“Oh, Mom, I told you, Todd is probably staying with a friend, and he can’t be bothered to answer your calls.”

  “What friend would that be?” asked Odelia.

  The girl hesitated, and her fervor to caress Dooley and me quickly lessened and a cautious look came over her face. “I don’t know. Todd has many friends.”

  “So you don’t think he’s run off to go look for his dad in Mexico?” asked Odelia.

  “Oh, please. Of course not. He doesn’t even speak Spanish.”

  “Your mom seems to feel that Todd has been talking a lot about his dad lately.”

  “So? That doesn’t mean he’s crazy enough to go look for him.”

  “So he didn’t tell you where he was planning to go?”

  Aisha shook her head. “He never tells me anything. He just goes off and does whatever he likes. Doesn’t talk to me, or anyone.”

  “But you’re his sister.”

  “So?” scoffed Aisha. “It’s not as if he tells me his secrets.”

  “Secrets?” asked Rosa, panic clear in her voice. “Todd has secrets?”

  “God, Mom, we all have secrets. It’s no big deal.”

  “But what secrets?”

  “How should I know? I just told you he never tells me anything.”

  “I understand he didn’t go to school yesterday or today?” asked Odelia.

  “So?” said Aisha evasively, clearly not eager to talk about her big brother’s surprise departure.

  “So why did he play hooky?”

  Aisha shrugged.

  “Has he done this before?”

  Another shrug.

  “Aisha, if you know something, you have got to tell us!” said Rosa.

  “Look, I don’t know anything, all right? And even if I did, he wouldn’t want me to tell you. Now can you please get off my back!” And with these words, she stomped back up the stairs. Moments later, loud music made the ceiling vibrate. I think it may have been Bruno Mars, though since I’m not well-versed with the music choices of the current generation I wasn’t entirely sure.

  Rosa gave Odelia a look of apology. “I’m sorry,” she said. “It’s been a lot of this lately.”

  “Does Aisha get along with your husband?” asked Odelia.

  “More or less. She accepts him, and respects him, but Aisha and her brother have told me from the beginning that they’ll never call him Dad, or see him as their dad.”

  “And how does Tilton feel about that?”

  “He’s fine with it. He knows they’ll never see him as their dad, and that’s okay for him.”

  Suddenly a loud wailing sound came from a nanny cam located on the living room table, and Rosa said, “Looks like all this shouting has woken up the baby.” And with a murmured apology, she disappeared upstairs, then moments later came down again, holding said baby, and gently rocking her in her arms.

  “And who is this?” asked Odelia with a smile.

  “Alisa,” said Rosa, tenderness clear in both her voice and her expression.

  “How old is she?”

  “Eighteen months. The doctor told me I couldn’t have another baby, and we’d already accepted that, until suddenly I discovered I was pregnant again. We call her our miracle baby.” She addressed the infant. “You didn’t care what the doctors said, did you? No, you decided to prove them all wrong.” She turned to Odelia. “Do you have kids?”

  “No, not yet,” said Odelia. “We just got married a couple of months ago.”

  “Plans to have a family?”

  Odelia nodded. “Yeah, absolutely.”

  Dooley and I shared a look of alarm.

  “Max!” Dooley whispered. “Oh, no!”

  Chapter 15

  “There’s one other thing we need to talk about, Rosa,” said Odelia.

  Rosa looked up at this, a questioning look in her eyes.

  “The blackmail,” said Odelia.

  “You mean… there’s news?”

  Odelia smiled. “We caught him.”

  “You did?!”

  “Yes. And we also recuperated the money. Unfortunately I won’t be able to return it to you just yet, since it’s now part of the investigation, and evidence in a murder inquiry.”

  “A murder inquiry!”

  “Unfortunately, the man who was blackmailing you was found dead this morning. Apparently he’d gotten into a fight with his partner, and as far as we can ascertain the partner killed him and took the money. The man has been arrested, and we found the money in his possession.”

  “Oh, my God—who was he?”

