They lived in Willits, which was Mendocino County, California, Second generation Northern Californians, both of them. Merci noted the pride in the northern lineage. Northern meant you didn't waste as much Colorado River water, weren't narcissists, Hollywood weirdos, bodybuilders, faddists, etc. George did framing and drywall and firewood. Natalie worked a drill press at Remco, day shift. Archie was their only child.
He was a big, content baby and a big, content toddler. He was a terrific athlete, even then: George remembered him throwing wiffle golf balls around his room when he was six months old, 'could really zing them.' Walked at nine months, ran at ten.
Went off to kindergarten at five, was 'unimpressed' by authority and only played with a few hand-chosen friends. He was a bit of a bully and fairly physical. Had a friend that was a lot like him and they were always cooking up something. Kevin was the other kid. They signed Archie up for T-ball at age four-a year early-but nobody cared or said anything because he was the best player on the team Orioles, that year. Looked a little like Will Clark, stroking the ball off that tee. They got him into Pinto League early, and he was the best player on that team, too.
Natalie said that for his first four grades of elementary school Archie had some problems. Nothing too serious, but he fought a lot. Didn't participate in anything but sports. Wasn't popular with other students or teachers. He and Kevin were still raising hell together. Always seemed a year or two ahead of the others physically, but academically he 'struggled.' Around the house he was polite because he knew his mother would 'paddle his pointed little fanny' if he showed disrespect. George 'took the belt' to Archie when it was necessary which was not too often, according to Natalie.
'How often was not too often?' Merci wanted to know.
'Maybe once a month back then,' George said. 'Just a few good swats and Archie would bawl and mind his manners for a while. No welts or bruises or anything like that. I loved my boy. I couldn't hurt him. But I wanted him to get some common sense through his head.'
Then, when Archie was halfway through the fifth grade, something in him changed. Natalie and George both saw it. He started dressing sharp, wanting the latest fashions. Took extra time with his hair. Brushed his teeth twice in the morning, wanted underarm deodorant. Had a funny little hop in his step-hard to describe but it was like he was walking more on his toes or something. Even changed his route to school in a way that added a full ten minutes.
'Her name was Julia,' said George. 'A transfer student from Dayton, Ohio. Little dark-haired girl with a bright smile. Cute as you can get.'
George smiled and Merci smiled with him. Natalie looked down and shook her head.
'It changed him,' she said. 'He wrote letters and poems to her. Called her all the time. He sent her pictures of himself, his dog Clunker. Had a giant fight with Kevin-stitches on both boys-but that was the last fight he ever got in. Archie's report card went from all fairs to all excellents because he wanted to impress Julia. And she'd call him and write him little love notes with red kiss stickers on the back. They held hands on the way to school and back. George and I, we talked to Julia's mom about it-she was a single mom-and we agreed it was okay, so long as Arch and Julia didn't start kissing or hiding together or… well, you know. We wanted to encourage a friendship, maybe even an early form of romance, but not physical affection. We kept an eye on them, you can believe that.'
'Yes,' said Merci. She wondered, very briefly, what she would do when Tim Jr. developed a crush like that. Handcuff him to my wrist, she thought, or maybe in his room. Probably be a Kirsten like Zamorra's, she thought: another qualmless blonde.
'Then,' said Natalie, 'she disappeared.'
'Julia?'
'Yes. Somewhere between her apartment and where Archie would meet her on the way to school. People saw a white pickup truck that wasn't usually around. Some people said Julia got in, some said she didn't. Anyway, she was never found. Neither was the truck. She was ten.'
The waiter checked in with more coffee, but still, nobody wanted breakfast. He concentrated as he refilled Merci's cup, then smiled without looking at her and backed away.
Merci made sure she had the girl's last name and the year and city and school right: this would be worth another look.
'Police questioned Archie for quite a while,' said George. 'We were present, of course. It was nothing accusatory.'
All questions are accusatory, thought Rayborn.
'How did her disappearance affect your son?'
George sighed and looked at her. 'First he got real quiet. And while he was going through that quiet stage, he brushed his teeth three times before school, he asked us for even more of the name-brand clothing he spent even more time on his hair. Wrote her more letters. Months later, Julia's mom gave them back to me. He didn't say much of anything to anybody. A whole dinner and he'd only speak if you asked him something direct. That lasted the rest of the school year, through summer and into the next. He'd go to the public library almost everyday on the way home from school and read the papers from around the country. Librarian told us that. He told me you never knew where she'd show up. That summer he played baseball harder and better than I'd ever seen him play. Really cracking that ball. Really throwing it hard-clocked at seventy-four miles an hour when he wasn't quite twelve. I could see the… what was it? I could see the passion in him, The frustration. The anger. By the end of the next school year-sixth grade-he seemed to be pretty much over it. He was talking again, making friends. Even some girlfriends. He was popular. Good grades, still. Nice-looking. A good boy.'
'But after that he always had a blank spot inside him,' said Natalie, 'Like something had gone away and wouldn't come back. Which was exactly what had happened.'
Merci knew about blank spots from Hess. She often thought of a person's soul as something lunar-the craters were good things lost, the mounds were good things not lost, and the plains in between were things that didn't matter that much. 'How did he react when the police questioned him?'
George chuckled. 'He told us that night that if he couldn't be a major-league pitcher when he grew up, he was going to be a missing-persons detective. And he wasn't joking. Archie wasn't a joker that way. Always was real serious about what he was going to do. Well, that's exactly what happened, isn't it? He dropped out of ball and became a deputy.'
Merci made a note of this, circled it, watched her pen form the long oval on the paper, once, twice. Be a missing-persons detective. Because his first love disappeared off the face of the Earth. Because he loved her enough to change himself for her.
'Tell me about Gwen.'
Archie knew immediately, said Natalie. Told them a couple weeks after he met her that he was going to marry her. Was a little embarrassed that she was sixteen and he was twenty, playing college ball for UCR. But that was all. He had the long view. He knew four years wouldn't be anything when they were older.
George and Natalie weren't too happy about the age thing, Natalie said, but when they met her they couldn't help but like her. When two people love each other like that you pretty much have to get out of the way. Gwen looked like Julia.
'We had to trust Archie,' she said. 'We did trust him. It's not much of my business but I'd bet she was still a virgin the day they got married.'
'What about Archie?'
Natalie shook her head and looked at her. 'Lots of girlfriends in high school and early college.'
'Before Gwen,' said George.
George looked into near space as if his son's lack of honeymoon virginity was a problem that needed solving. Natalie looked at Merci blankly.
'You going to charge him?'
'Nobody's been charged.'
'I said are you going to?'
'I don't know.'
Natalie's hard eyes locked onto Rayborn's again. 'Well, the one more thing we should talk about. Just so you know. Long time ago Archie took out life insurance policies on Gwen and himself. Seemed smart, with the profession that Archie had chosen. I think policy was worth about a quarter million. They told us about it, cause if something happened to both of them, the money would split between Gwen's parents and us. George and I don't
