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“It’s the easiest thing in the world for a con man to take in a decent person. But to get a kid who’s angry, depressed, distracted, not paying even normal attention—no contest. If you—”

    “I get the picture!”
    “So, I don’t see how a big family meeting’s going to do anything but upset Mom.”
    I let out a long breath. “We’ve done everything. At the same time we missed something. Obviously.”
    “Okay. Be there at seven.”
    “What? Tonight?”
    “Yeah.”
    “I can’t.”
    “What do you mean?”
    “I have a date.”
    “A date that’s more important than finding Mike?”
    “Can’t we reschedule?” I felt like shit.
    “No. Gary’s got a deposition in L.A. in the morning. He’s cutting it close as it is. Like you said, we’re doing this for Mom. Just be there.” Then he hung up.
    I hit number three on my speed dial and got my sister’s answering machine, which was just as well. “Dammit, Gracie, how come you insist we have this final search for Mike, but now it’s billed as my meeting, and it’s set for seven tonight, and if I miss it to go have dinner with the guy who thinks he loves me, then I’m a traitor to the family! No wonder only children are more likely to marry.”
    I called Guthrie. No answer. I was about to leave a message but couldn’t, not with things like they were with him, and with me. I rounded the corner on Columbus, coming abreast of Renzo’s Caffè. There, at a table, sat my brother Gary, looking ready to pounce.
    I glared at Renzo. Renzo’s an old hand in this part of town, a guy with a lot of opinions and no hesitancy in sharing them. Now he said nothing, finished making an espresso, and set it and a frittata in front of me.

    “This meeting.” Gary leaned toward me, as if anything could be a secret in such a tiny space. “It’s a bad idea, very bad.”
    “Postpone it! You’re the one—”
    “I can’t. Guy I’m deposing’s leaving the country tomorrow night. Anyway, it’s not the time, Darce, it’s the meeting. Mom’d never admit it, but Mike was her favorite. Lucky for the rest of us we were too old to be jealous much.”
    “But?”
    “But there’re things Mom doesn’t want to know. Things you don’t.”
    “What do you mean?”
    “Exactly.”
    “What is it I don’t want to know?”
    “If you hadn’t set up this powwow, none of this would be happening.”
    I grabbed his arm. “Tell me, dammit.”
    He exhaled and leaned back as if to balance on the back legs of his chair, a trick I’d seen him use to distract opponents before. Now, in the café’s metal chair, he reconsidered. “Lore is that you were the wild one. Okay. Mike, meanwhile, was the happy one and was happy to keep you from breaking your neck. Everyone believes that because he made it easy for them. But I was the brother nearest him, so he wasn’t quite the little kid to me that he was to John and the older girls and to Mom and Dad. Here’s the thing, Darce. Your wildness gave him cover.”
    I sipped the espresso, for once barely tasting it.
    “How many times did he take you downtown and stop in some place you couldn’t go? How often did he say he’d meet you in an hour? And you’d never have told anyone, right?”
    “Yeah, but it was just head shops, or porn—teenage boy stuff.”

    “Maybe. No, really, maybe you’re entirely right. I’m just saying that’s an example. Until now there’s never been a suspicion he wasn’t with you every moment he took you anywhere.”
    “Are you saying that I—”
    “Not you. Look, here’s how it was. When I was a kid John drove me crazy.”
    “He drove us all—Mr. Enforcer. It’s only now that I’m beginning to get past it.”
    “Me, too. But being three years younger than the enforcer made me what I am.”
    I laughed. He was the best defense attorney in the city. He could outwit any D.A., impress the judge, and charm the jury while doing it.
    “It took me years to master getting around John. When Mike came