  “Well, the man who was blackmailing you was a local handyman named Willie Dornhauser, and his partner Edwardo Yuhas. Do any of these names ring a bell?”

  Rosa thought for a moment, then shook her head, even as she was gently rocking her baby in her arms.

  Odelia had taken out her phone, and now showed pictures of both men to Rosa.

  “Oh, wait. I think I’ve seen this man before.” She was pointing to the picture of Willie. “I think he did some work on our bathroom last summer. Is he…”

  “Yes, he’s the man who contacted you and arranged the pickup last night.”

  “But how did he know about…”

  “Your ex-husband? I’m afraid we don’t know yet. But his partner is being interrogated by my husband as we speak, and I’m sure he’ll be able to tell us.” She frowned. “Is it possible that when Mr. Dornhauser worked on your bathroom he happened to find some documents relating to your ex-husband, Rosa?”

  “I don’t think so. I got rid of all that years ago, when Clive ran off with his secretary. For a while I waited for him to get in touch, but months passed and finally I decided I needed to move on. When I did, I got rid of everything that reminded me of my old life.”

  “Maybe he overheard you and Tilton discussing your past?”

  But Rosa shook her head adamantly. “Impossible.”

  “But I thought you said Tilton knows about your past?”

  “He does, but when we got married I made him promise never to bring it up again. You see, before the wedding, I had a long conversation with Tilton, and told him who I was, and all that had happened with Clive and the money. I didn’t want to move forward and build a marriage based on lies and deceit. But I also told him that we were going to have this conversation once and then we were going to let it rest.”

  “And he was okay with that?”

  “Yes, and I’m still grateful to him to this day. He told me that I wasn’t to blame for the things my ex-husband had done. And so we never discussed Clive or that dreadful business again.” She gave Odelia a weak smile. “It’s very rare to get a second chance, and I still thank my lucky stars that I was offered the opportunity to start over—and this time do it right.”

  “It wasn’t your fault that your husband turned out to be a liar and a thief, Rosa.”

  “I know, but you can’t help wonder, you know—wonder if somehow you’re to blame for what happened. But Tilton was so wonderful about it. He said that our relationship was a way for me start over, and frankly I never looked back—until that phone call.”

  “Well, that’s all over now,” said Odelia, taking Rosa’s hand and pressing it gently. “The man is dead, and his partner arrested. And as soon as the investigation is concluded, you will get that money back.”

  “It’s not so much the money I’m worried about than the scandal that might follow if people in this town found out about Clive. And I’m not even concerned about myself,” said Rosa, tenderly stroking a lock of angel hair on her baby’s head. “I really don’t care what happens to me. It’s my children’s future that would be jeopardized. And Todd and Aisha already went through so much. Even though they were young, they remember, you know.”

  “They still remember their dad?”

  “Oh, yes, they do. You’d be surprised how much kids pick up, even when they’re as young as Todd and Aisha were at the time.” She gave Odelia a grateful look. “I can’t thank you enough, Odelia.”

  “That’s all right. I’m glad it all turned out well.”

  “Now if only Todd would come home,” said Rosa, and that pained look was back. “I just hope he doesn’t do anything stupid.”

  “You’re afraid he takes after his dad, aren’t you?”

  Rosa nodded, and her eyes grew moist. “Yes, I am. I’m afraid he might do something really foolish—just like Clive.”

  Chapter 16

  We were on our way back into town, and frankly Dooley and I were too upset for speech. Odelia was going to have a baby! Now of all the shocking things that could have been laid at our paws, this was probably the most life-changing one to date—even more life-changing than the insertion into our lives of Chase, and with him, Brutus.

  But since we didn’t want to give vent to our shock and dismay in front of Odelia, we wisely kept our tongue, though the looks we gave each other spoke volumes. Good thing Odelia had to keep her eyes on the road, and didn’t catch the wordless communication that was carried out between us.

  “So what do you think, you guys?” she asked finally, once she’d had time to put all her ducks in a row after the long talk she had with Rosa. “Did Todd go off to Mexico to look for his dad, you think?”

