Harry led the two uniformed cops, Rossiter, Friday, Carol, and Phil to Margaret Resnick’s trailer. Harry caught sight of Mowgli—in a red and blue Hilfiger T-shirt and baggy khakis—disappearing into the neighboring trailer. One of the cops knocked on Resnick’s door. No answer. He knocked again. Inside, a light went on. After a while, the door was opened by an old man, clearly in his late eighties, who looked as if he’d been asleep in his overalls.
“We’re looking for Margaret Resnick,” Rossiter said.
The old man mumbled something incomprehensible, then made a wait-a-minute gesture, searched in his pockets and found his false teeth, which he put in.
“It’s the middle of the night,” the old man said.
“Margaret Resnick?” Rossiter repeated.
“No one by that name here,” the old man said.
“She lives here,” Harry said.
“Nope,” the old man said.
“I was here this afternoon,” Harry said.
The old man looked Harry up and down.
“Nope,” he said.
Harry started into the house, but was restrained by Rossiter, who asked the old man, “You mind if we look around?”
The old man shrugged.
Rossiter and the others entered the single room—the room in which Harry had visited Resnick.
Except Resnick was not there.
And there was no sign of any female presence.
“I’ve lived here twenty years,” the old man said. “Never heard of no Margaret Resnick.”
Harry looked at Rossiter, shrugged, and said, “Wolf.”
Rossiter told one of the cops, “Get Bender on the radio. Tell him we’ll meet him at the hospital.”