Walking Shadows

“I’m fine.” Decker took a last look around, and then he scaled the fence and landed on his feet with a thud. Thank God for rubber-soled shoes. “Quiet as a tomb.”

“Just leave our cards?”

“No, I’m going to try his phone. You call up records and find out who the house belongs to.” Decker punched in the numbers, and the line went straight to voice mail. While he was considering his next move, Lennie interrupted his musings.

“The tax bill goes out to Jaylene Boch. She’s fifty-nine and bought the house twenty-five years ago.”

“Call up the station and ask whoever is there to look her up.”

“Greenbury or Hamilton?”

“Greenbury.” Decker looked through the front windows, which were obscured by curtains just like the back of the house. “If they don’t have anything on her, we’ll try Hamilton. And while you’re talking to someone at Greenbury, find out what they pulled up on Joseph Boch.”

“Right away.”

Decker tried the front-door handle. It was locked, but by jiggling it, he could tell that the spring pin wasn’t very tight. He picked up his phone and called McAdams, who was still pulling CCTV from Tollway Boulevard. After a brief recap of his morning activities, Decker said, “I have Lennie on several calls. Can you get a cell-phone number for Jaylene Boch?”

“If I were at the station house, I could. But not here in the field.”

“Right. Who’s there now?”

“Nickweed might be there. Kev is here with me. I bet Radar’s there.”

“I’ll give him a call.”

“Can’t you jiggle the lock?”

“I could, but that wouldn’t be legal.”

“The guy’s been missing for two days. Can’t you justify a forced entry?”

“He’s an adult. And you’re the law student. What do you think?”

“Your hands are tied, unless you smell something weird.”

“The windows are shut, so if something’s rotting away, it hasn’t leaked out in the open. Lennie just got off the phone. Let me see what she’s come up with. Talk to you later.” He walked over to Baccus. “What’s up?”

“I spoke to the captain. He says he’ll call you back with the background information and the phone numbers. What do we do now?”

“We wait around until Radar gives me a call. Want a cup of coffee or something? I think I saw a place a couple blocks away.”

“No, thanks, I’m pretty coffee’d out.”

Decker said, “I’m going to call my wife.”

“Do you want privacy?”

“I’ll take a walk down the block.” He walked away for a short distance, then phoned Rina. “Hey.”

“Hi, I’m in the car. Can I call you back in ten minutes?”

“It might not work. I have a lull right now, but I don’t want you talking while you’re driving.”

“Everything okay?”

“Just a whole lot of nothing … well, that’s not entirely true.” He told her about Boxer and his disappearing act.

Rina said, “That doesn’t sound good.”

“No, it doesn’t. Not with Brady Neil being dead. I’m trying to get information on Jaylene Boch from Radar, who’s busy right now. We seem to be a little shorthanded.”

“Have you tried looking her up on the internet on your phone?”

“And what’s that going to tell me?”

“Maybe nothing, but you never know. Hold on. I’ll pull over.”

“Nah, don’t bother.”

“Just hold on. There’s a space right here.” A moment passed. “Okay. What’s the name?”

“Jaylene Boch.” Decker spelled it.

“Unusual name. Let’s see if she has any hits.”

“How are you doing?” Decker asked.

“I’m fine. I just spoke to my mom.”

“How is she?”

“Okay. It’s been a while since we’ve visited either mother. Since they both live in Florida, it should be part of our summer plans.”

“Yeah, you’re right. We’ll go, but not in the summer, please. It’s so hot and humid.”

“Fair enough, but no more excuses.” Rina shook her head. “Okay, here we go with Jaylene Boch. There are six citations, all of them having to do with a car accident eight years ago.”

“Car accident?”

“Yes. I’ll pull up the article …” A pause. “This is sad. She was plowed into by an eighteen-wheeler semi. She got a pretty good settlement. But the poor thing is in a wheelchair.”

“Well, that certainly changes things. If Boxer was her son and he disappeared, I’m wondering who is taking care of Jaylene. And that might justify a welfare check. I’ll call Radar and see what he thinks. Thank you, honey. As usual, you’ve been a big help.”

He hung up and called Radar, who said, “Jaylene Boch is on disability.”

“Yeah, I just found out that a car accident left her a paraplegic eight years ago. If Joseph Boch is Boxer and he’s missing, who’s taking care of Jaylene?”

“I’ve got her phone number. Call it and let me know if she answers. If she doesn’t, go ahead and make a forced entry, just to make sure she’s okay. Knock hard.”