Talking to April was productive; searching Bertram’s room, not so much. It took less than thirty minutes to go through everything. A look at the bedding and under the mattress revealed nothing. Decker checked the closet neatly hung with button-down shirts, T-shirts, polo shirts, and jeans. Bertram’s dresser held pajamas, underwear, and shorts, and an empty patch in the back of the bottom drawer where, at one time, he might have stowed something personal.
Sometimes a room was just a room. Decker called out, “How are you doing?”
McAdams emerged from the bathroom. “Everything seems intact.”
“Lots of clothing,” Decker said. “If he left voluntarily, I don’t think he was planning on going far. Or he left in a very big hurry.”
“I’ll agree with that. He didn’t even take his toothbrush.”
“That says something,” Decker said. “Does he have a hairbrush?”
“A comb.”
“Take that as well.”
“DNA?”
“We have to plan for any outcome.”
“Are we waiting for Lewis?” McAdams said. “He seems to be taking his time.”
Decker said, “He’s probably downstairs. He’s got his hands full.”
“Next step?”
“For Bertram? Follow the electronic trail—phone calls, texts, emails, social media,” Decker said. “Let’s find the doctor. We still need to talk to people.”
Lewis was in his office and on the phone. He looked up, brown eyes bright and alert. He motioned Decker and McAdams to chairs across from his desk, his long graceful fingers massaging a forehead creased like a brown paper bag. He was doing more listening than talking. At the end of the conversation, he made an appointment over the phone for the next morning at ten. He placed the phone back in the cradle.
“The lawyers.” Lewis shook his head. “They want to be in the conference call when I phone the parents—even though the Lanzes have indemnified us and hold us harmless against any liability where Bertram is concerned. I’ve sent them the paperwork, but you know how lawyers are. Anything to make a few extra bucks.” He regarded McAdams. “I’m sure there are a few idealists in your profession. I’m just talking my experience.”
McAdams smiled. “I think your representation is doing the job properly.”
“Perhaps.” A sigh. “Did you find anything in Bertram’s room?”
Decker said, “Nothing that gives a hint to his whereabouts. We did take a toothbrush and comb.”
“Toothbrush?” Lewis noted. “It must mean he was planning on coming back.”
“Maybe,” Decker said. “We also found out that Bertram Lanz has a phone, an iPad, and an email address.”
“Who told you all of this?”
“A resident named April,” McAdams said.
“April spoke to you?”
McAdams gave him a look.
Didn’t I just say that?
Lewis said, “What did she tell you?”
Decker said, “That Bertram has a phone, an iPad, and an email. Did you know?”
“Of course. We’ve been trying to contact him since he disappeared. And since he hasn’t answered, I’ve assumed that he’s lost in the woods where there is no electronic communication available. Because if he could contact us, I’m sure he would.”
“It would have been helpful if you had told us that in the beginning.” Decker didn’t bother to hide his annoyance. “We would have put in an order for a phone and text log hours ago. As well as an ISP search for his email activity.”
“Would you like me to call that in, boss?”
“Please.” Then, to Lewis: “April gave us a phone number for Bertram. Would you please verify it? And his username and password if you happen to have it.”
Lewis clicked his keyboard. He said, “I can give you the phone number. It’ll take a little more time for me to dig up his computer information, but I suspect we have it in some file.”
“We can wait.”
After a minute passed, Lewis took out a Post-it and wrote a number on the yellow square.
McAdams took the digits. “Same number April gave us. I’ll be right back.”
“Check to see how the search is going as long as you’re making the phone call.” When Tyler left the room, Decker took out a notebook and said, “And you’re positive that he didn’t disappear because he wanted to disappear?”
“I’m not positive of anything, but I shouldn’t think so,” Lewis answered. “Where would he go?”
“Lots of places,” Decker said. “April said he can read. April said he writes on his iPad. The internet has probably given developmentally disabled people freedom previously unavailable to them.”
“Just because it’s out there doesn’t mean they know how to access it.”
“I bet we’d both be surprised. What is Bertram’s disability?”
“He has cerebral palsy.”
“Cerebral palsy is a garbage-can term,” McAdams said as he came back into Lewis’s office. “It means something happened during birth and no one knows the specifics. Do you have any more details?”
“He’s mildly affected physically, but cognitively, he’s more impaired,” Lewis told him. “It might be better if you talked to the professionals who worked with him. They could give you better information than I could.”
“The residents went on a hike,” McAdams said. “He must have been fit enough to walk in the mountains.”
“It was a gentle walk. We’ve done it before.” Lewis paused. “If you’re asking me whether Bertram Lanz could hike, the answer is yes. He had a limp, but he was mobile. Talk to his therapists.”
“You must have done batteries of tests when he got here. What can you tell us about that?”
“Psych major, were you?” When McAdams didn’t answer, Lewis said, “His testing shows him to be equivalent to a fourth grader mentally.”
“A lot of savvy fourth graders out there,” Decker said.
“Just because he tested at fourth grade doesn’t mean he’s like an average nine-year-old. He’s more sophisticated in some areas, less in others.” To McAdams: “I take it he hasn’t been found?”
“You are correct.”
The administrator sighed.
“The point is, Dr. Lewis,” Decker said, “if he could chat on the internet, he has the possibility of getting himself into trouble. We need to talk to the other residents, and the most advantageous way to do it is in a group. Once one talks, it’ll spur the others to talk. It’s a good way to weed out who knows what.”
“What makes you think that any of them know something? What if Bertram is simply lost?”
“Okay, let me spell it out for you. Option one: he is lost in the woods. If he’s lost, we’ll eventually find him. What the outcome will be, I don’t know. It depends how long it takes us to locate the poor man. The woods can be inaccessible, disorienting especially in the summer when everything is thick with foliage. And it’s chilly at night. Animals are out, animals are active, and they’re always looking for food. It could go bad in a lot of different ways, so our best option is to soldier on until we’re sure we can’t find him.