十三
这家孤儿院最多的时候，收养了几十个孩子。这些孩子陆陆续续长大，或者被一些需要的家庭领养，在有一些的孩子被送进来。现在应该有13个孩子，可是一个叫柯南的6岁男孩，却在两个月之前意外失踪了。因为有些疏于管理，大约在柯南已经失踪三天以后，孤儿院才向小镇的警事所报案。警察们搜索了整个小镇，甚至包含废墟、树林和湖心岛，都没有发现他的踪迹。因为整个孩子是克利夫兰送来的，加上已经有6岁大，于是被人们怀疑是搭车去了克利夫兰。整个孩子被收养前，是克利夫兰一个流浪儿。这样一来被人们认为他独自走了，便放弃了寻找，而作为失踪结案。
鹿鸣探组可没有这样认为，从一开始，就把柯南的失踪，并入了其他被害的孩子。孟晓云认为，如果不存在其他孩子遇害，那么柯南的确可能是个失踪的个案。但是，既然小镇已经有四个孩子，确定被杀害了，那么差不多可以肯定，柯南也遭遇了厄运，只不过没有找到尸体而已。两个月过去了寻找到尸体的可能性几乎不在存在，因为就算没有大型野兽，野狗、野猫同样柯南分解掉他的尸体。不过只要仔细查找，也应该找到柯南的尸骨。
孤儿院现在只有一个院长和三个嬷嬷。院长普特朗神父，已经73岁了。他就是当年创建整个孤儿院的巴顿神父的徒弟，以后继承了巴顿的位置，60岁的时候从神父位置上退下来，就到这个孤儿院出任了院长一职。三个嬷嬷都是50以上，还有一个厨娘，四个人呀咯照顾13个孩子的饮食起居，不免会有疏漏的地方。
孟晓云和千里寻真以参观的方式，来到了这个名为天使的孤儿院。她们在一个叫娜迦的嬷嬷率领之下，来到了普特朗院长的办公室。
一头白发的普特朗正在看书。
娜迦嬷嬷对他说，“Dean, these are Chinese visitors.（院长，这两位是来参观的中国游客。）”
孟晓云笑着上前，做了一个十字。“God bless you, Father Abbe. My name is Meng Xiaoyun and she is qianli Xunzhen. We are from China. When we were visiting Scotwood, we heard about the Angel Orphanage, so we came to visit it.（愿上帝保佑你，神父院长。我叫孟晓云，她是千里寻真。我们来自中国，在游览斯格特伍德的时候，听人提起了天使孤儿院，特地过来参观一下。）”
普特朗似乎很高兴听人称呼他“神父院长”，露出仁慈的笑容。
“God bless you, lovely Chinese girls. Good to see you. If you need help from above, let me know.（上帝保佑你们，可爱的中国姑娘。很高兴看到你们，需要上面帮助，可以告诉我。）”
“Thank you, Father Abbot. We'll go with the mammy, and then we'll talk to you. This friend of mine is a journalist. She wants to write an article about orphanages in Britain, and she should have a lot of questions to ask you.（谢谢神父院长。我们先随着这位嬷嬷去参观，然后再来找您谈谈。我的这位朋友千里寻真，是一位记者。她想写一篇关于英国孤儿院的文章，应该有不少问题需要向您求教。）”
这是她们预先想好的办法，这样可以避免引起孤儿院过多的猜疑。
普特朗笑起来，“Great. Hold on a second and ask the reporter if she needs to know anything. Mother Naga, why don't you show them around first.（太好了，等一下这位记者小姐需要知道什么尽管问。娜迦嬷嬷，你先带她们去参观吧。）”
“Ladies, please follow me.（两位小姐，请跟我来吧。）”
这些孩子们睡在两个大房间里，男孩子的房间睡了7个孩子，女孩子睡了5个孩子。另外还有一间更大的房间，是孩子们上课的地方。在教室的旁边是一间游戏室，楼下还有餐厅和厨房，包括嬷嬷们的房间。普特朗自己在三层办公和休息。除此也很有空闲的房子和地窖，外面有个挺大的花园。怪不得最多的时候，可以接受几十个孩子，现在人少了反显得有些冷落。
千里寻真和孟晓云参观孩子们宿舍的时候，在男孩子宿舍看见8张小床两个人相互对望了一眼。
千里寻真开口问道，“Mother Naga, you said there were seven boys, but why is there an empty bed? Is there a new child to be admitted?（娜迦嬷嬷，你刚才说现在一共有7个男孩子，可为什么这里空着一张床？是有新的孩子要收进来吗？）”
“No, we haven't had a new baby in almost two years. This bed belongs to Conan. He disappeared two months ago. The police suspected that he had gone to Cleveland and hoped to find him in the city and bring him back.（不，我们已经有差不多两年没有收进新的孩子。这张床是柯南的，他两个月前失踪了。警察怀疑他自己跑去了克利夫兰，希望以后可以在城里找到他，在把他送回来。）”
