“Oh, of course, please come in.” As Duckworth crossed the threshold she asked, “You haven’t found her, have you?”

“No, ma’am,” he said. “Is your son home?”

“No, but Ethan’s here. He’s out back playing with his grandfather. Did you want me to get him in here?”

“No, that’s okay. I met Ethan yesterday. He’s a handsome young fellow.”

Normally, Arlene Harwood might have swelled with pride. But she was too anxious about why the detective was here. She pointed to the living room couch, then realized several of Ethan’s action figures were scattered there.

“That’s okay,” Duckworth said, moving them out of the way. “My son’s nearly twenty and still collects these things.” He sat down and waited for Arlene to do the same.

“Should I get my husband?” she asked.

“We can talk for a moment, and then maybe I’ll have a chat with him. This is the first I’ve had a chance to talk to you.”

“If there’s anything I can do-”

“Oh, I know. Your son… this must be a terrible time for him right now.”

“It’s just dreadful for all of us. Ethan, he doesn’t really understand how serious it is. He just thinks his mother has gone away for a little while.”

Duckworth found an opening. “You have some reason to think that’s not the case?”

“Oh, I mean, what I meant was… I mean, we are hoping that’s all this is. But it’s so unlike Jan to just take off. She’s never done anything like that before, or if she has, David’s certainly never mentioned it.” She bit her lip, thinking maybe that came out wrong. “I mean, not that he keeps things from me. He counts on us a lot for support. We-my husband and I-look after Ethan all the time, now that we’re retired. He doesn’t go to day care, and he’ll be starting school next month.”

“Of course,” Barry said. “Have you noticed anything out of the ordinary with Jan lately? A change in mood?”

“Oh my, yes. David’s been saying the last couple of weeks Jan has seemed very down, depressed. It’s been a tremendous worry to him. Did he tell you Jan talked about jumping off a bridge?”

“He did.”

“I can’t imagine what might have triggered it.”

“So you observed this yourself, this change in Jan’s mood?”

Arlene stopped to consider. “Well, she’s not here all that much. Dropping off Ethan in the morning, picking him up at night. We usually only have time to say a few words to each other.”

“Keeping in mind that you’ve only seen her for short periods, would you agree that Jan’s been troubled lately?”

“Well,” she hesitated, “I think Jan always puts on her best face when she’s around her in-laws. I think if she was feeling bad, she might try not to show it.”

“So you can’t point to any one incident, say, where Jan acted depressed?”

“Not that I can think of.”

“That’s okay. I’m just asking all kinds of questions here, and some of them, I have to admit, may not make a lot of sense, you know?”

“Of course.”

“Do you know whether Jan and Leanne Kowalski ever talked about taking a trip together? Were they close friends?”

“Leanne? Isn’t that the girl who works in the office with Jan?”

“That’s right.”

“No, I’m afraid I don’t know. I don’t really know who Jan socializes with. You’d do better asking David about that.”

“That’s a good idea,” he said. “Now, I’m just trying to nail down Jan’s movements in the day before she went missing.”

“Why is that important?” Arlene Harwood asked.

“It just gives us a better idea of a person’s habits and their behavior.”

“Okay.”

“Do you know what Jan was doing on the Friday before she went to the Five Mountains park?”

“I don’t really know. I mean-oh wait, she and David went for a drive.”

“Oh yes?” Duckworth said, making notes. “A drive where?”

“I’m trying to remember. But David asked if we would look after Ethan longer that day, because he had to go someplace and Jan was going to go along with him.”

“Do you know where they were going? What they were going to do?”

“I’m not sure. You really should ask David. Do you want me to get him on the phone? He’s on his way back from Rochester right now.”

“No, that’s okay. I just wondered if you had any idea.”

“I think it had something to do with work. He’s a reporter for the Standard, but you probably already know that.”

“I do, yes. So you think he was going somewhere on a story. An interview?”

“I really can’t say. I know he’s been working on that new prison that’s supposed to come to town. You know about that?”

“I’ve heard about it,” Duckworth said. “Isn’t it unusual for your son to take his wife along with him when he’s working?”

Arlene hesitated and shrugged. “I don’t really know.”

“So, he asked you to babysit Ethan until they got back from this trip?”

“That’s right.”

“When was that?”

“In the evening. Before it got dark. David came by to pick up Ethan.”

“David and Jan,” Duckworth said.

“Actually, just David,” Arlene said.

“Jan waited in the car?”

“No, David came by on his own.”

Duckworth nodded, like there was nothing odd about this, but he had a strange tingling going on in the back of his neck. “So why would that be? Wouldn’t it make sense for the two of them to drop by here on the way home and pick up Ethan?”

“She wasn’t feeling well,” Arlene said.

“I’m sorry?”

“David told me. He said Jan wasn’t feeling well during the drive back, so he dropped her at their place, and then he came over here for Ethan.”

“I see,” Duckworth said. “What was wrong with her?”

“A headache or something, I think David said.”

“Okay. But I guess she felt well enough in the morning to go to Five Mountains. How did she seem to you then?”

“I didn’t see her in the morning. They went straight to the park,” Arlene said. Outside, the sound of a car door closing. Arlene got up and went to the window. “It’s David. He should be able to help you with these questions.”

“I’m sure he will,” Duckworth said, getting to his feet.

TWENTY-THREE

When I pulled up in front of my parents’ house, I spotted an unmarked police car at the curb.

My pulse quickened as I parked behind it. I was out of the car in a second and took the steps up to the porch two at a time. As I was swinging open the door, I found Barry Duckworth standing there.

“Mr. Harwood,” he said.

“Has something happened?” I asked. I’d only run a few steps but felt out of breath. It was an adrenaline rush.

“No, no, nothing new,” he said. Mom was standing just behind him, her eyes desperate and sorrowful. “I was driving by and decided to stop. Your mother and I were having a chat.”

“Have you found out anything? Did they search the park again? Did anything turn up on the surveillance cameras? Has-”

Duckworth held up his hand. “If there are any developments, I promise you’ll be the first to know.”

I felt deflated. But the truth was, I was the one with news.

“I need to talk to you,” I said to him.

“Sure.”

“But I want to see Ethan first,” I said. I could hear his laughter coming from the backyard. I started to move past the detective but he reached up and held my arm.

“I think it would be good if we could talk right now,” he said.

My eyes met his. Even though he’d said there was nothing new, I could tell he was holding something back. If he’d had good news, he would have just told me.

“Something has happened,” I whispered to him. “Don’t tell me you’ve found her.”

“No, sir, we have not,” he said. “But it would help if you’d come down to the station with me.”

I had that feeling you get from too much caffeine. Like electrical impulses were racing through my body. I wondered if he could feel them in my arm.

Trying to keep the anxiety out of my voice, I said, “Okay.”

He let go of my arm and went out the door. Mom came up and hugged me. She must not have known what to say, because she said nothing.