"Well, he wasn't here last night. As you said, he didn't tell the truth. But as for his friends, he really didn't hang out with anyone there. He just went there to play the game and then left. ”

"Is there anyone covering for him?"

"I don't have that impression."

Katyusha then asked the young agent to come to Mira's house to meet her.

"Okay."

"By the way, Ray, there's one more thing."

"Yes, ma'am."

"I need you to get something in the equipment room at headquarters."

"Yes, what?"

"Body armor, it's for the two of us."

Closer and closer to Fiona's house. Caraño followed Katyusha, who rubbed her dark casual pants with the palm of her hand and rested her hand on the handle of the Glock pistol.

I don't want to use a gun, she thought to herself. In particular, you can't shoot a gun at a child.

Travis is unlikely to be here; After the boy disappeared from the bagel bakery, the Monterey County Police Department put the place under surveillance. However, he could also sneak in. Katyusha pondered: if she was fired, the situation forced her to shoot. The reason is simple. She would kill another living person for the sake of her child. She must not allow them to grow up without their parents.

The body armor rubbed a little against the skin, but wearing it made her more confident after all. She restrained herself from slapping Vico's hitch.

They were followed by two county sheriffs, who stepped onto the wet front porch, as far away from the window as possible. The family's car was parked in a driveway where a landscaping truck and a pickup truck were parked, and the flower beds on either side were planted with holly and rose bushes.

She whispered to Caranio and the other officers about Travis and Sammy's younger brother, "He's big and emotionally unstable, but maybe not dangerous." Do not use weapons in case of conflict with him. ”

"Yes, ma'am."

Caranio was alert but also calm.

She sent police officers to raid the back of the house, and agents from the State Bureau of Investigation were placed on either side of the door. "Action." She slammed on the old wooden door, "We're from the Bureau of Investigation, we have a search warrant, please open the door." ”

She knocked again, "We're from the Bureau of Investigation, open the door!"

Their hands rested next to their weapons.

After a long moment, just as she was about to knock again, the door opened, and Fiona stood there, her eyes wide open. She had just cried.

"Lady Fiona, isn't Travis here?"

"Me"

"Please tell me, Travis is not at home? It's important for you to tell us. ”

"No, not indeed."

"We have a search warrant to search his stuff." Katyusha walked into the room and handed her the search warrant with a blue background. Caraño followed. The living room was empty. She found that the doors to the rooms of both children were open. She didn't see Sammy, she looked into his room and saw delicate diagrams, full of hand-drawn drawings. She wondered if he could draw comic strips or Japanese manga.

"Is your youngest son Sammy here?"

"He went out to play, by the pond. I beg you to tell me, do you have any news from Travis? Has anyone seen him?"

There was a creak in the kitchen. Her hand reached for the pistol.

Fiona appears in the kitchen hallway with a can of beer in her hand. "It's back," he muttered, "and," he snatched the search warrant from his wife's hand before he could finish it, and pretended to read it.

He glanced at Ray as if he were a waiter wiping tables.

Katyusha asked, "Do you have any news from Travis?" Her eyes scanned the room.

"No, but you can't blame us for what he did."

Fiona immediately said, "He didn't do anything!"

"I'm afraid the girl who was attacked today recognized him," Katyusha said.

Fiona tried to argue again, but there was no squeak, and she tried to restrain herself from tears, but to no avail.

Katyusha and Caraño searched the house carefully and did not spend much time. There was no sign that the boy had recently returned home.

"We know you have a pistol, Mr. Fiona. Can you see if it's still there?"

His eyes narrowed, as if he thought about what that meant, "It's in my storage bin, it's a locked box. ”

This is what state law does for families with children under the age of 18.

"Did you get a bullet?"

"Well," he said, looking to excuse himself, "we do a lot of landscaping in Salinas, where gangs are rampant, you know. ”

"Can you see if it's still in the box?"

"He won't take my gun, he wouldn't dare. If he doesn't believe, he'll be whipped. ”

"Can you please check it?"

The man gave her a suspicious look and walked out. Katyusha motioned for Caraño to follow him.

Katyusha looked over the wall and noticed a few pictures of the family. She was very impressed by the much more cheerful and younger Fiona. She is pictured standing behind a kiosk counter at the Monterey County Open-Air Market. She was thin and pretty. Perhaps before she got married, she rented land in the market and ran a stall. It's possible that she met Fiona there.

The woman asked, "Is the girl okay?" The one who was attacked?"

"We don't know."

Tears rolled in her eyes. "He's having a problem, he's not normal. But this is a big mistake. I know. ”

Denial is one of the most difficult emotional responses to navigate, as hard as a walnut shell.

Travis's father is accompanied by a young agent back to the living room. Bob's ruddy face was burning, "The gun is gone." ”

Katyusha sighed and said, "Didn't you put it somewhere else?"

He shook his head, avoiding Fiona's gaze.

She said timidly, "What does a gun do?"

He ignored her.

Katyusha asked, "Where does Travis usually go?"

"I don't know," said Fiona, "he's always nowhere to be seen, but no one knows where he's gone." ”

"And what about his friends?"

Fiona replied quickly, "He doesn't have any friends." He was always on the internet and on the computer."

"Anytime," his wife chimed softly, "anytime." ”

"If he contacts you, you can call us. Don't convince him to surrender, don't surrender his guns, just call us. It's good for him. ”

"Okay," she said, "we'll do it." ”