Spinning Man Page #2

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- Oh, really?

- Yeah.

Hmm.

But these ones

let you trap the mouse,

then release it

in a field somewhere.

Well, it's more

than I wanted to pay,

but I guess it's the least i

could do for the little guy.

Do you have a gun?

Yes, I do.

Can I see it?

No, you may not.

Why?

Well, because guns

are dangerous.

- Why?

- Well, because they are.

Honey, let's just go

upstairs and play, okay?

- But I wanna see it.

- I know you do,

but you gotta go

upstairs and see...

Play. Go. Go. Play.

Yeah, they're curious

at that age.

- Maybe you should give your husband another call.

- Yeah. Yeah, yeah.

Press okay.

- What?

- Press okay.

Yeah.

Thank you.

Ellen?

Hey, what's wrong?

Are the kids okay?

Yeah, they're fine.

They're fine.

Dr. birch?

Detective Robert Malloy.

Detective Killian.

Officer antonelli.

Oh, hi. What can we do for you?

Is something wrong?

Do you own

a gray 2015 Volvo s60?

Where were you?

I've been calling you.

I... I stopped

at the hardware store.

What's this about, detective?

Well...

Girl from eastfield

went missing a few days ago.

We're looking into it.

Joyce bonner.

Have you heard of her?

No.

Oh, so she was the girl

on the news, right?

The... the, um, cheerleader.

- Yeah.

- What does that have to do with us?

Well, we got a report

a man in a gray Volvo

was watching her

the day she disappeared.

I'm sure it's nothing,

but we're obliged

to look it up, you know.

Can you tell me where you were

Thursday the 28th, about 3 P.M.?

I doubt it, and...

And my appointment book's

at school, so...

At school?

Oh, you aren't a doctor?

No, I'm a professor

at Addison university.

I can look tomorrow,

give you a call.

Your appointment book will tell you

where you were supposed to be,

not necessarily

where you were.

Yeah, suppose you're right.

Whoa, what's going on?

Hey, z, go in the house, honey.

Um, on the 28th, that was z's

last day of camp,

and you went to pick her up,

remember?

- Mm-hmm. What camp is that?

- Yeah.

Wildwood, route 15.

She got out at 3:30.

- Yeah.

- Okay, that's fine.

We'll just take a look inside

your car and be on our way.

- Of course.

- Don't you need a warrant to do that? I mean...

Not if we have your permission.

Well, I'd give it,

but you still haven't said

what this has to do with me.

Well, according

to our witness, uh,

the vehicle had a Addison sticker

on the front windshield.

Uh, well, it could be a mistake.

I mean, as my wife said,

I was picking up

our daughter from camp,

and wildwood's 30 miles

from the lake, so...

How'd you know she

disappeared from the lake?

It was on the news.

Z, your mom said

to wait inside, please.

Dr. birch, uh,

this is pretty routine.

Really? It's routine to make insinuations

in front of my daughter? Wow.

Why don't you just calm down,

sir?

I'm perfectly calm, sir.

- Honey, they're just doing their job.

- I...

Do you mind if we look

inside your vehicle?

No, of course not.

Yes, actually, I do mind.

Who's back there?

What makes you think anyone is?

A presumption based on scenes

from television and movies.

Well, in the real world,

we got things called budgets.

We can't afford to have anyone standing

around, watching us do our jobs.

Now...

What time did you

have to pick up your daughter?

3:
30, give or take.

Give or take what?

Five, ten minutes.

I mean, these things rarely

end at even times, you know.

It's always 32

or 17 minutes past and...

Did you get there on time?

- Yeah.

- Exactly on time?

Little early?

I told you.

I don't remember.

As my daughter is only nine,

she's unable to obtain

a driver's license,

and consequently,

i give her many rides.

This particular instance

did not leave

a significant impression.

Did you ever meet Joyce bonner?

Uh...

- I don't think so.

- You could have?

I don't remember meeting

somebody with that name,

but I meet a lot of young

people at the college.

It's conceivable that I met her.

What I'm sure of is that

i don't know if I have.

When we asked if you'd heard

of her disappearance,

you said, "she was

a cheerleader, right?"

Do you remember saying that?

Yeah.

"She was a cheerleader"?

Well, I was speaking offhand.

I'm sure she still

is a cheerleader,

except that she's missing,

and I'm...

I'm guessing she's not off

cheerleading somewhere.

Philosophy.

"I think, therefore I am,"

that kind of thing?

Well, I teach descartes

in my intro class,

but I specialize in linguistics,

the philosophy of language.

Oh. Um...

Pardon my ignorance,

but what does a philosopher do?

What's so funny?

Uh, well, it's one of the

great questions, isn't it?

You might consider philosophy

the logical

clarification of thoughts.

But I'm more of a teacher

than a practicing philosopher.

This is relevant somehow, is it?

We never know what's relevant

until we hear it.

You might consider

crime investigation

the logical clarification

of evidence.

You live close by the lake,

don't you?

You ever go up there?

Yeah, sometimes.

Did you ever rent a kayak?

No.

You ever remember

seeing a young girl,

17, brunette, worked

around the kayak stand?

Uh, can't say that I do.

You mean you don't remember?

That's right. I don't remember

seeing a young girl,

uh, let alone a brunette one,

working at the kayak rental.

I've never been

to the kayak rental.

I've... I've never sent anybody

to the kayak rental.

In fact, I've never even thought

about the kayak rental

until now, till you bring it up.

You enjoying yourself?

Hmm. Well,

too bad about your memory.

Right.

Thank you for your time,

professor.

I'm not under arrest anymore?

You never were.

We have your numbers, so we'll

contact you again if we need you.

At my office, please.

Of course. Thanks for your help.

You're welcome.

Everything's fine.

I just answered some questions,

and then I left.

What did they want to know?

Uh, well, where I'd been,

how long I was there,

whether I'd met, um...

What's her name?

- Joyce bonner.

- Bonner, yeah.

Had you...

Met her?

Why would I have?

I just told them

everything I knew,

they thanked me,

and that was that.

You didn't save a plate,

did you? I'm really starved.

- A plate?

- Yeah.

Adam cried for an hour,

because he thought

you went to jail.

You're acting

like this is my fault.

They just wanted

to look in the car.

There's a thing called

the fourth amendment.

Oh, my god.

A girl is missing, Evan.

I know. I know.

Has it even crossed your mind?

What... what if it was Zelda?

What if someone pulled the same

macho bullshit you pulled today?

Yeah, well, maybe I overreacted.

What were you thinking?

Well, they were

pushing me around.

I got defensive.

I was stupid, I... I know. I...

I just should have

let 'em do what they wanted.

How is Adam?

You should talk to him.

- And z?

- She's fine.

You should talk to her, too.

What about you?

Did I scare you, too?

I'm sorry.

Zeno's progressive

dichotomy paradox

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