own a cell. Leal did, but the thing’s missing. And the record search turned up shit.”
“How about Nance?”
“That’s why I called. You see any mention of a phone in the CCU file?”
“I’ll check as soon as I get back.”
“When’s that?”
“Tomorrow.”
“Good. I want this bitch in bracelets before she drops another kid.”
After disconnecting, I rewound my conversation with Ryan. Felt anger and resentment at his refusal to help. Then I thought beyond tonight back into the past.
Ryan was one of the good ones. He’d had a few rough years, made a few false starts. But since his rocky youth, he’d done everything right. Played it straight as a cop. Tried hard as a father.
Sure, his loss was unthinkable. But the time for wallowing was over.
I had an idea. Was it callous?
Nope. Enough self-pity.
Decision made, I dug out my Mac, logged on, and went to the US Airways site. When finished, I sat a moment, attempting to calm my frazzled nerves.
Outside, late-night swimmers splashed in the pool. High in the palms, a howler monkey grunt-barked an end-of-day message. Another answered. A small creature, perhaps a gecko, skittered across my window screen.
My thoughts turned to a river cabin shaded by trees soft with moss.
On a whim, I dialed Mama. Got voicemail. I left a rambling message about Samara and fresh seafood and beaches and meeting with Ryan. Said good night. Told her I loved her.
In the moments before sleep came, memories of Ryan again bombarded my mind. His body shielding mine during a biker shoot-out in a Montreal cemetery. Stretched out on a beach in Honolulu. Lying beside me in a hammock in Guatemala.
I dreamed about a cellar beside a rail yard covered in snow.
CHAPTER 7
BY SIX, I was chugging along the beach road again.
The sky was thinning from black to gray. The ocean had calmed overnight. Its surface was rippling yellow-pink in a triangle announcing the return of
el sol.
A few vendors were already setting out their wares. Gulls were throwing a party out on the beach. The occasional car or motorcycle passed, now and then a battered pickup. Mostly, I had the pavement to myself.
Ryan was downstairs in one of the blue kitchen chairs, dressed in the same T-shirt and shorts he’d worn the night before. He glanced up when I opened the screen door, then continued spooning Cheerios into his mouth. His face registered nothing.
“Why Costa Rica?” I asked.
“Birds.”
“Over eight hundred species,” I said.
“Eight hundred and ninety-four.”
“Charlie would feel right at home.” I was referring to the pet cockatiel we shared.
“Charlie’s peeps come from down under. Hungry?”
As I settled into the other chair, Ryan retrieved a bowl and spoon from the counter behind us. His face was sallow and baggy-eyed. His sweat smelled of booze. I wondered if he’d finished the entire bottle of Scotch.
I poured myself cereal. Added milk, tamping the urge to check the expiration date.
“There are half a million animal species in this country.” Ryan spoke without looking at me.
“Three hundred thousand of those are insects.”
“Bugs gotta live.”
“What’s your plan?”
“Find every one.”
“How’s that going?”
“Place has something else in its favor.”
I floated a brow. Focused on his O’s, Ryan missed it.
“Thousands of miles between here and Quebec.”
“That’s it? Distance and fauna?”
“Booze is cheap.” Ryan pointed his spoon at me. “And Cheerios can be had by the savvy consumer.”
“This isn’t you, Ryan.”
He feigned looking over his shoulder. “Who is it?”
“I can’t imagine losing a child, and I don’t presume to understand your pain. But wallowing in self-pity, numbing yourself with alcohol, turning your back on life? That’s not you.”
“I thought about keeping a journal.” Spoken with a full mouth. “Like Darwin in the Galápagos.”
“What happened?”
“Can’t draw.”
“I mean what happened to
“How about Nance?”
“That’s why I called. You see any mention of a phone in the CCU file?”
“I’ll check as soon as I get back.”
“When’s that?”
“Tomorrow.”
“Good. I want this bitch in bracelets before she drops another kid.”
After disconnecting, I rewound my conversation with Ryan. Felt anger and resentment at his refusal to help. Then I thought beyond tonight back into the past.
Ryan was one of the good ones. He’d had a few rough years, made a few false starts. But since his rocky youth, he’d done everything right. Played it straight as a cop. Tried hard as a father.
Sure, his loss was unthinkable. But the time for wallowing was over.
I had an idea. Was it callous?
Nope. Enough self-pity.
Decision made, I dug out my Mac, logged on, and went to the US Airways site. When finished, I sat a moment, attempting to calm my frazzled nerves.
Outside, late-night swimmers splashed in the pool. High in the palms, a howler monkey grunt-barked an end-of-day message. Another answered. A small creature, perhaps a gecko, skittered across my window screen.
My thoughts turned to a river cabin shaded by trees soft with moss.
On a whim, I dialed Mama. Got voicemail. I left a rambling message about Samara and fresh seafood and beaches and meeting with Ryan. Said good night. Told her I loved her.
In the moments before sleep came, memories of Ryan again bombarded my mind. His body shielding mine during a biker shoot-out in a Montreal cemetery. Stretched out on a beach in Honolulu. Lying beside me in a hammock in Guatemala.
I dreamed about a cellar beside a rail yard covered in snow.
CHAPTER 7
BY SIX, I was chugging along the beach road again.
The sky was thinning from black to gray. The ocean had calmed overnight. Its surface was rippling yellow-pink in a triangle announcing the return of
el sol.
A few vendors were already setting out their wares. Gulls were throwing a party out on the beach. The occasional car or motorcycle passed, now and then a battered pickup. Mostly, I had the pavement to myself.
Ryan was downstairs in one of the blue kitchen chairs, dressed in the same T-shirt and shorts he’d worn the night before. He glanced up when I opened the screen door, then continued spooning Cheerios into his mouth. His face registered nothing.
“Why Costa Rica?” I asked.
“Birds.”
“Over eight hundred species,” I said.
“Eight hundred and ninety-four.”
“Charlie would feel right at home.” I was referring to the pet cockatiel we shared.
“Charlie’s peeps come from down under. Hungry?”
As I settled into the other chair, Ryan retrieved a bowl and spoon from the counter behind us. His face was sallow and baggy-eyed. His sweat smelled of booze. I wondered if he’d finished the entire bottle of Scotch.
I poured myself cereal. Added milk, tamping the urge to check the expiration date.
“There are half a million animal species in this country.” Ryan spoke without looking at me.
“Three hundred thousand of those are insects.”
“Bugs gotta live.”
“What’s your plan?”
“Find every one.”
“How’s that going?”
“Place has something else in its favor.”
I floated a brow. Focused on his O’s, Ryan missed it.
“Thousands of miles between here and Quebec.”
“That’s it? Distance and fauna?”
“Booze is cheap.” Ryan pointed his spoon at me. “And Cheerios can be had by the savvy consumer.”
“This isn’t you, Ryan.”
He feigned looking over his shoulder. “Who is it?”
“I can’t imagine losing a child, and I don’t presume to understand your pain. But wallowing in self-pity, numbing yourself with alcohol, turning your back on life? That’s not you.”
“I thought about keeping a journal.” Spoken with a full mouth. “Like Darwin in the Galápagos.”
“What happened?”
“Can’t draw.”
“I mean what happened to
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