As soon as Lyra had gone her way, Will found a pay phone and dialed the number of the lawyers offi the letter he held.
"Hello? I want to speak to Mr. Perkins."
"Whos calling, please?"
"Its in e with Mr. John Parry. Im his son."
"Just a moment, please..."
A minute went by, and then a mans voice said, "Hello. This is Alan Perkins. Who am I speaking to?"
"William Parry. Excuse me for calling. Its about my father, Mr. John Parry. You send money every three months from my father to my mothers bank at."
"Yes..."
"Well, I want to know where my father is, please. Is he alive or dead?"
"How old are you, William?"
"Twelve. I want to know about him."
"Yes ... Has your mother ... is she ... does she know youre phoning me?"
Will thought carefully.
"No," he said. "But shes not in very good health. She t tell me very much, and I want to know."
"Yes, I see. Where are you now? Are you at home?"
"No, Im ... Im in Oxford."
"On your own?"
"Yes."
"And your mothers not well, you say?"
"No."
"Is she in hospital or something?"
"Something like that. Look, you tell me or not?"
"Well, I tell you something, but not mud nht now, and Id rather not do it over the phone. Im seeing a t in five minutes. you find your way to my office at about half past two?"
"No," Will said. It would be too risky; the lawyer might have heard by then that he was wanted by the police. He thought quickly a on. "Ive got to catch a bus to Nottingham, and I dont want to miss it. But what I want to know, you tell me over the phone, t you? All I want to know is, is my father alive, and if he is, where I find him. You tell me that, t you?"
"Its not quite as simple as that. I t really give out private information about a t unless Im sure the t would wao. And Id need some proof of who you were, anyway."
"Yes, I uand, but you just tell me whether hes alive or dead?"
"Well ... that wouldnt be fidential. Unfortunately, I t tell you anyway, because I dont know."
"What?"
"The money es from a family trust. He left instrus to pay it until he told me to stop. 1 havent heard from him from that day to this. What it boils down to is that hes... well, I suppose hes vahats why I t answer your question."
"Vanished? Just... lost?"
"Its a matter of public record, actually. Look, why dont you e into the offid—"
"I t. Im going to Nottingham."
"Well, write to me, et your mother to write, and Ill let you know what I . But you must uand, I t do very much over the phone."
"Yes, I suppose so. All right. But you tell me where he disappeared?"
"As I say, its a matter of public record. There were several neer stories at the time. You know he was an explorer?"
"My mothers told me some things, yes."
"Well, he was leading an expedition, and it just disappeared. About ten years ago. Maybe more."
"Where?"
"The far north. Alaska, I think. You look it up in the public library. Why dont you—"
But at that point Wills money ran out, and he didnt have any more ge. The dial tone purred in his ear. He put the phone down and looked around.
What he wanted above all was to speak to his mother. He had to stop himself from dialing Mrs.
Coopers number, because if he heard his mothers voice, it would be very hard not to go back to her, and that would put both of them in danger. But he cou