  “I doubt it,” I said. “He’s only sixteen, Odelia. Where would he get the money?”

  “Yeah, and how would he hope to find his dad?” Odelia added. “It is a big country. Unless he already knew where he was going, of course,” she added.

  “You mean he might have been planning this for a while?”

  “It is possible. It’s been nine years, so maybe he’s been digging into the mystery of his dad’s disappearance for years now, and finally thinks he knows where to find him.”

  “Or maybe his dad got in touch with him,” Dooley suggested. “And invited him over for a holiday.”

  “Oh, Dooley,” said Odelia. “Now why would Clive sneak behind his ex-wife’s back and invite his son over to his hideout?”

  “Because he’s a wanted man? And he doesn’t want the police to find him?”

  “He is a fugitive from justice,” I agreed.

  “Even so. Why invite his son, and not his daughter?” asked Odelia.

  “Maybe he did invite Aisha,” said Dooley. “She was acting really strange, wasn’t she?”

  “She was,” I said. “So maybe she knows more than she’s letting on.”

  “I did get the impression she was hiding something,” Odelia agreed. “So maybe she does know where her brother is, but is refusing to tell her mom, or us.”

  “I still think that if the kid took off for Mexico, he would have left a trace,” I said. “He’d need a passport, wouldn’t he? And he’d need money. He’d also need a car. Or if he took a flight, there would be checks done at the airport. I really don’t think a sixteen-year-old kid can just up and leave and cross the border without his parents being notified.”

  “Yeah, you’re right,” said Odelia. “If he did go off to Mexico in search of his dad, sooner or later we’re bound to find out about it.”

  “I just hope he won’t get shot ,” said Dooley.

  I gave him a look of concern, and so did Odelia through the rearview mirror.

  “Well, Mexico is a dangerous country,” Dooley argued. “People get shot or buried in unmarked graves all the time.”

  And with rising concern over young Todd’s fate, Odelia parked her car across the street from a modern office building, and as she glanced over, she said, “Let’s hope Todd’s stepdad will be able to tell us more.” She consulted her notes. “Tilton Bond. Started an internet business in 2011, sold it in 2016.”

  “What internet business was he in?” I asked.

  “A financial and investing advice site, apparently. And a very successful one.”

  “Don’t tell Gran,” I said, “Or she’ll want to start one of those herself.”

  “I doubt if there’s still a lot of money to be made there. The market must be saturated with investment advice sites. Well, let’s go and have a word with the former whizz kid.”

  The whizz kid didn’t look like much of a whizz kid, I thought. Then again, his whizz kid days were a thing of the past now. Tilton Bond was a tall man, with a full crop of dark hair, graying at the temples, which lent him a distinguished look. He had a neatly trimmed beard, pale blue eyes that didn’t miss a trick, and a charming demeanor overall.

  “Please take a seat,” he said, as he gestured to a chair in front of a large mahogany desk. He then glanced down at Dooley and myself, and Odelia was forced to explain our presence. She did it with the practiced ease of one who’s had to explain the presence of her cats to many people many times. “Well, what can I do for you?” asked the man, giving her a pleasant smile.

  “I just had a long talk with your wife,” said Odelia. “And she told me that your stepson Todd has gone missing.”

  “Yes, well,” said Tilton, his face taking on an appropriate look of concern. “It’s not the first time he’s done that, and it probably won’t be the last. Todd is at an age where rebellion seems to be the best answer to just about everything that troubles him.”

  “Your wife seems to think he may have gone to Mexico, to look for his father.”

  Tilton quirked an eyebrow. “She told you about that, did she?”

  “Yes, she came to me because of the blackmail.”

  “A dreadful business. You caught the scoundrel?”

  “Yes, we did. Unfortunately when we found him he was already dead—killed by his associate.”

  “I know. I just got off the phone with your uncle, Mrs. Kingsley. He told me about the late Mr. Dornhauser and the things he was involved in.”

