The Arx Read Free Page A

sister?
    “Why don’t you just describe to me what happened,” he finally said out loud.
    "Janet probably told you. I went for a shower. Ralphie was in his crib. I wasn't out of the room for more than ten minutes. When I got back he was gone." She hunched forward with her face in her hands. "It's like some horrible nightmare…"
    "Did you notice anything out of place when you first got home?"
    She stared up at him. "What?"
    "Whoever did this must have been in the apartment already."
    "You mean – they were here all night?" She scanned around them.
    "Probably – how else would they know when you were going to be out of the room?"
    A wave of horror passed over her face. "No – I didn't see anything."
    “Was there a note? Anyone call demanding ransom?”
    “No. I don’t know what they’d get from me anyway.”
    Frank got up and studied the door lock. Gloria followed him.
    “They kept asking how I thought anybody could get in here without me knowing,” she said to his back, “and harping at me about what happened even though I told them already. It’s like they’re trying to catch me in a lie.”
    Frank turned to face her. “They are trying to catch you in a lie.”
    He turned back to the lock. “No sign of tampering,” he said. They returned and sat in their original positions.
    “What about the father?” Frank said. “Were you in some kind of custody battle?”
    “He died in a construction accident eight months ago.”
    “I’m sorry.”
    Frank flipped through the pages of his notebook without really seeing them. Her story was weak. So far the only person in a position to harm Ralphie was his own mother.
    “Are you sure you’re telling me everything?” he said, searching for the truth in her eyes.
    “You don’t believe me either.”
    “I want to believe you. It’s hard to explain all the facts. There’s no sign of forced entry, no sign that anyone else has been in the apartment. No ransom note. What about outside? Have you noticed anybody suspicious hanging around the entrance – or driving by?”
    “No,” Gloria whispered.
    “Can you think of any reason why anybody would want to take Ralphie? Has anyone shown interest in him? Anyone been acting in an unusual way toward him?”
    Gloria shook her head. Her trembling hands rubbed together between her knees like they were consoling one another. Her eyes drifted over Frank’s shoulder and stopped. Suddenly they sparkled with light, as if the morning sun had risen behind them. Frank turned his head. On a bookcase behind him stood a picture of Gloria holding Ralphie in her arms. He turned back. Just as quickly the light died and her eyes were dark and hollow.
    “Look, I believe you,” he said. “You understand that I’m not a cop anymore – there’s not much I can do.”
    She nodded.
    “I’ll see what I can find out. I’ll call you in the next day or so and give you a status report.”
    He stood up and headed for the door. Gloria tugged at his sleeve. He turned back to face her.
    “It’s kind of you to help me,” she said. She held out a business card. “I hope you’re not offended, but Janet told me what happened to you. My sister Rebecca is a counselor with Community Development Services. She might be able to help…”
    “Thanks,” he said as he took the card without reading it and stuffed it in his shirt pocket. “I’ll think about it.”
    He opened the door, then turned to face her and awkwardly put a hand on her shoulder. “Keep your chin up.”
    Shit, I’m bad at this, he thought.
     
    The panic attack started as Gloria’s apartment door thudded shut. The walls and ceiling were already pressing in as he rushed along the hallway. Unable to face the elevator, he flew down fifteen flights of stairs, his anxiety ratcheting up with every step. The knot of reporters on the sidewalk outside her building stared as he doubled over and hyperventilated for several minutes.
    Help Gloria? Who was he kidding?
    On the way home, he