Alexis’s cell phone rang. It was always ringing. This time it was her mother. “Alexis, where are you? I called your father’s house and I was surprised you weren’t there yet.”

“Mom, you won’t believe what happened,” Alexis said, then gave her mother a rundown of the events of the last couple of hours. “Becky is with us. She saw the couple get in a cab in front of the comedy club.”

“Alexis, be careful.”

“We are. By the way, I think I saw Lorraine on the street near the Treetops Hotel.”

Conrad looked at Alexis. “Did you have to bring that up to your mother?” he whispered.

“Daddy says I shouldn’t have brought that up to you.”

“What do I care? She’s out on the street instead of hanging around the bar of the most expensive hotel in the city looking to meet producers? She must be up to something.”

“Totally.”

“Put your father on.”

“Hello, dear,” Conrad said wearily.

“I’m not going to give you a hard time,” Penny assured him. “I just want to say it’s great that you’re helping search for that poor boy. Just be careful, please. And keep me updated. I’m not going to sleep until I know you’re on your way home again.”

Conrad felt his heart twinge. Could those words be prophetic?

49

A s Jack’s car zoomed up the West Side Highway, the tension in the car was increasing.

“I wonder if Huck ever got married,” Regan said. “We never asked Arthur if there was another name on the real estate documents.”

“I wonder if he married the roommate,” Kit scoffed.

“If he is married, then maybe he’s more likely to be home,” Jack reasoned.

They exited the highway at Seventy-second Street, made a quick left on West End Avenue and raced to the entrance of the Schwab House between Seventy-third and Seventy-fourth. The back of the building overlooked Riverside Drive, the West Side Highway, the Hudson River, and the cliffs of New Jersey.

Regan and Jack were the first ones to dash out of the car.

A doorman was sitting in the foyer, two lit candles on the table in front of him. He looked weary.

Jack quickly identified himself and showed the doorman his badge. “We need to speak to one of your residents, Huck Darling. It’s very important. Do you know if he’s home?”

The doorman snapped to attention. “You’re in luck. He just got home, but his wife was trying to convince him to drive out to New Jersey. He wouldn’t do it.”

“What floor does he live on?” Jack demanded. “This is urgent.”

“The twelfth. When you come out of the stairwell, his apartment is across the hall, first one to your left. But I don’t think I can let a group of people…”

Jack grabbed Regan’s hand. “Understood. My wife and I are going up. The others will wait down here.”

They took the steps in the dimly lit stairwell two at a time. When they reached the twelfth floor, they ran out into the hallway, found Huck Darling’s door, and rang the bell. Several times.