“I don’t think so,” he said. “I mean…we could just go up there now.”

“It’s not up there,” she said sharply and sat down.

They were all quiet for a while. Gerard raked his fingers through his hair a few times, staring at her in a way that wasn’t exactly pleasant. For just a second she wondered what he was capable of.

He checked his watch. “Better get going.” He stood. “You don’t even have his passport? Nice for me to have that as a sort of a keepsake.”

“Don’t have anything.”

He nodded.

She and Raj walked him out to the truck. Raj was holding the boomerang. Opening the driver’s side door, Gerard threw his suitcase over into the passenger seat.

“Well, it was a pleasure, Ruth.”

She nodded.

“We could send you the stuff if we find it,” Raj said. “Do you have an address?”

“Between things right now,” he said, “but I’ll send you the address soon as I’m settled. Heading west.” He pointed east and patted Raj’s shoulder with that same hand.

“You going to take over this farm, then?” he asked, raking his fingers through his hair again.

“I’m heading off to college,” Raj said. “MIT in Boston.”

“College, eh. Good. You keep that up.” He winked at her, smiling as if Raj were in kindergarten and saying he was going to drive a choochoo train.

“I could come down to the station with you,” Raj said.

“No, no. No need for that.”

He got into the truck, pulled the door shut, saluted with one finger, and drove off.

They both stood in the driveway for a little while, Raj holding the boomerang in both hands. Finally she put her arm around his shoulders and guided him back into the house.

“I forgot to ask him about my mom,” he said.

She didn’t know how to respond. She was furious at that man and heartbroken for Raj, but the last thing he would want was for her to start crying. Or maybe that was just the last thing she would want if she were in his place.

He raised the boomerang a little. “Aaron’s got one like this.”

“Aaron does?”

“His uncle sent it to him. It’s exactly the same. Got the same pictures on it too.” Raj was raking his fingers through his hair just as his father had been doing. “Didn’t work, either.”

Annie was scrubbing the wooden floor of the apartment above the insurance office. Saul had told her and Lew that they could use it as long as they wanted. It was just two rooms, the main room with Murphy bed and stove and a closet-sized kitchen, plus a tiny bathroom.

Lew was working downstairs in the office, and she had been cleaning almost maniacally for hours, trying to exhaust her despair.