“That’s all right. I’m glad it all turned out well.”
“Now if only Todd would come home,” said Rosa, and that pained look was back. “I just hope he doesn’t do anything stupid.”
“You’re afraid he takes after his dad, aren’t you?”
Rosa nodded, and her eyes grew moist.“Yes, I am. I’m afraid he might do something really foolish—just like Clive.”
Chapter 16
We were on our way back into town, and frankly Dooley and I were too upset for speech. Odelia was going to have a baby! Now of all the shocking things that could have been laid at our paws, this was probably the most life-changing one to date—even more life-changing than the insertion into our lives of Chase, and with him, Brutus.
But since we didn’t want to give vent to our shock and dismay in front of Odelia, we wisely kept our tongue, though the looks we gave each other spoke volumes. Good thing Odelia had to keep her eyes on the road, and didn’t catch the wordless communication that was carried out between us.
“So what do you think, you guys?” she asked finally, once she’d had time to put all her ducks in a row after the long talk she had with Rosa. “Did Todd go off to Mexico to look for his dad, you think?”
“I doubt it,” I said. “He’s only sixteen, Odelia. Where would he get the money?”
“Yeah, and how would he hope to find his dad?” Odelia added. “It is a big country. Unless he already knew where he was going, of course,” she added.
“You mean he might have been planning this for a while?”
“It is possible. It’s been nine years, so maybe he’s been digging into the mystery of his dad’s disappearance for years now, and finally thinks he knows where to find him.”
“Or maybe his dad got in touch with him,” Dooley suggested. “And invited him over for a holiday.”
“Oh, Dooley,” said Odelia. “Now why would Clive sneak behind his ex-wife’s back and invite his son over to his hideout?”
“Because he’s a wanted man? And he doesn’t want the police to find him?”
“He is a fugitive from justice,” I agreed.
“Even so. Why invite his son, and not his daughter?” asked Odelia.
“Maybe he did invite Aisha,” said Dooley. “She was acting really strange, wasn’t she?”
“She was,” I said. “So maybe she knows more than she’s letting on.”
“I did get the impression she was hiding something,” Odelia agreed. “So maybe she does know where her brother is, but is refusing to tell her mom, or us.”
“I still think that if the kid took off for Mexico, he would have left a trace,” I said. “He’d need a passport, wouldn’t he? And he’d need money. He’d also need a car. Or if he took a flight, there would be checks done at the airport. I really don’t think a sixteen-year-old kid can just up and leave and cross the border without his parents being notified.”
“Yeah, you’re right,” said Odelia. “If he did go off to Mexico in search of his dad, sooner or later we’re bound to find out about it.”
“I just hope he won’t get shot ,” said Dooley.
I gave him a look of concern, and so did Odelia through the rearview mirror.
“Well, Mexico is a dangerous country,” Dooley argued. “People get shot or buried in unmarked graves all the time.”
And with rising concern over young Todd’s fate, Odelia parked her car across the street from a modern office building, and as she glanced over, she said, “Let’s hope Todd’s stepdad will be able to tell us more.” She consulted her notes. “Tilton Bond. Started an internet business in 2011, sold it in 2016.”
“What internet business was he in?” I asked.
“A financial and investing advice site, apparently. And a very successful one.”
“Don’t tell Gran,” I said, “Or she’ll want to start one of those herself.”
“I doubt if there’s still a lot of money to be made there. The market must be saturated with investment advice sites. Well, let’s go and have a word with the former whizz kid.”
The whizz kid didn’t look like much of a whizz kid, I thought. Then again, his whizz kid days were a thing of the past now. Tilton Bond was a tall man, with a full crop of dark hair, graying at the temples, which lent him a distinguished look. He had a neatly trimmed beard, pale blue eyes that didn’t miss a trick, and a charming demeanor overall.
“Please take a seat,” he said, as he gestured to a chair in front of a large mahogany desk. He then glanced down at Dooley and myself, and Odelia was forced to explain our presence. She did it with the practiced ease of one who’s had to explain the presence of her cats to many people many times. “Well, what can I do for you?” asked the man, giving her a pleasant smile.
“I just had a long talk with your wife,” said Odelia. “And she told me that your stepson Todd has gone missing.”
“Yes, well,” said Tilton, his face taking on an appropriate look of concern. “It’s not the first time he’s done that, and it probably won’t be the last. Todd is at an age where rebellion seems to be the best answer to just about everything that troubles him.”
“Your wife seems to think he may have gone to Mexico, to look for his father.”
Tilton quirked an eyebrow.“She told you about that, did she?”
“Yes, she came to me because of the blackmail.”
“A dreadful business. You caught the scoundrel?”
“Yes, we did. Unfortunately when we found him he was already dead—killed by his associate.”
“I know. I just got off the phone with your uncle, Mrs. Kingsley. He told me about the late Mr. Dornhauser and the things he was involved in.”
“Do you think there’s any connection between the blackmail and Todd’s disappearance?”
“I doubt it. Like I said, it’s not the first time Todd has gone missing. The last time was over a bad report card. His mother and I gave him some grief over that, and he couldn’t think of a better way to respond than to disappear for an entire weekend. He’d convinced a friend of his that Iwas bullying him, and that he needed to hide.”
“And did you? Bully him?”
“Of course not. I’ve only ever treated my wife’s kids with the utmost respect. I love them as if they were my own—though it hasn’t been easy. You see, when I met their mother, they’d just gone through a very traumatizing experience—with their dad deciding to become a bank robber, and gallivanting off to Mexico with his secretary and five million dollars of his clients’ money. So the last thing they needed was for their mom to come home one day and announce she met a man, and was planning to marry him and move in together.”
“Todd wasn’t happy about that, was he?”
“Not at first, but I like to think he and I have grown closer over time. But sixteen is a difficult age for any boy, Mrs. Kingsley, and certainly for a young man who went through what Todd had to go through on account of his dad. But on the whole I think we all get along fine.”
“What about Aisha?”
“What about her?”
“When Rosa asked her if she knew what her brother was up to, I had the impression she knew more than she was letting on.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t be surprised if she does. You see, Todd and Aisha have always been very close. Again because of the trauma they shared. The last time Todd went off without telling us where he was, Aisha was the only person he’d confided in.”
“So you think he’s staying with a friend again this time?”
“Yes, I do.”
“So the story about Mexico…”
Tilton gave us an indulgent smile.“I hardly think a boy his age would have the means or the initiative to launch an international search for his missing father, Mrs. Kingsley.”
“It’s possible his dad got in touch, and gave him his address,” Odelia suggested.
“Yes, I guess it is possible,” said Mr. Bond. “But then I’d ask myself why he’d wait nine years to get in touch. Why now, all of a sudden? And why not simply talk to Rosa?”