Blunt Darts

more advanced materials to study and absorb. Given a few months of intensive study, I daresay he would be a better lawyer than—but I digress. The point I mean to make is that Stephen has the emotional and intellectual courage to strike out on his own. He would know exactly and concisely what he would need, and that is what he packed.”
    “What did he pack for?”
    “Until my stroke, three years ago, I was an active camper. The judge despises the outdoors and would invent illness when he was younger to avoid coming with my husband and... and me.
    “Stephen, however, seemed born with a love for the outdoors. He would walk the property here, approximately seventy-five acres, endlessly, as one season changed into another, observing the wildlife and plants. After my stroke, he would come in each day and describe to me what he’d seen and heard and touched. He became terribly interested in the wilderness, and with my help, he and I selected numerous books and items from L. L. Bean, Abercrombie, and other catalogs to prepare a wilderness-survival kit for him.”
    “And that’s what he took with him?”
    “Yes and no, Mr. Cuddy, and that’s my point. What is missing is not his whole kit nor a random sampling of all the items he had. What he took were only the lightest components and the barest necessities. My memory is still perfectly sharp, and I’m sure only his hand or mine could have selected so carefully the items that are missing.”
    “Could you make a list of those, along with the clothes he was wearing and the clothes that are missing?”
    She reached her hand down between the cushion and the couch and handed me a small envelope. “It’s all in there.”
    “Do you have a picture of him?”
    “The best one I have is in the envelope. I would appreciate your making copies and returning it to me as soon as possible.”
    “I’ll do that.” I opened the envelope and scanned the list. It was written on rose-colored stationery with her name embossed on the top. The handwriting, now shaky, once must have won penmanship awards.
    I studied the photograph. It showed a black-haired boy, whittling but looking up at the lens. The body was right, but the face was somber, joyless, and somehow not young.
    “How long ago was this taken?”
    “About six weeks. Stephen disappeared on Tuesday, June 12. The photograph was taken by his father, which explains Stephen’s expression.”
    I slipped the photo back into the envelope. “Mrs. Kinnington, you don’t speak as lovingly of your son as you do of Stephen. Was the judge the reason Stephen ran away?”
    “I don’t believe that is necessary for your task. Regardless of what Stephen’s reasons were for leaving, I am convinced Stephen’s father had nothing directly to do with Stephen’s departure. Accordingly, I don’t wish you to speak with the judge nor even allow him to become aware that you are pursuing the case on my behalf.”
    I cleared my throat. “Mrs. Kinnington, that’s probably not possible. I’ll have to ask some questions in this town about Stephen, and that fact is bound to get back to the judge. Aside from you and him, I can’t think of anyone who would hire me to look for Stephen. He’s bound to add it up.”
    Mrs.Kinnington fixed me firmly. “Nevertheless, I do not wish you to do anything that would specifically lead him to that conclusion.”
    “Mrs. Kinnington, I will do what I believe is best for finding Stephen. If that isn’t acceptable to you, I’ll walk right now. No charge.”
    She blinked and sighed. “Please do your best, then, to honor my wishes,” she murmured.
    “I will.”
    I mentally reviewed the topics I had wanted to cover with her. Two remained.
    “I have only a few more questions for now, Mrs. Kinnington. One is about Stephen’s institutionalization after his mother died.”
    Her eyes sharpened again with her voice. “That was years ago. What could it possibly have to do with his disappearance now?”
    “Frankly, I don’t know. But it seems to me something must have happened to cause Stephen to take off. Perhaps that something isn’t a new occurrence but rather a recurrence from those days.”
    She sighed again. The institutionalization appeared to be as difficult for her to discuss as it must have been for Stephen to experience. “I had very little to do with that. I was out of the country when Stephen’s mother died, and the judge’s actions were fait accompli by the time I got back.” She adopted the