Page 30 of Dead Beat

“Please don’t remind me that I’ve been relegated to the muscle.”

“If that means I’m the brains, we are definitely screwed.”

She knocked, and a moment later, the door swung open.

Through the screen, the mop-headed boy said, “What can I do for you?”

He was slightly breathless, in a T-shirt and jeans, and he’d exchanged his boots for fuzzy slippers. Up close it was clear whoever this might be he was not the man in that photograph.

“Hi,” Alex said, smiling. “I’m sorry to bother you, but we’re looking for Thomas Neumann.”

The young man cocked his head to the side. “Whatever you’re selling, we’re not buying.”

“Sorry, I know this is weird. Could you just tell him we’re from Lethe?”

“From where?”

“Lethe. At Yale.”

“Oh! An alumni thing. Rudy … Mr. Neumann isn’t at his best these days. I can try, but he isn’t always lucid. Do you mind waiting?”

“Happy to,” said Darlington, offering his most responsible New Englander head nod. “We have identification if you need it.”

“It couldn’t hurt.”

They produced both their student IDs. They’d thought about lying or using a cover story, but the reality was that Yale and Lethe had a better chance of getting them into the house than anything else.

“Rudy,” Alex whispered when the door shut, leaving them to wait on the stoop. “Not Thomas.”

“That doesn’t mean it’s our Rudolph Kittscher. It could be a middle name the family uses.”

The Subaru was parked only a block away, but it seemed small and distant and the glare on the windshield made it look empty, as if when they’d shut the car doors, Dawes and Tripp had simply vanished.

“I wish the street was busier,” Alex said.

“I know.” He hated seeing her scared, but he wasn’t going to start saying things like Don’t worry or It will be all right. They’d been through too much for that game of pretend.

“Do you think this guy knows he’s babysitting a man over one hundred and twenty years old?” Alex asked.

“We don’t know that yet.”

She surprised him when she said, “This place has a nice feel to it. This whole street does. Welcoming.”

“Life is better at the beach. I read that somewhere.”

What might have been a smile ghosted over her lips.

A moment later the door opened and the mop-headed young man shoved the screen door open too.

“Sorry to make you wait in the cold. I just have to be cautious. When you get to Rudy’s age, folks sometimes try to take advantage.”

“There’s nothing to apologize for,” Darlington said. “It’s nice he has someone looking out for him. I’m Daniel. This is Alex.”

“Theo.”

“Are you and Mr. Neumann related?” Neumann hadn’t had kids, but he did have a sister. Theo could be a grandnephew.

“No, I’m with Rhode Island Care. We provide in-home nursing and senior care. I’ve only been with the company a few months.”