was with them for a few days. Then this tour suddenly came up. Chris told me to go. I had reservations about leaving Mom, but Chris seems to be taking good care of her.”

“Do you know what happened to Sanjay?”

“We suspect that he’s with his father, but we don’t know. We haven’t heard from Devek. Or maybe they have but they’re not telling me. Pray for him.”

“I will, sweetheart,” Rina said. “Chris called me about two weeks ago. Any idea what that was about?”

“Yeah, actually. I think he wanted you to stay with Juleen while Mom was in the hospital. But it’s a moot point now. She’s out.”

Rina paused. “And Chris is okay with Juleen being there—with Terry?”