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“He did, and he didn’t like it one bit. In fact he was the one who told me to break it off.”

“And you did.”

“Not because he said so, but yeah, we felt that the relationship had run its course.”

“How long had you been an item?” asked Chase, jotting down the odd note in his little notebook.

“Um, about four months,” said Layla.

“That’s not long,” said Dooley.

“At her age four months is an eternity, Dooley,” I said.

“Did you notice anything unusual about Todd last night, or the last couple of days?” asked Odelia.

Layla frowned and rubbed her nose.“Yeah, actually I did. He seemed moody, and distracted. His grades had been dropping, too, which was weird, since he’d always been an ace at school. And now all of a sudden he was neglecting his studies.”

“Did you talk about it with him?”

“No, not really. Things had been a little weird between us, ever since we… you know.”

Odelia nodded.“So he didn’t confide in you about what was troubling him?”

“No, but I think it probably had something to do with his dad.”

“His dad?”

“Yeah, he didn’t get along with his dad, or at least that’s what he told me when we were still seeing each other. Said Tilton was very strict, and wouldn’t let him go out if his grades weren’t good enough.”

“And he didn’t like that.”

“No, especially since Tilton wasn’t even his real dad.”

“Did he ever talk about his real dad?” asked Chase.

Layla shook her head.“Only that he met another woman and had left them. Which had been hard on his family.”

“Did he say anything about wanting to go look for his real dad?”

“I don’t think so. But like I said, we hadn’t really talked since the split.”

“Was he seeing some other girl maybe?” asked Odelia.

“I doubt it. I would have heard. But maybe you should ask my brother. He and Todd have always been really close. Maybe he’ll tell you more.”

Contrary to his sister, Scott seemed reluctant to divulge his best friend’s secrets to us. He looked a little sullen as he sat there, his hair hanging in front of his eyes, and more lying in his chair than sitting. “I don’t know anything, all right?” he said in response to a question about a potential new girlfriend.

“So he didn’t confide in you about what was going on in his life?” asked Chase.

Todd shrugged. He glanced to the pool, then looked away again.“My parents called. They’ve decided to cut their trip short.”

“Where did they go?”

“The Bahamas. They go there every year. They sounded pretty upset when I told them what happened.”

“It’s not your fault, Scott,” said Odelia.

He shrugged.“Try telling them that.”

“So let’s go over this again, shall we?” said Chase.

Scott sighed deeply and swept his blond fringe from his eyes.“Look, I already told you everything I know: I went to bed, Layla had already gone up earlier, and Todd said he was going to stay up for a while. He said he needed to think.”

“Think about what?”

“I don’t know. He didn’t want to tell me what was going on. But it had something to do with his family.”

“Did he mention getting in touch with his real dad?” asked Chase.

Scott hesitated.“Not last night. But he said something about it last week.”

“What did he say?”

“Just that he wanted to find his dad, and ask him why he left.”

“Did he mention arranging a meeting? Traveling to see him?”

“I don’t think so. But something was definitely going on. He kept looking at his phone all evening, as if he was expecting a call or something, or a message.”

“Maybe he was just worried that his mom would come look for him,” Odelia suggested.

“Yeah, could be. Though they can’t have been too worried, cause last time he went missing, he also spent the weekend with us.”

“What did your parents have to say about that?” asked Odelia.

“They weren’t happy, I can tell you that. Todd’s mom and dad came over and had a talk with my mom and dad, and of course they blamed the whole thing on me. They ended up grounding me for two weeks, and taking away my internet privileges for a whole month.”

“And still when Todd dropped by you didn’t tell him to go home?”

“He was my friend. I couldn’t tell him to take a hike, now could I? Besides, he didn’t tell me he’d run away from home. He said he’d told his mom where he was.”

“And you believed him?”

“Of course. I didn’t have a reason not to believe him.”

“Do you have any idea what happened to Todd’s phone, Scott?”

Scott frowned.“Didn’t he have it on him?”

“No, he didn’t. And we’ve looked everywhere and can’t find it.”

“Have you tried Find My Phone?”

“His laptop seems to have gone missing, too,” said Chase.

“That’s weird. He had it with him when he arrived. Are you sure it’s not upstairs?”

“No, we’ve checked.”

Scott’s frown was still firmly in place when Odelia asked the next question: “We understand from your sister that she and Todd were dating for a while?”

He grimaced.“Yeah, talk about a match made in hell.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Cause they weren’t good for each other.”

“They weren’t?”