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fill up her hours, if that’s what you’re thinking. The lady is a real artist.”
    Marian nodded, accepting his evaluation. They ate in silence for a few more minutes, until Marian’s watch told her they had twenty-five minutes to make their appointment at Sutton Place. “Finished?” she asked Perlmutter. “Then let’s go meet the Galloway monsters.”

4
    The Galloway home on Sutton Place had tighter security than the Midtown South stationhouse. Marian and Perlmutter had to show their ID to three different keepers of the gate before a manservant finally let them in to the hallowed sanctuary of the Galloway empire.
    Both father and son were waiting in a room that was cavernous and quiet—and aggressively masculine: dark wood paneling, heavy leather furniture. The place reminded Marian of those London men’s clubs she’d seen in the movies. The younger of the two men rose to greet them; he had the same coal black hair and oversized ears that Bobby had.
    â€œLieutenant Larch? Thank you for coming. I’m Hugh Galloway and this is my father, Walter Galloway.” He did not offer to shake hands.
    Marian introduced Perlmutter and they all sat down. But before Marian could say anything, Walter Galloway rasped out a question. “What have you done to find the real kidnapper?”
    This one was not going to be easy . “We’ve put out an all-points bulletin based on Mrs. Galloway’s description of the man. She’s at the station right now helping a graphics technician reconstruct his face.”
    â€œThat’s all you have to go on? That woman’s description?” He snorted. “Then you have nothing.”
    â€œThat about sums it up,” Marian replied crisply. “Only she and Bobby got a good look at the kidnapper. The police officer who struggled with him never did have a clear view of his face. The officer told us the man is about six feet, maybe a little more, and heavy—close to two hundred pounds. Could you identify someone from that description? Without a face, we have no chance of finding him.”
    â€œAnd with a face?” Hugh asked quietly.
    â€œA slight chance. But there is this. Bobby is probably safe. Kidnappers depend on the element of surprise, of the unexpected. Now that you’re on to them, they’ll most likely move on to a different target.”
    Walter’s clawlike hands gripped the arms of his chair. “Then you’ve ruled out this nonsense that Hugh arranged the kidnapping of his own son?”
    â€œNo, I’m sorry, but we haven’t.” Marian turned to Hugh. “Your wife says you’ve tried to get Bobby away from her before. She says you tried to take Bobby out of preschool three times without her permission.”
    Hugh made a sound of exasperation. “Once. I went there once. And that was … a misunderstanding.”
    â€œLike hell it was,” Walter Galloway growled. “For god’s sake, Hugh—tell them.”
    Hugh smiled wryly at his father and nodded. “I’d asked Rita if I could have Bobby for one afternoon. That’s all—just a few hours. She said yes. Then later she claimed I’d misunderstood her.”
    â€œShe changed her mind?”
    â€œShe set him up,” Walter said tightly. “It was deliberate.”
    Hugh was nodding. “I’m afraid he’s right. What you have to understand, Lieutenant, is that Rita is the biggest liar on the face of the earth. She lies instinctively, about everything, even about matters that don’t need to be lied about, if you follow my drift. That’s what started the trouble between us. The constant lying.”
    â€œNot your adulteries?” Marian asked calmly.
    A silence fell on the room. Then Hugh said, “I had one affair. If you can call it an affair—it lasted two weeks. And I went into that one like any stupid teenager who’s been hurt and wants to hit