bound to call me, Leonard.”
“I can’t stand this.”
“There’s a way to make it stop.”
“Okay, my cousin’s name is Ray Deveau.”
“Thank you. Now was that so hard?”
“He’s the nicest guy in the world, and I don’t want you bugging him. Understand?”
Mombourquette’s cousin? Nicest guy in the world? Hardly. “Perfectly. What exactly did he say? Is Alvin overreacting?”
“They’re convinced something serious happened to the kid. I told you, it’s not such a big place, and a lot of people saw Jimmy before he disappeared. He’s kind of a fixture. Anyway, people would call the police or try to help if he was in trouble.”
“Maybe he got himself outside of Sydney. to of the other nearby towns. You sure they’ve looked everywhere for him?”
“What kind of idiot question is that? They’re competent police officers. They don’t need you to tell them how to do their jobs.”
“All right, I’m sorry. It’s an emotional kind of issue.”
“So do you want to know what Ray Deveau thinks?”
“Of course I want to know.”
“It’s been over twenty-four hours. So one of two things. They figure if he’s in the area, he’s dead.”
“But it’s summer. He could survive outside.”
Mombourquette reached over and touched my arm.
“It was eight degrees Celsius in Sydney overnight. Anyway, this boy won’t survive long on his own, no matter where.”
“But...”
“Like you said, it’s not good to disappear next to a harbour.”
“Yeah, but you said the place was full of people. Tourists and musicians and all that. Wouldn’t they notice him?”
“I haven’t been back since they built this boardwalk, but Ray told me there’s a section at the end where a person could drown unseen.”
“Did they send down divers?”
“Of course they sent down frigging divers. What is the matter with you? And they worked with the Coast Guard.”
“Why don’t you want me to speak to this Deveau guy?”
“I’ve been a cop for twenty-five years. I’ve been a detective working major crimes for twelve. Ray’s been on the force for, let me think, eighteen, twenty years. It’s his home town. So, sure, yeah, I think a word from you would probably clear the whole thing up. Show us dumb cops that we should have looked for him in his closet. Or maybe put out a missing persons bulletin in the local media. We should have turned to you first. Maybe you can clear up all our cases.”
“No need to be sarcastic.”
Mombourquette scurried away from his desk and passed me in the doorway. He said, “This reminds me, did I ever mention you really piss me off?”
“You and everyone else. Don’t go thinking you’re special.”
“Good-bye, Camilla.”
“Wait a minute, you said, one of two things. What’s the other?”
But Mombourquette had taken the cheese and skipped the trap.
• • •
The Ottawa River Parkway was clear sailing all the way home. It was quarter to four when I got back to Mrs. P’s. Alvin was in the bathroom. Mrs. Parnell seemed to feel he had improved.
“But I don’t think we should tell him they’ve found no sign of his brother.” Mrs. Parnell kept her voice low.
“He’s going to find out anyway. Better if he hears it from us.”
“I don’t dispute that, Ms. MacPhee. But the point is that young Ferguson is coming out of a disturbed state. If he receives more bad news right now, it could send him back over the edge.”
“But what can we do? We can only guess why he’s in this state, and we don’t know where his brother is. By the way, did my travel agent call back?”
“Indeed she did, Ms. MacPhee. She’s tried everything. Unfortunately, they have not a single flight available into Sydney for the next week.”
“Be serious. Did you play the compassion card?”
“Naturally. And the poor old lady card too. Apparently they book up early for this time of year because of family reunions and people returning for holidays in addition to the booming tourist trade.”
I shuddered, and not just because of the family reunion idea.
Mrs. P. mashed a fresh cigarette into her holder and fixed me with a look. “I know what you are going to say, Ms. MacPhee, and I have beaten you to the draw. I did a detailed check on the travel sites, discounters, the airlines themselves, the works, and there’s not a seat to be had. Not a single seat. Not through Fredericton or Charlottetown or Halifax. Not through Boston. Not one. You will have to accept that.”
“Oh, great. Now we’re in a pickle. He’s in no shape to spend a long trip on a train or a bus. We can’t keep him here. We can hardly grill the family over the phone about what might have led to this state, and Mombourquette warned me against contacting the Sydney cops. We’re more than a thousand miles away, and we can’t do diddly about it.”
I knocked on the bathroom door and told Alvin I’d brought fresh clothing for him. The door opened a crack, and the kitbag was whisked inside.
Mrs. Parnell heaved herself to her feet. “It is time for us to mobilize our forces,” she said.
“If you’re thinking what I think you’re thinking, the answer is no,” I said. “Absolutely not.”
• • •
I figured Mombourquette was in his office. I left a message in his voice mail. “Come on, Leonard. This is serious business. What’s the second thing? Squeak up.”
Of course, I knew in the pit of my stomach what the second thing was. I also knew that most likely the police would be taking a hard look at known and suspected pedophiles in the area.
I heard the bathroom door open. I hung up and turned. Alvin looked a whole lot better. For one thing he’d changed into his clean black jeans, fresh black T-shirt and black leather jacket. He was wearing all his earrings. He moved to the leather sofa and patted Mrs. Parnell’s little calico cat.
I saw no sign of hysteria. So far so good.
“Good to see you looking like your old self, Alvin,” I said.
I glanced over at Mrs. Parnell. She managed to look inscrutable
