26
Berkeley, Alta Bates Hospital, March 2008
Steven looked up from his book, saw his father enter the room. “Dad, she’s been mumbling stuff again.”
“About Carol?” Jeff ran his hand across his daughter’s cheek before he sat in a chair on the opposite side of her bed.
“Some, but mostly about Ted again.”
“Who?” Jeff asked.
“No clue. Not anyone I know. How’s your investigator doing?”
Jeff shook his head. He looked like shit, even worse than Steven thought possible.
“What about this Ted? Didn’t you know someone with that name? Have you seen him lately?”
Jeff shook his head again. “He was just a guy my friend Lexi dated.”
“Did he know Mom?”
Jeff shrugged. “They might’ve met.” He thought about it for a moment. “No, Lexi broke up with him before I met your mother.”
“I think you should get your PI to find him.”
“What for?”
“I don’t know, it’s something. Al has clearly said the name Ted more than once,” Steven said. “Please do it. Or should I ask grandfather to talk to his PIs about this Ted guy? What was his last name?”
“Steven, there’s no way that that Ted could have anything to do with any of this. But I have no problem with you giving your grandfather any ideas you might have. God knows nothing else seems to be working. Tom’s investigators haven’t been much use, so I asked for help from investigators in my office. And Detective Schmidt has been following up on anything and everything any of us have suggested. He’s a good cop,” Jeff said, forcing a weak smile. “He’ll find your mother, I’m sure he will.”
Steven tried not to notice that his father sucked at being reassuring. Thirty-two hours. His mother had been missing for thirty-two hours.