Janice slung a protective arm around Bobby's shoulder and kept her considerable girth between her son and Eva. "Back off, bitch, or you're gonna need some more plastic surgery."
"Thank God you're here, Steve," Victoria said.
Steve wasn't sure which was more disconcerting, Eva screeching or Janice holding on to Bobby. "C'mere, kiddo." He pried the boy away from his mother, hoisted him up by the armpits, and worked both arms under his butt. It's easy to do with a toddler, not a twelve-year-old, even one as gangly as Bobby.
Bobby was trembling and pale and he smelled sour. He looped his legs around Steve's waist and put his head on a shoulder.
"You stink, kiddo."
"Threw up."
He carried Bobby into the kitchen, just to get away from the others. He could hear Victoria telling the two women to give them some space, let Steve handle this.
"I'm sorry, Uncle Steve."
"It's okay. Where's Maria?"
"Dunno. We were at Fairchild. She got mad at me and left."
"What made her mad?"
"I was stupid."
"Yeah?"
"I tried what Dr. Bill said. ."
Steve felt his jaw clench and a wave a heat flared through his gut. "Dr. Bill?"
"He said I should take Maria there at the full moon because that's when girls get really hot. And then she'd want to do it."
"But when you got there, Maria said no?"
"Yeah."
"And what'd you do?"
"At first, I sort of pushed her. But then I stopped. 'Cause of that dorky stuff you taught me. 'No means no. Maybe means no. It takes maturity to keep your purity.' All that stuff."
"Good boy. But Maria was still mad at you?"
"I guess. I got sick and hurled chunks all over some bromeliads. I went over to the lake to clean up, and when I got back she wasn't there. I got my bike, but hers was gone. I thought she was riding home."
"Did you try to catch up with her?"
"Yeah. How'd you know?"
"Because that's what I would have done. Ride really fast. If she only had a few minutes' head start, you would have caught her."
"That's what I tried. But I never saw her."
Because she was snatched! When she came to pick up her bike, someone was waiting.
It came back to him then. That day in Kreeger's office.
"Just a hypothetical question, Solomon. If Robert killed Maria, wouldn't you do anything to keep him out of prison? Wouldn't you even take the rap for him?"
Steve felt his arms involuntarily tighten around his nephew. Conflicting emotions. Thankful Bobby was safe. But absolute horror at the thought that his girlfriend could be dead by now. Maybe Bobby heard Steve's breaths quicken or felt his heart thumping. Whatever it was, the boy whimpered.
A second later, Victoria was alongside, running a hand through Bobby's hair. He stretched his neck like a cat that wanted to be petted. A second after that, Janice was there, too.
"Bitch went outside," Janice reported. "How's my boy?"
Bobby shrugged. His arms tightened around Steve's neck.
"Stevie, can I have my son, please?"
"Yes."
"Because you've got no right to keep him away from-" Startled, she stopped. "Did you say yes?"
Steve put the boy down. "We gotta all be on the same team, Jan."
"Why? What's going on?"
"Take Bobby to bed and we'll talk."
Puzzled, Janice draped a meaty arm around the boy and walked him toward his bedroom.
"What's happened, Steve?" Victoria asked.
He could barely get out the words. "Kreeger. He's got Maria. He's going to rape her and kill her. And frame Bobby. All to punish me."
Victoria blinked twice. Then she swiftly recovered. "I'll talk to Eva. You call the police."
Just then, a woman's scream. Steve recognized it immediately. It was the third time he'd heard it that morning.
Steve and Victoria raced outside. Eva was standing next to Bobby's bike. The zipper on the vinyl bag attached to the seat was open. Eva clutched something to her chest. A moment later, when Steve realized what it was, a feeling of dread spread through him like a poisonous tide.
"Where is she!" Eva ran toward Steve, flailing at him. "Goddammit!" Her voice broke between spasms of sobs. "What did he do to her?"
Punches landed on his chest, his shoulder, his arms. One wayward blow glanced off his temple. Steve made no effort to ward off the punches. He was already in such pain, it simply didn't hurt to be hit by a petite woman, her face wet with tears, a small pink brassiere wrapped around her fist.
Thirty-Seven
The cop had a familiar face.
A mini-Afro. A name tag that said "Teele." A skeptical look.
Sure, the guy who arrested me at the radio station. The second time.
Bad break, Steve thought. They were standing in Steve's driveway just after seven A.M. Janice was inside, sacked out on the sofa. Bobby was asleep in his bedroom, Victoria sitting watch alongside. Myron and Eva were back in their house on Loquat, giving statements to Teele's partner, Rodriguez.
"Dr. Kreeger is canoeing on the Suwannee," Teele said.
"Canoe-ing on the Su-wan-nee?" Steve used his best derisive tone, dragging out the words. "That is the worst fucking alibi I've ever heard, and my clients have used some doozies."
Teele lowered his voice into serious cop mode. "You're saying Dr. Bill kidnapped this girl and planted evidence to incriminate your nephew, but you've got no proof. Now, I listen to Dr. Bill's radio show. ."
Oh, great. A fan.
". . and I think he makes some good points. As for the girl, she could be sleeping in somebody's backyard, and any minute she'll come riding up the street on her bike."
Cops usually assumed the worst because they see the worst. But this guy was an optimist, Steve thought. "So you reached Kreeger on his cell?"
"Couldn't get him. He's up the river past Hatchbend, where there's no service."
Up the river past Hatchbend? Jeez, I'm in Mayberry with Deputy Barney Fife.
"What the hell's he doing up there?" Steve demanded.
"Fishing for largemouth bass, the way we hear it."
"Lemme guess. The woman living at Kreeger's house gave you this cock-and-bass story."
Teele checked his little cop pad. "Mary Amanda Lamm. That's correct."
"Kreeger brainwashed her. She'd say anything he wanted her to."
"Was she lying when she said both you and your nephew are patients of Dr. Kreeger?"
"Not patients, exactly."
The cop made a note on the pad. "So you're not under court order to see Dr. Kreeger?"
"Okay, technically true, but-"
"For sexual deviancy."
"No!"
The cop used his pen to scratch his scalp through the mini-Afro. "I pulled the report, Solomon. The boy's a peeper. And Ms. Lamm claims she came out of the shower one day and found you lurking in her bathroom."
"Bedroom," Steve corrected, a lawyer slicing the bologna too thin. "I was lurking in her bedroom. But that's got nothing to do with the court ordering me to see Kreeger."
"Right. That would be for your violent streak."
"Look, Teele, Maria's missing. The clock's ticking. By the time you guys get off your butts, she could be dead."
"I hope not, sir. For your sake. Because your nephew was the last person to see the girl. By his own admission, he made unwelcome advances to her while inebriated, and her brassiere was found in his belongings. The way I see it, the only evidence points straight at him."
Victoria was the first one out of the Mustang when Steve pulled to a stop in front of Kreeger's home. The morning had turned windy and gray and smelled of rain. They'd left Bobby with Janice, but Cece was on the way there to chaperone.