Free Love and Fear by Reed Farrel Coleman

artist looked shocked. “Have her! What are you talking about?”
    “She’s been missing for a month. That’s why I’m here.”
    Telenovich went pale. “Oh my god. Oh my god. No. No. I would never hurt her. Those things I wrote…that was why I tracked her down. I had to apologize for driving her away. She has such promise. You cannot understand. I am good, but I had training with some of the best. She could be so much better than I could ever be. She has such talent. The world needs the kind of beauty she can bring it. The world can be such an ugly place.”
    Gulliver agreed. “That note you gave her roommate at FIT . Was that—”
    “My apology.” He nodded. “I didn’t want to frighten her, so I thought a note passed to her from her roommate would be good. Safe.”
    “Then why have you been hanging around her building?”
    Telenovich beamed. “Because I have found a major art dealer who wants to display her work. I wanted to be the one to tell her. I know that is selfish of me—and silly. But I thought it was a good way to make a real apology. To give her something as a gesture. I thought she must forgive my stupidity with such an offer. Aren’t old men allowed their pride and foolishness?”
    They talked for a few more minutes, and then Gulliver thanked Telenovich for his time. The artist begged Gulliver to tell him any news of Bella. Gulliver agreed.
    Ahmed and Tony were back in the Caddy by the time Gulliver returned.
    “We didn’t find nothing in his basement,” Tony said. “We had a clear view through four windows.”
    Ahmed added, “And I had a look through an attic vent. Nothing. Man, I can’t be climbing up the sides of houses anymore.”
    “He doesn’t have her,” Gulliver said.
    Tony didn’t like hearing this. “What the hell you talking about? He has to have her.”
    Gulliver explained Telenovich’s story. Tony didn’t want to believe it, but he gave in.
    “Look, Tony, if you want to come back and sit on the man’s house, go ahead. But I don’t think it will do you any good.”
    Ahmed spoke. “So we’re back to square one.”
    “Maybe not,” Gulliver said. “I’ve got an idea I need to check out. If I’m right, Bella is fine and safe. For now, let’s all go get some sleep.”

NINETEEN
    It had bothered Gulliver from the beginning, but he had chosen to ignore the voice in his head. That alone should have gotten his attention. Every time he ignored his instincts, he got in trouble. Or he wound up doing twice the work to get to the same place. By no means was the voice in his head always right. He wasn’t a seer. He could not predict the future. Most of the time he had trouble making sense of the past.
    Why had he ignored the voice? Because the people involved in this case weren’t like the ones in any of his other cases. This case involved a Mafia don, his muscle-man bodyguard, the woman they both loved and a missing child. And although Gulliver had attacked the case as he would most others, he hadn’t done it exactly like he had in the past. He hadn’t spoken to the missing girl’s mother.
    The mother was often the key to finding a missing daughter. Mothers knew things about their daughters. They knew things about them they weren’t even aware they knew. Little habits. Warning signs. Things that set them off. Yet, in spite of this, Gulliver hadn’t asked to speak to Maria. Was it out of fear? Respect? Was it because he knew Tony and Maria’s secret? It could have been any one of those reasons. Maybe it was a little bit of them all.
    But while he was in Igor Telenovich’s den, it had struck Gulliver. Not only hadn’t he asked to speak to the mother, but the mother had not asked to speak to him. That was what had been bothering him. The mother of the missing child always asked to speak with him. Always. The mothers were usually the frantic ones no matter what the child’s age. The fathers always tried to act tough and calm. The mothers were the ones who called him