“The second option: he got lost, found the main road, and picked up a random ride. Less likely because there were cops all around the area within an hour after he disappeared. We’d be more likely to spot him than a random stranger, but it could happen. That could also go bad really quickly.
“The third option? He isn’t lost at all but he arranged to meet someone when the field trip stopped at the diner. If that’s the case, we need to find out what was going on in his life. And the last option is . . .”
A hesitation.
“He was kidnapped for ransom. His parents are rich and money is always a good motive. We’re looking into all of the possibilities at the same time. I understand there’s a group meeting going on right now. Detective McAdams and I would like to attend and address the residents. It would be good to answer their questions. I’m sure they have a lot of them. Make sense?”
Lewis didn’t answer. He placed his hands on the desk, then tented them and brought them to his face, fingers grazing his chin.
Decker said, “What’s the problem?”
“They’re traumatized. They may be hesitant with the police.”
Decker said, “I worked Juvenile and Sex Crimes for many years. I’m not saying I am a licensed psychologist, but I do have experience with trauma. Talking to the residents will not only help us, it’ll help you when you talk to Bertram’s parents.”
“I’m not sure about that, but we’ll give it a try.” Lewis stood up. “I’ll take you to the auditorium. Give me about fifteen minutes to talk to Dr. Mannet and fill her in. She’ll set something up.”
“What’s the doctor’s training?” McAdams said.
“Why do you ask?”
“Do you find that question an odd one?”
“A little, I suppose. But then again, you’re a detective, so maybe it makes some sense.” A pause. “She’s a licensed clinical psychologist. She’s been with us for four years.”
Decker stood up. “Bertram has been missing for about twenty-four hours. That’s disturbing. Right now, every minute counts. We need to move.”
“What is it that I’ve heard? If you don’t solve something within forty-eight hours, your chances of solving the crime deeply diminish?”
“We don’t know if a crime has been committed,” Decker said. “Let’s go.”
The auditorium was two tiers of seating with a large flat area in front to accommodate residents with walkers and wheelchairs. The participants seemed between the ages of twenty and sixty with an equal distribution of males and females. They ran the gamut of phenotypes—from syndromed faces to those whose outward appearance would blend into any population.
Dr. Georgia Mannet, the house psychologist, was thin, with a wrinkled face and a prominent chin. She had short gray hair cut helmet style and watery blue eyes. Her doctor’s coat was light blue and she wore her ID on a red rope around her neck. Decker and McAdams sat on the stage with Mannet between them. There were two microphones in the middle and glasses of water for all of them. Dr. Mannet introduced Decker and Tyler as police officers, and Decker noticed apprehension in some of the eyes.
Empathy was necessary to gain trust. And indeed, Decker really felt bad for them. He started out with how frightening Bertram’s disappearance must be for all of them. The unknown was always scary. That was why the police had assigned many people to go out and look for Bertram. But the police needed their help. For instance, was Bertram lost, or did he run away on purpose? That was why it was very important for everyone to tell the police anything that they knew or heard about Bertram. Any information—no matter how small. And no one would get into trouble no matter what they told the police.
“Please,” Decker said. “Does anyone here know what happened to Bertram Lanz?”
He was met with resounding silence. In any audience, this was usually the case. Starts were slow until someone got the ball rolling.
“Okay, let’s start again. Who are Bertram’s friends?” Looks all the way around, but no one said a word—not even a whisper. “Did he have friends?”
No response. Of course, no one wanted to be a tattletale. Better to start on neutral ground.
“Does anyone know what Bertram liked to do?”
A moment passed and a reticent hand inched upward. It belonged to a man with Down syndrome who looked around forty. Gray was creeping into his dark hair. He was dressed in a short-sleeved plaid shirt and jeans. He sat in the middle of the second row.
Decker said, “Yes, thank you. What’s your name?”
“Ross.”
“Hi, Ross. Do you know what Bertram liked to do?”
Ross stood up. Decker couldn’t understand him. Georgia Mannet was about to speak, but McAdams stepped in. That was good. It was helpful for the residents to know that the police literally understood them.
McAdams answered, “What did he do on his iPad, Ross?” The man shrugged. Silence ensued. Tyler stepped into the void. He said, “I like to play games on my computer. Did Bertram play games on his iPad?”
Another hand came up: a man in his thirties who sat in a wheelchair. His fingers looked knotted as if he had arthritis. “Space Mission: Combat Control.”
Decker said, “What’s your name, please?”
“James.”
“Nice to meet you, James,” Decker said. “Bertram played Space Mission: Combat Control on his computer?”
“iPad.”
“Sorry. Bertram played Space Mission: Combat Control on his iPad,” Decker said.
“Yes.”
April, the resident from this morning, shouted out something. McAdams repeated, “Martian Invaders Five.”
“Thank you, April,” Decker said. “See, this is very, very helpful. You all know so much about Bertram.”
Ross raised his hand again. Decker acknowledged him and the man said, “I’m Bertram’s friend.”
Decker said. “I’m sure you’re a very good friend to have.” Whispering to McAdams, “We’ll talk to him later.”
Ross said something and McAdams said, “I am sure you have a lot of friends, Ross.” He looked at the group. “Was anyone else Bertram’s friend?”
Another hand came up—a woman in her early to mid-thirties. Wearing a yellow sundress with a white sweater, she had blond hair that fell to her shoulders. She had studs in her ears, and a gold chain graced the notch of her throat. “My name is Colette. Bertram was lonely.”
“Nice to meet you, Colette,” Decker said. “Why do you think Bertram was lonely?”
“He sat by himself.”
Ross said, “Not all the time.”
“But some of the time.”
April said something. McAdams said, “He missed his girlfriend?” When she nodded, he said, “This is Kathrine?”
Another nod.
Colette said, “He liked Nurse Schulung. But she’s not here anymore.”
Ross said something, and McAdams said, “She talked to him with funny words?”
James said, “She talked in German. They talked in German. Bertram knew German.”
“He did know German,” Decker said. “Did he tell you he lived in Germany, James?”