“There are a lot of very wealthy people in the tri-state area always looking for the best of everything.”
“Right you are,” McAdams said. “And yet all that money didn’t stop them from losing a resident. Or like you suggested, maybe he lost himself on purpose. If he did, he’d have to have help. Anyone would need help. The area is heavily wooded and easy to get lost.”
“Maybe he had an escape plan. Do any of the residents have a driver’s license?”
“Don’t know. Want me to make a call?”
“No, it’s fine. We’ll be there soon enough.”
“You want me to drive, boss, so you can eat?”
“You can drive home. I’ll eat then. I don’t like to talk to people on a full stomach.”
“That’s fine, except your sandwich might spoil. It’s hot outside.”
“I’m sure I can stow it in a refrigerator somewhere.”
The two of them rode in silence for a few minutes, McAdams focused on his phone. “No bars.” He looked up. “What’s new with you?”
“Rina’s going to New York.”
“Oh, when?”
“Next week probably.”
“To visit the grandkids?”
“I’m sure she’ll do that, but that’s not the reason she’s going.”
Silence.
McAdams said, “Is it twenty questions, or are you going to tell me?”
Decker said, “Last night we got a visit from Gabe. His mother’s in town from India. She’s in Manhattan and wants to see Gabe. He doesn’t want to see her alone.”
“Why not? Is she homicidal like his father?”
“Not homicidal, but she is manipulative. Gabe is afraid that she’ll talk him into doing something he doesn’t want to do.”
“Like what?”
“No idea. Anyway, if Rina’s there, Gabe thinks that Terry will be more likely to behave herself.”
“O-kay,” McAdams said. “Does a twenty-four-year-old concert pianist really need help to say no to Mommy?”
“It’s a complicated relationship.”
“All relationships with your parents are complicated. And parents are great manipulators. It’s nothing unique . . . well, maybe his dad is unique. Even my dad isn’t a professional hit man.”
“He doesn’t do that anymore. He’s . . . a psychopath who occasionally kills people when it’s convenient.” A pause. “I suppose I’m splitting hairs.”
“Ya think?”
Decker shrugged. “Long story short, Gabe asked Rina to come, and she said yes. No one asked for my advice. I’m just a bystander.”
“Until you aren’t.”
Decker didn’t speak right away. “Do you think I should go with her?”
“You’re asking my opinion?”
“I suppose I am.”
“There’s a first.” McAdams smiled. “I guess it depends where we are with Bertram Lanz. If there’s nothing pressing, sure, go with her. I am curious as to why Gabe didn’t ask you to come in the first place. You know Terry better than Rina does.”
“I think Gabe’s nervous that I may lose my cool.” A pause. “And you’re right. I’m better off here until we find Bertram Lanz.”
“You think he’s still alive?”
“I don’t know. If it was an accidental disappearance, I would have thought we’d have found him by now. But it’s still early days. We’ll keep looking.”
McAdams said, “Does Lanz have living parents?”
“Kurt and Mila Lanz. They live in Germany. I looked them up before we left. He’s an industrialist—steel and iron. He’s not one of the top ten richest men in Germany, but he’s still very rich.”
“Hence he can afford the hefty price tag of Loving Home. Why would a rich German couple send their kid to a residential program in the States?”
“Yes, that is odd. As far as I can tell, Bertram doesn’t have any close relatives in the States.” Decker exhaled. “I suspect it’s easier for them and their lifestyle if Bertram’s far away. But maybe I’m just being unkind.”
“Probably not.” McAdams paused. “If Lanz is a German citizen, he’d have a passport. He could have taken off anywhere.”
“He has cognitive disabilities,” Decker said. “Think he could handle airports by himself?”
“Possibly. Especially if he went back and forth to Europe. Wealthy families do that a lot.”
“Yeah. Wealthy families are also protected. It might take some maneuvering to get through to them.”
“True. The rich are often surrounded with layers of protections. It’s like cutting through Kevlar.”
“Nothing is bulletproof,” Decker said. “You’ve just got to find the gaps.”
Chapter 3
Loving Care Home was situated in Baniff, a small town in western New York halfway between the Finger Lakes region and Rochester without a lot of landmarks to point the way. It was about an hour drive from Senecas—the westernmost group of the consortium. Decker and Rina had driven through the area several months ago for a mini-vacation, visiting different tribal lands, viewing the local arts and crafts, learning about the culture of the native Northeast people. Maybe next summer they’d plan a trip all the way to Niagara Falls and Canada.
After traveling miles of highway, Decker finally found the exit ramp. Within minutes, he hit a place with a main street lined by turn-of-the-century buildings in various states of disrepair. Each structure was painted a different color, giving the avenue the appearance of a patchwork quilt. City Hall was a white two-story domed building surrounded by a green lawn made colorful by mixed flowers in beds. On the side roads, churches were abundant. The only thing that was out of the ordinary was a military museum dedicated to the Revolutionary and Civil wars.
Home styles varied but were primarily wood-sided bungalows with wraparound porches or frillier Victorians fronted with swatches of gingerbread. They were cozy, nestled in small, square lawns shaded by leafy oaks. The main road coiled its way through the town until it was a straight shot through farmland.
The sky was deep blue, still a novelty for Decker, who had plied his trade for so many years in the hot, smoggy summers of Los Angeles. There were times he missed the big city with all its challenges, but Greenbury hadn’t turned out to be the sleepy little town he had imagined when he packed his bags. It had unexpected crime and its own issues—lack of funds and little state-of-the-art equipment. McAdams was Decker’s first and only partner in Greenbury. Tyler was brash and young when the two of them had started out. The kid’s maturity was hastened by two gunshot wounds, and every so often, Decker could detect a slight limp. Why McAdams had chosen law enforcement over a high-powered law practice was a bit of a mystery. Decker suspected it was Tyler’s way of getting back at his father—a successful lawyer and financier. In reality, McAdams could do whatever he wanted to do, including nothing. His trust fund was, according to him, enormous.
As they rode southwest, the terrain gave way to wine territory—miles of grapes hanging from trellises.