Crime Time

The third room was for Howie who was busy on the telephone when four of us arrived. He'd forgone the trip to pick me up, afraid he'd miss a call for information on his sister's death. He greeted us enthusiastically enough but it was evident he greatest interest was learning what information I'd gleaned from Willard Humphries. I forced him to wait while we ate a late lunch, early dinner, meal.

We dined a tad late at bouchon, a restaurant for some reason spelled with a small "b," deemed by some reviewers as the best of Santa Barbara. It touted a French cuisine presenting a local fare of fresh products. I'm not sure why Betsy chose the rather pricy place, perhaps a temporary regression to her past life of affluent dinning. Molly was impressed, Howie was confused and Julie petrified she'd use the wrong utensils. Betsy loved reveled in it and it fulfilled my needs; the wine did the trick and, I was hungry and the food tasted good.

Howie was patient but I wanted some time to talk to my wife in privacy. He pretended he needed time to make a few more phone calls but I could see he was disappointed by the delay. Julie and Molly had catching up to do so they adjoined to their room, with plans for the pool later.

I briefed Betsy who listed with rapt interest, especially as I expressed my strong belief that Annie's abductor might very well be our Delabama stalker.

She shuddered at the thought. "I'm so thankful he's apparently left the area. Wherever he is, it's more than a thousand miles from here. Finally, we have a brief respite but I hope to God they catch him soon. I'm a wreck just thinking about it."

My wife found it fascinating that the old Howie was so unlike the man we'd worked so closely with these past months. "I can't picture him fighting or picking on anyone, but if I closely consider the signs, I can see his tendency to take advantage of others, if only in a self-serving way."

"I'm certain he doesn't realize it, but he does put himself first. He seems oblivious that his selfish actions inconvenience everyone else. He's quick to apologize but his regrets sometimes lack sincerity."

"Might there be more to Howie's culpability in his sister's disappearance? His parent's actions seem very vengeful and an overreaction for what he did. Sure, he was insensitive, but how many sixteen year olds sneak out to drink? His main sin appears to be his poor timing. We drive home from a bar, like we all have done, only someone steps off a curb and we're ruined for life."