  “Do you think there’s any connection between the blackmail and Todd’s disappearance?”

  “I doubt it. Like I said, it’s not the first time Todd has gone missing. The last time was over a bad report card. His mother and I gave him some grief over that, and he couldn’t think of a better way to respond than to disappear for an entire weekend. He’d convinced a friend of his that I was bullying him, and that he needed to hide.”

  “And did you? Bully him?”

  “Of course not. I’ve only ever treated my wife’s kids with the utmost respect. I love them as if they were my own—though it hasn’t been easy. You see, when I met their mother, they’d just gone through a very traumatizing experience—with their dad deciding to become a bank robber, and gallivanting off to Mexico with his secretary and five million dollars of his clients’ money. So the last thing they needed was for their mom to come home one day and announce she met a man, and was planning to marry him and move in together.”

  “Todd wasn’t happy about that, was he?”

  “Not at first, but I like to think he and I have grown closer over time. But sixteen is a difficult age for any boy, Mrs. Kingsley, and certainly for a young man who went through what Todd had to go through on account of his dad. But on the whole I think we all get along fine.”

  “What about Aisha?”

  “What about her?”

  “When Rosa asked her if she knew what her brother was up to, I had the impression she knew more than she was letting on.”

  “Oh, I wouldn’t be surprised if she does. You see, Todd and Aisha have always been very close. Again because of the trauma they shared. The last time Todd went off without telling us where he was, Aisha was the only person he’d confided in.”

  “So you think he’s staying with a friend again this time?”

  “Yes, I do.”

  “So the story about Mexico…”

  Tilton gave us an indulgent smile. “I hardly think a boy his age would have the means or the initiative to launch an international search for his missing father, Mrs. Kingsley.”

  “It’s possible his dad got in touch, and gave him his address,” Odelia suggested.

  “Yes, I guess it is possible,” said Mr. Bond. “But then I’d ask myself why he’d wait nine years to get in touch. Why now, all of a sudden? And why not simply talk to Rosa?”

  “Because he’s afraid she’ll turn him in to the police?”

  “Well, she would, of course,” Tilton agreed. “Considering the grief that man put her and the kids through.” He thought for a moment, then decidedly shook his head. “No, I’m sure Todd is staying with a friend again, and he’ll be home in one or two days, blaming us for whatever it is that upset him this time.” He smiled. “Do you have kids, Mrs. Kingsley?”

  “That question again!” Dooley hissed. “Why do they keep wanting her to have kids!”

  “Because that’s what most people who get married do, Dooley,” I whispered back. “They get married and have kids!”

  “Well, not Odelia—she already has us!”

  “No, not at the moment,” said Odelia with a smile.

  “Wait till they suddenly turn from delightful little angels into monstrous teenagers. Friends tell me that it will all pass soon enough, and we shouldn’t worry too much. Though I don’t mind telling you I hope it will pass sooner rather than later.”

  “If you don’t mind me asking, sir,” said Odelia, “but did you ever have second thoughts about marrying Rosa—knowing about her history?”

  Tilton’s smile widened. “Never. Not for one second. You see, the moment I laid eyes on her, I knew she was the one for me—even if she didn’t know it herself. I was forty at the time, long past the age when people fall in love at first sight. In fact I always thought that was just a lot of nonsense. I spent my life building a successful business, and never had time for romance. Until I met Rosa, and I could have sworn my heart stopped for a moment, then fortunately started up again.”

  “And what about taking on two kids of another man—a man guilty of a crime?”

  “Rosa is blameless in all of this. She didn’t know what her husband was up to. Before the wedding she said she had something very important to tell me, and she was going to tell me now, so I could still back out of the wedding if I wanted to.” He glanced to a framed picture on his desk, a family portrait of himself, Rosa, Todd and Aisha. “I didn’t even have to think twice. I told her then what I still feel strongly now: she was never to blame for what her husband did. On the contrary, she was as much a victim of her husband’s crime as the people he stole from.”