“I read about it online. I was amazed at her persistence,” Sam said.

“We all were. If anyone can find that baby, it’s going to be Susanna.” Trula nodded. “She and Robert and Emme together, they’re going to find that boy.”

“Let’s hope so.” Mallory turned back to Sam. “And speaking of finding someone…”

She reached into her briefcase and pulled out a file.

“This is all we have on the Ross Walker case.” She handed him the folder. “I spoke with Lynne Walker on Thursday. She’s expecting to hear from you today or tomorrow. I thought you’d want to start with her.”

“Thanks.” Sam put the file on the table next to him.

“Aren’t you going to look at it?”

“Sure. But right now, I’m going to eat the eggs Trula is putting onto one of those plates, and I’m going to drink my coffee. Then I’ll go to whatever place you’ve set aside for me to use as an office, and I’ll read everything you’ve given me.”

“Don’t you want to talk about it?”

“Not especially. Not right now, anyway,” he said honestly. Might as well put that out there, right up front.

“I get it.” Mallory shrugged. “I should probably be insulted, but I get it.”

“Get what?” Trula set a plate in front of them both.

“Sam likes to work alone.”

“It’s nothing personal,” he told her. “It’s the only way I’ve ever worked.”

“Haven’t you ever had a partner?”

“Not recently.”

“But when you were called in to work as a profiler, surely you had to play nicely with the others.”

“Mostly I studied whatever information there was and talked to the people in the field, but I rarely worked a case with anyone else.” He thought about that for a moment. “At least, not until I’d had time to digest the information and talk to a few people, get a feel for it. But even at that, I was really just giving my opinion and my thoughts.”

“Well, once you’ve had time to do a little digesting of Ross Walker’s case, I’d appreciate your thoughts on it.” Mallory took a piece of toast from the plate that Trula had placed between them on the table and began to butter it. “Actually, I’d more than just appreciate it. I’m going to require it.”

“So I should think of you as sort of the special agent in charge of the Mercy Street Foundation.” Sam nodded, glad to have the hierarchy spelled out. For some reason, he had assumed he’d be reporting directly to Magellan. Clearly he’d been wrong. It was good to get that straightened out on the first day.

“Something like that.” Mallory smiled and turned her attention to the scrambled eggs and bacon Trula was serving. “Nice analogy. I like it.”

Sam glanced at the sparkly round diamond on her ring finger and silently wished a lot of luck to the guy who’d placed it there. Mallory must have caught the look, because she grinned and wiggled her finger to catch the light with the stone.

“Pretty, isn’t it? My guy done good, don’t you think?”

“Very nice, yes.” Sam nodded, and Mallory laughed.

“You’ll meet Charlie soon enough,” she told him.

“He’s a detective in Conroy, and there are times when we need him to get a little info for us. Of course, now, with your contacts in the FBI, I’m thinking we might be able to let Charlie off the hook a little.”

“There are some people I can call on if we need to.” Sam nodded, already planning to check to make sure the details of Ross Walker’s murder had been entered into the Bureau’s computer system. “I’m assuming we have copies of all the reports from the investigating police department?”

“All the ones that were sent in by the widow. But I wouldn’t assume anything. I’m sure the Lincoln police have a lot more. Maybe they’ll even share it with you.”

“I’ll give them a call. I went to college in Lincoln. Haven’t been back in a while.”

“That’s right. I do recall reading that on your resume. Cornhusker, eh?”

“Absolutely. Nebraska born and raised.” He took a bite of Trula’s excellent eggs and wondered if she served breakfast to the staff when Robert was around.

He watched the older woman as she puttered, and wondered at her age-seventy-something, maybe?-and what her position here was. Robert’s housekeeper? The cook? Neither would explain why Mallory seemed to defer to her or why she appeared to have so much influence over Robert.

Interesting household.

“Well, I have some calls to make.” Mallory stood and gathered up her plate and her mug and her flatware and carried all to the sink where she rinsed all but the mug and opened the dishwasher. “By the way, Sam, you’re in the office two down from mine. Your laptop is on your desk along with everything I think you’ll need to get started. If there’s anything else you need, just let me know.”

“Thanks, Mallory.” He was pretty sure he remembered which office was hers.

“I’m in the process of unloading so leave everything on the counter,” Trula told Mallory.

“Okay.” Mallory did as she was told, filled her cup from the coffeemaker on the counter. “Thanks, Trula. Perfect, as always.” She waved to Sam as she passed out of the kitchen.

Trula turned to Sam and said, “I’m going outside to find Chloe. I’m going to have to get her to school soon. You can do as Mallory did and clear your own place whenever you finish.”

“I’ll do that, thanks. And thanks for breakfast.”

“You’re welcome. We usually have lunch around one for whoever is around.” She left the house by the back door, leaving Sam alone in the kitchen.

He poured himself another cup of coffee after rinsing his plate and tucked the file Mallory had given him under his arm. He looked out the back window and saw Trula sitting on the ground next to Chloe, making a chain of clover flowers. So much for getting the child to school on time. He smiled at the unlikely pairing, and went off in search of his office.

Two hours later, he’d read the file through and made several pages of notes. He’d had the benefit of having seen the file contents briefly when he’d met with Mallory for his interview, but now found himself poring over every page, looking for the bits and pieces of real information scattered throughout the wordy documents. When he felt he’d extracted as much as he was going to get from the official reports, he pulled out the contact sheet and lifted the receiver to dial Lynne Walker’s number. He caught the address of the Walker home-4172 Clinton Street-and for a moment, wasn’t sure he’d read correctly. Hadn’t his first apartment in Lincoln been on Clinton Street? He tried to remember what the building had looked like but couldn’t bring it to mind. He shrugged. Maybe it had been Calhoun Street, or the name of some other president. Buchanan, maybe. Whatever.

He took his time dialing, remembering some very good times at the University of Nebraska. There’d been that hot little blonde at the Phi Mu house. Cheryl something. At the last reunion he’d attended, he’d heard she’d gone into TV reporting. He wondered what she was doing now…

“Hello?” a woman’s voice answered the phone.

“Is this Mrs. Walker?” Sam asked, his college memories swiftly put aside.

“This is Lynne Walker, yes.”

“Mrs. Walker, this is Sam DelVecchio. I’m with the-”

“Mercy Street Foundation,” she said with obvious relief. “Miss Russo said you’d be calling today or tomorrow. Thank you for being on the early end of the range. I’ve been on pins and needles all day.”

“Sorry to have made you wait.” He paused for a moment. “I’ve finished reviewing the materials you sent. Have there been any follow-up calls from the police, or any other articles in the newspapers there in Lincoln since you submitted your application?”

“No calls, no articles that I’ve seen lately. I called Detective Coutinho to let him know that I was contacting the Foundation, but I had to leave a message for him. I’m sure there’s plenty in his file that he didn’t let me see.”

“I’ll give him a call and let him know we’re on the case at your request, see if I can schedule a time to sit down with him.”