“I see. So how did this happen? Was there no warning? Like, is there anything unusual about this kid? Or was there a stranger at the orphanage, a tourist like us? What if someone took it?（原来是这样。那么当初这件事是怎么发生的？事先没有什么迹象吗？比如，这个孩子有没有什么反常的表现？或者是孤儿院出现过什么陌生人，像我们这样的游客？会不会是被什么人带走了吧？）”
“No, there weren't any strangers in town. Conan is also behaving normally. It just so happened that Mother Macy and I were both ill, and there were only two people, Mother Nessa and Cook Nadadja, taking care of the children. There were some omissions. We didn't realize Conan was missing that day. It was only on the third day, when I was well, that I found out about it. Call the dean immediately and call the police. The police searched the entire town, including the woods outside, the ruins of the old town, and the island in the middle of the lake. They found nothing, and then decided that Conan might have run away alone.（那是不会的，当时小镇上并没有任何陌生人。柯南的表现也很正常。只是碰巧我和梅西嬷嬷都生病了，只有娜莎嬷嬷和娜达佳厨娘两个人，在照顾这些孩子。的确有些疏漏。我们并没有在当天发现柯南失踪了。等到第三天我病好了，才发现了这件事。马上报告了院长，然后报警。警察搜索了整个小镇，包括外面的树林、旧镇废墟和湖心岛，什么也没有发现，才会判断柯南可能独自出走了。）”
孟晓云问道，“Not a hint? Like Conan's personal effects, if anything. If he did leave on his own, wouldn't he have taken his belongings?（一点迹象也没有？比如柯南私人物品，有没有少。如果他真是自己出走，不是应该会带走自己的物品？）”
娜迦嬷嬷摇摇头，“Nothing is missing. I checked it out. I am the boy's living mother, and I am familiar with their things.（什么也没有少。我仔细查看过。我是负责男孩子起居的嬷嬷，对他们的东西很熟悉。）”
千里寻真又问，“What kind of kid was Conan? Physical condition, personality what's special about it?（柯南是个怎样的孩子？比如身体情况，还有性格有什么特别的地方？）”
娜迦用疑问的眼光看着千里寻真。“Why do you ask?（为什么这样问？）”
孟晓云连忙解释。“Well, she's a journalist. For more information, the newspaper can be used to get more clues from people who may have seen Conan. That doesn't mean you have a chance of getting him back.（是这样，她是一位记者。多了解一些情况，可以通过报纸，让更多可能看见柯南的人提供线索。这样说不一定有机会把人再找回来。）”
“（那就太好了。这些都是我的孩子。柯南的失踪，真的让我很不安。）”娜迦抹起了眼泪，看得出来，她对孩子们付出了真情。
“Conan had been here three years, and the boy was weaker and more withdrawn than his peers. But older girls tend to have more trust. He listens to the two big girls here. He's too cowardly to go out on his own. Actually, I always had my doubts about that.（柯南到这里有三年了，这孩子比同类孩子体质弱一些，性格更孤僻。不过对比自己大的女孩子，会有更多信任。他很听这里两个大女孩的话，他胆子很小，不应该自己跑出去。其实，我一直对这一点有怀疑。）”
娜迦的这番话，让千里寻真和孟晓云，几乎确认了柯南很可能已经遇害了。
