4
The jewel in the crown of Catholic Family Services was Saint Jerome’s School for Boys, a winding drive to a hidden campus of white buildings on a hill in the town of Oakwood, New York, site of a Revolutionary War defeat and an ancient ferry landing. I took the train from Grand Central to Westchester County. On a historical society plaque at the Oakwood station, I read that the town was also home to the ruins of a barn and meeting house that had belonged to a celibate utopian commune, which had eased into extinction for obvious reasons in 1882. They had raised sheep, sold wool, and fired bricks. I checked my hair in a mirror compact and used a tissue to edge away lipstick that had crept too far.
I had called Mr Ibarra a few days before to tell him that I suspected Félix had been picked
