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it?”
    â€œDepends on the family,” Judith snapped and turned her attention back to the document. Simple in appearance, the Word page contained a list of information:
    Name: Abel Palek
    Gender: Male
    DOB: April 30, 2000
    Current age: 8 years
    Place of birth: Torrey Pines, California
    Last residence: 1351 Tennyson Drive, Fresno, California
    Disappeared: May 9, 2008 Last seen: Fresno, California, May 9, 2008
    Instructions: Talk to no one. Do not go to the police or any police agency. If you do, he will die.
    Incentive: February 27, 1984; May 30, 1985.
    â€œInteresting,” Luke said. “No mention of the parents.”
    â€œMaybe the boy is an orphan.” Judith studied the first part of the document again. “What kind of name is Palek?”
    â€œI don’t have a clue. Abel is Jewish. That part is easy.”
    â€œHe’s been missing since May 9. That’s last Friday. The whole weekend has passed.”
    Luke bit his upper lip. “A man can travel a very long distance in two days. And that’s just by car. If the abductor took the boy on an airline, they could be anywhere in the world.”
    â€œThis doesn’t make sense.” Judith slumped back in her chair. “Why us? The police have better resources than we do and if the kidnapper …” she lowered her voice. “If thekidnapper took the kid across state lines, then the Feds get involved. Right?”
    â€œRight.”
    â€œSo why us? We’re not private detectives. At least I’m not.” She looked at him.
    â€œI told you, I trade stocks.”
    â€œBut you seem to have a knack for all this computer stuff.”
    He nodded. “I admit it. I’m a geek. So what?”
    â€œWhat about the other file?”
    He leaned closer to the monitor as if by doing so, new facts would emerge. Judith could still hear the artificial voice of the phone call.
    â€œLet me try something.”
    Judith watched as Luke moved the cursor to the menu bar of the program and clicked on File. He then selected Properties. A window with five tabs along the top popped up.
    â€œWhat is that?” she asked.
    â€œIt’s a summary of the document’s properties. When you install a program like Windows, it asks for certain information: name, company name, and the like. When you create a document it applies that information as well as tracks the number of words, the size of the file, when it was created, and so on.”
    This time, Judith leaned closer. “I see the window but I don’t see any information.”
    Luke clicked through the tabs. “I don’t know how he did it, but he’s wiped all that information clean. This guy is good.”
    â€œGood isn’t the word that comes to my mind. Open the other file.”
    â€œI can tell by the icon that it’s a photo.” He double-clicked on the file and a picture program opened. It held three photos.The first picture filled the screen. A young woman with long black hair that hung to the middle of her back exited a glass door. Her head was tilted down but not enough to hide her face. She looked drawn and worn. “Do you know … ?”
    Luke looked at Judith then back at the photo, a motion he repeated several times.
    â€œYes, that’s me — a long time ago. A lifetime ago.” Judith forced herself to take in the image. The picture drew old and forced-forgotten images to the forefront of her mind. The coffee in her stomach turned acidic. She moved her eyes from the screen to Luke. She couldn’t read his expression. Whatever he felt, he kept to himself.
    â€œDo you recognize the place?”
    Judith nodded.
    â€œDid you know that someone was taking your photo?”
    â€œNo. I’ve only been to that place once.”
    â€œWhat place?”
    Judith didn’t answer. Luke wasn’t forthcoming, and she felt no obligation to be so herself.
    â€œI understand.” He returned his attention to