"Do you have some idea who killed his father?" A very soft whisper.
"No, but it would be helpful if he could tell us a few things."
"Sure." There was a rustling of the phone and Rhyme heard the woman call, "Javier, I've got Miss Amelia on the phone. She wants to ask you a few questions." She too hit the speaker button, Rhyme could hear.
"Hi. How're you?"
"Good, Javier. How you doing?"
"Okay."
"I'd like to know a few things."
"Sure, I guess."
"When did you meet your dad yesterday?
"I don't know. He came by the school and picked me up. Maybe eleven or twelve. He said I didn't have to go to school in the afternoon."
Sachs continued, "Did you go with him to armory on the West Side? Right after school."
"I don't know. What's that?"
"An old building near the river."
"I don't know. Building?"
The foster mother knew it. She said, "Javier, you know that big aircraft carrier on the river? That museum. Have you ever been there?"
"Yeah, I been." He added quietly, "I been with my daddy."
Sally added, "Well, where Ms. Amelia is talking about is a big building sort of near the ship. There's a McDonald's there."
Sachs said, "With your father, yesterday? Did you go there? A big redbrick building. Takes up the whole block."
"No. I never seen that."
So Rinaldo picked up the guns before he collected his son.
"Now, you drove around with him all day."
"Yeah."
"And he dropped his deliveries off. Did you help him?"
"I'm just a kid."
Sachs had to smile, and she heard Sally Abbott chuckle.
"You stayed in the truck."
"Yeah."
"Do you remember where he went to make his deliveries?"
"I don't know. Sorta."
"Tell you what: I know you like to draw, right?"