76

LILY TOOK us to her office, at the end of the corridor. It looked like a kid's playroom except for the computer screen on the desk. I looked at the keyboard-there was no lock-out device. "How do you keep someone from getting into your records?" I asked her.

She laughed, tapping some keys. "Want to play a fast game of Zork before we get down to business?" The screen had some kind of mazes-and-monsters game on it.

"That's all you have it for?"

"Sure," she said, looking at Immaculata as if I was an idiot.

I lit a cigarette, looking around for an ashtray. "Use this," Lily said, handing me an empty water glass.

Immaculata sat behind the desk; Lily perched on a corner. I stood against the wall and listened.

"Scotty was going to a day-care center every day after school. He'd get there around one in the afternoon and his mother would pick him up when she got out of work. Around six o'clock. One day a woman came to the center. Scotty said she was an 'old lady,' but that could mean anyone older than his mother. She had a van and a driver-a big, fat man with a beard. She told the kids she was going to take them to see the clowns and who wanted to go? Scotty went with some other kids. It took what he said was 'a long, long time' to get there. A big house with a high fence around it. There was a clown there-a big, fat clown, like the driver. His face was all made up like a clown, and he had presents for all the kids. The clown and the old lady took Scotty out of the group where he was playing with the other kids. They took him into the basement, where they had a puppy. They told him he could have the puppy if he would be a 'good little scout.'

"To be a good scout you have to take your pants off. They let him keep his shirt on. It was red and black stripes. He has it in his closet at home," Mac said, answering one of the questions I'd told her to ask.

"The clown took off his pants too. His penis was very large. It scared the boy. They asked him if he wanted ice cream. They rubbed some on the clown's penis and told Scotty to lick it off. He started to cry. The old lady told him if he didn't do what he was told, they would hurt the puppy. He still refused. The clown strangled the puppy in front of him. Scotty didn't want to watch but he had to. He has bad dreams about the puppy. He's always scared."

The cigarette burned into my fingers. I threw it on the floor, stepped on it. Immaculata's face was closed-a soldier doing her job.

"The man put his penis in Scotty's mouth-told him to suck very hard. The woman took a picture with a Polaroid and a flash. White stuff came out. Scotty cried. The old woman told him if he ever told anyone about this his mother would get very sick and die. They took him back upstairs and put him into the van with the other kids. The other kids all had a great time."

"How does he know it was a Polaroid?" I asked.

"He doesn't know the name, but he said a camera where the picture comes out the front."

"Did he see the picture?"

"I think so. At least the fact that there was a picture." She took a breath. "Scotty never told anybody-he was scared something would happen. But his mother took him to a therapist, and he told the therapist about bad dreams. That's all. He was afraid of the therapist-he had a beard like the big, fat clown.

"Later he told some of it to the redheaded woman who brought him to the parking lot today-he calls her 'Zia.' He told her that the old lady came to the day-care center with a big, strong man who had a leather bag. The man took money from the leather bag and gave it to the lady who runs the day-care center. And there was some strange mark on the big man's hand. That's it," she said.

"He's going to need help with the dreams," Lily said.

"I know," Immaculata replied.

"He's not still afraid of anything happening to his mother?" I asked her.

"No," she said, smiling faintly, "Max told Scotty he would guard his mother."

"What was that bit with the table, Mac?" Lily wanted to know.

"Scotty drew a picture of the big, fat clown. Max told him he was going to find the clown and break him in little pieces. He was showing Scotty what he meant."

I lit another cigarette. "Does he have any idea at all where the big house is? You think he could find it if we went over the route?"

"Not a chance," Mac said. "He wasn't paying attention on the drive out there-and he was too scared on the way back to the center."

"If this woman is running a big operation, maybe Wolfe would know about her," I said, looking at Lily.

"I'll talk to her," Lily replied.

I felt a tap on my shoulder. Max. He held one hand to his eye, tapped his finger against the hand. Taking a picture. He pointed at me, made binoculars of his fists around his eyes.

"Yeah, I'm looking for that picture," I told him.

Max tapped his chest, dealing himself in.

We all left the office together to pick up the boy.

77

SCOTTY WAS in the middle of a group of kids, all trying to push a giant beach ball in different directions. "We have to go?" he asked Immaculata. Not so happy about it.

"We'll come back, Scotty. And we'll play some more and talk some more, okay?"

"And Max too?" the kid demanded.

Immaculata took his hand. "Max has to work sometimes, Scotty. But he's never too far away. And his work is very important."

"Like watching Mommy?"

"Yes, like that. Okay?"

Scotty smiled. Max smiled too-the way an undertaker does. The boy waved goodbye to his new friends. Lily gave him a hug. And we were out the door.

Scotty was cheerful on the drive back. It was almost eight by the time I pulled up right in front of the Family Court. The Mercedes was sitting there, smoke coming from its exhaust. The driver's door popped open and Strega climbed out, Mia in tow. I got out too, halfway between the cars.

"I have to talk to you for a minute," I said.

"Mia, take Scotty and wait in the car, okay, sweetheart? Mommy will be there soon."

The little girl looked at me. "You're not handsome," she said solemnly. "My daddy is very handsome."

"Good," I said.

"In the car, Mia," Strega told her. She took Scotty's hand and went off. Immaculata stayed in the Lincoln, looking straight ahead.

"What happened?" the redhead asked.

"It went well," I told her, picking my words carefully. "We got a lot of information. But the more he gets comfortable with these people, the more we find out, understand? He needs to come back, like once a week for the next few weeks at least."

"Not for therapy?" she asked, a warning note in her voice.

"For information," I told her, lying as smoothly as the rug on that pedophile's floor. "If you want the picture…?"

"You got it," she snapped. "I want to talk to her"-pointing to the car.

I waved Immaculata over-no point in Strega seeing Max.

They didn't greet each other this time. "Is Scotty going to be all right?" Strega asked.

"In time, yes. He had an ugly experience. It's a process. You are going to bring him back?"

"Once a week, right?"

"Yes." Immaculata watched Strega's face, making up her mind about something. "You should not attempt to debrief this child," she said, her voice clear as crystal and just as hard.

"Debrief?"

"Ask him what he said, what we talked about. He will not want to do this now. In his own time, it will come. If you put pressure on the child now, you will set back his progress, yes?"

"If you say so," said Strega.

"I do say so. It is very important. Scotty is a strong child, but this whole thing was a severe trauma. You, as his mother…"

"I'm not his mother," Strega snapped.

"This is his aunt," I said to Immaculata. "Zia."