"We hate to guess, and in our practice we shouldn't guess, we should allow the patient to reveal his truth."

"I'm trying to find her," I said. "Maybe save her. I need any guesses you can give me."

"I know. I wish I could have worked with her, but her mother came and s.n.a.t.c.hed her away as soon as she could leave the hospital."

"She needs work?" I said.

"In my judgment, she is a very unstable young woman," Weiss said.

"Can you amplify that for me?" I said.

"Do you know much about psychotherapy, Mr. Spenser?"

"Not enough," I said. "But I am the significant other of a shrink in Cambridge."

"Really. What is the shrink's name?"

"Nice," I said. "You framed the question gender-neutral."

Weiss smiled.

"We don't like to guess," he said.

"Susan Silverman," I said.

"I know her," Weiss said. "She's beautiful."

"Yes," I said.

"And very smart," Weiss said. "I've heard several of her papers."

"Yes."

Weiss seemed to lean back farther in his chair. I felt as if I had pa.s.sed some sort of initiation.

"I truly don't know her issues," Weiss said. "But I've been in this line of work for a number of years, and my guesses are at least informed by experience."

"Never a bad thing," I said.

"Experience can inform," he said. "It can also distort."

"Sure," I said. "But inexperience is rarely useful."

He nodded thoughtfully.

"Well put," he said.

"Adelaide Van Meer?" I said.

He nodded.

"I believe she has been s.e.xually molested," Weiss said.

"She say so?"

"No."

"More than once?" I said.

"Over a long period of time, I think."

"By whom?" I said.

"I don't know."

"What I know about s.e.xual abuse," I said, "particularly if it's extended, is that it's probably someone close, a family member, a neighbor, someone like that."

"Yes," Weiss said.

"Have any sense if it was more than one person?"

"Probably one."

"Are you sure?" I said.

Again, Weiss looked thoughtful.

"About how many molested her? No."

"But that she was molested?"

"Yes," he said. "I cannot prove it. I cannot even demonstrate logically why I believe it. But yes, I am at some intuitive level sure."

I nodded.

"I got no problem with intuitive," I said. "Most of what I do is not the result of pure reason."

"That's true of most people," Weiss said. "Not all of them know it."

"Sure," I said. "Anything else you can tell me about Adelaide?"

"Not really. When her mother took her I urged that she see a competent therapist," Weiss said. "I told her I could help with a referral, and in any case was always available to her new therapist or to Adelaide. Mrs. Bradshaw declined a referral."

"Ever hear from anyone?"

"No."

"You think she got better?"

"Not without a good deal of professional attention," Weiss said.

47.

When Hawk and I got to my office we found a man and a woman waiting in the corridor. I unlocked the door and we went in. Hawk went and sat on Pearl's couch and put his feet on the coffee table. I went to my desk. The man and woman sat in front of my desk. I introduced myself. my office we found a man and a woman waiting in the corridor. I unlocked the door and we went in. Hawk went and sat on Pearl's couch and put his feet on the coffee table. I went to my desk. The man and woman sat in front of my desk. I introduced myself.

"We're the Lessards," the man said.

They were both tall and athletic-looking. About fifty. Probably played a lot of tennis. Probably in a southern clime; they were both tanned. His hair was gray. Hers was blond and firmly in place.

"It was our son who was killed at Tashtego," the woman said.

"I'm very sorry for your loss," I said.

They nodded. They were both aware of Hawk behind them.

"May we speak freely?" Mrs. Lessard said.

"Absolutely. I share everything with my a.s.sociate," I said.

They both turned to look at him. Hawk smiled rea.s.suringly.

"You were there," Mr. Lessard said.

"Yes," I said. "I'm sorry I couldn't have prevented it."

"We know," Mrs. Lessard said. "The police have explained everything to us."

"It was the police who sent us to you," Lessard said. "A Captain Healy, who is apparently in charge of the investigation."

"n.o.body better," I said.

"He told us you've been investigating," Mrs. Lessard said.

"I'm trying to find Adelaide," I said.

"Yes. We gave Heidi some money to meet the ransom demands, but so far Adelaide is still missing."

"Heidi didn't have the money?" I said.

"She said it would take her too long to convert it to cash, and was afraid to wait," Lessard said. "We gave her the money as an advance against Adelaide's substantial inheritance from . . ." He stopped, and took in some air before he seemed able to say the name. ". . . Maurice."

"Where did they meet?" I said.

"Maurice and Adelaide? They were friends in college."

"Which college?"

"Penn," Mr. Lessard said. "Maurice graduated two years ago. Adelaide was a freshman when my son was a junior. We hadn't really known much about her until he announced they were getting married."

"How'd you feel about that?" I said.

"We heard she came from a good family," Lessard said.

"We were thrilled," Mrs. Lessard said. "Poor Maurice had very few girlfriends. We always feared he might be gay."

Feared.

They were quiet then, very much with each other. Looking back in their memories at things they would never see again, feeling things they probably couldn't express.

"Will the ransom payment make a significant dent in the inheritance?" I said.

"Oh, no," Mr. Lessard said. "No, no. It is a substantial inheritance."

I nodded.

"And what can I do for you?" I said.

"We don't know," Mr. Lessard said. "Do you have any idea why this happened?"

"It's just so awful," Mrs. Lessard said. "We can't let go of it. We have to do something. We don't even know what."

"Maybe if somehow we could help you catch him," Lessard said.

"We have scads of money," Mrs. Lessard said. "We can pay you anything."

"No need," I said. "This happened right under my nose and I didn't prevent it. I have to even that up."

"Whether we pay you or not," Lessard said.

"Yes."

"You know who shot him."

"Of course," I said. "I saw him do it. The police must have told you about Rugar."

"Yes. But there's no sense to it," Lessard said.

"We have to make sense of it," Mrs. Lessard said.

"Do you have other children?" I said.

"We have a daughter, in her second year at Princeton."