The Drowning Child

by Alex Barclay

  ‘Xanax for anxiety,’ said Ruddock.

  ‘I was thinking,’ said Ren, ‘if there was an affair between John Veir and Shannon Fuller, that brings up the possibility of blackmail. Not everyone would know that his wife already knows about it. If someone thought they could blackmail John Veir …’ She paused. ‘What about Merrifield? Could he have wanted John Veir’s help to escape? And something went wrong …’

  ‘How would Merrifield know that John Veir was having an affair?’ said Wiley.

  Ren thought about it. ‘Seth Fuller? He’s a common denominator.’

  ‘And there’s Seth’s “interest” in Caleb,’ said Ruddock. ‘Plus, if Seth has Caleb’s trust, too, that could make it easy for him to lure Caleb somewhere.’

  ‘What is the word on Merrifield?’ said Ren.

  ‘No leads,’ said Ruddock. ‘It’s like he vanished into thin air.’

  ‘Another thing occurred to me after talking to Shannon Fuller,’ said Ren. ‘She mentioned running into John Veir at Lister Creek rest area. I’m wondering if it’s somewhere he stops regularly. Did anyone call in video from the store there for Monday?

  ‘I can do that,’ said Wiley.

  Why do I not trust anything you do?

  ‘He may not have gone inside the store,’ said Ren. ‘I think he went into the gas station for our benefit, hoping we would assume he wouldn’t make a second stop on the way to work.’

  ‘We’ll put a piece in the Marion County Gazette and the Salem Journal about items we want the public to look out for,’ said Ruddock. ‘We’ll include photos of the sleeping bag, the clothes Caleb was wearing, the suitcase, his school knapsack …’

  ‘We also got a photo of John and Teddy Veir standing in their driveway – maybe their cars will jog someone’s memory,’ said Wiley.

  Ren nodded. ‘We also need to see if we can establish a connection between Aaron and Caleb – maybe there’s something we’ve missed.’

  ‘Plus,’ said Paul, ‘if this bruise was caused by him falling or someone striking him, most of his final hours were spent at the middle school dance – we need to check if anything happened there.’

  ‘I can go back and talk to Caleb’s teacher,’ said Sylvie. ‘Make it clear to teachers and parents that if they have information, it’s crucial they speak up, that they won’t get in trouble.’

  A young officer stuck his head in the door. ‘The Veirs are here, Chief.’

  Ren turned to Ruddock. ‘Can you and I take John?’

  Ruddock nodded.

  Gary said, ‘Wiley – how about you and I speak with the mom?’

  John Veir looked like he had been crying.

  I don’t know what to feel about you. I have no idea who you are.

  ‘John,’ said Ren, ‘can you talk us through what happened with Teddy and Caleb?’

  ‘I was in Iraq when Caleb was born,’ said John. ‘Teddy got post-partum psychosis when Caleb was only a week old. I got a call from her friend, Patti, saying that Teddy had to be hospitalized. Patti said she would take care of Caleb, that she’d move into our house, so he was in familiar surroundings and he would be comfortable. Patti’s a really kind lady.’ He paused. ‘She didn’t tell me at the time what had happened at the creek. She didn’t want to distress me while I was so far away, but she did tell me as soon as I got back. I went and spoke with Teddy’s doctors. We figured it was best not to tell her what happened.’

  ‘So Teddy was hospitalized …’ said Ren.

  ‘Yes, and put on medication,’ said John. ‘She was in and out of psychiatric care for several years after that. And I was redeployed at different points during that time. But what happened that day was a one-off event, the doctors explained everything – that’s not who Teddy was.’

  ‘I understand,’ said Ren.

  ‘I can’t believe that Shannon connected that with what happened to Aaron – I thought she’d have more compassion.’

  ‘Well, it’s safe to say that Shannon isn’t exactly thinking straight herself at the moment,’ said Ren. ‘Her entire world has been turned upside down. She’s suffered a tragedy – she probably thought it couldn’t get any worse than losing her only child, and then she finds out yes, yes it could.’

  John nodded. ‘I guess so.’

  Ren looked at her notes from Sylvie Ross’s interviews. ‘John, we heard that there’s been some tension between Teddy and Caleb recently. Neither you nor Teddy mentioned that to us when we spoke with you before. Were you unaware of that?’

  John shrugged. ‘No – not really. It just seemed like a hurtful thing to say in the middle of all this, when she is so devastated. To be honest, I didn’t think it was relevant. I know Teddy wouldn’t hurt a fly. And none of this has anything to do with me and Shannon. Besides, I don’t believe Caleb would have run away from home. I know that for absolute sure.’ He started to cry.

  This is a shitshow.

  29

  Everyone reconvened at the command center to swap notes on their interviews with the Veirs.

  ‘Teddy Veir admitted to the meltdown at The Crow Bar,’ said Gary. ‘She backed up what Shannon already told you, Ren. I also asked her whether she’d told anyone else about the affair, and she said no.’

  ‘Sounds to me like the anger was specific to the circumstances,’ said Ruddock.

  Ren shrugged. ‘Unless she’s one of those people who’s prone to explosive rage.’

  ‘Do you think she might have done something to Caleb?’ said Ruddock.

  ‘It’s a possibility,’ said Ren. ‘She clearly has a temper, but … exceptional circumstances. Though maybe she did lose it with Caleb, and that’s why the Veirs seem like they’re lying? Maybe John is protecting her.’ She shrugged.

  Sylvie came into the office.

  ‘OK – I just spoke with Caleb’s teacher again,’ she said. ‘Caleb told one of his friends back in December that he was getting a PlayStation for Christmas – apparently he found it in the garage. Only – here’s the weird part – he was never given it. So someone bought it for him, then changed their mind. Or someone bought a PlayStation that wasn’t intended for Caleb and stored it in the Veirs’ garage …’

  ‘Imagine his little face on Christmas morning,’ said Ren. ‘Who would do that to a child?’

  Sylvie looked at her patiently. ‘John or Teddy Veir, obviously.’

  Ren stood up. ‘Are they still here?’ She didn’t wait for an answer. She ran out to reception. John and Teddy were just about to leave. They turned when they heard their names.

  ‘One of Caleb’s friends said that Caleb found a PlayStation in the garage before Christmas,’ said Ren. ‘Do you know anything about that?’

  Bing: John Veir does.

  ‘No,’ said John. ‘Really?’

  ‘I don’t know anything about that,’ said Teddy. ‘John is the one who takes care of those kind of gifts. But we hadn’t planned on getting Caleb one.’ She turned to John. ‘You didn’t change your mind about that, did you?’

  ‘No,’ said John. ‘I did tell Caleb if he behaved better – consistently – that I would buy him one. He had gotten a little disrespectful, he was creating tension in the house. He’s our son, we love him, but I couldn’t tolerate that kind of behavior.’

  ‘Tolerate is a strong word,’ said Ren. ‘How bad had it gotten?’

  ‘Maybe I expect too much,’ said John. ‘Maybe I should “tolerate” more.’

  Teddy raised her eyebrows.

  ‘I have high expectations of Caleb,’ said John.

  ‘We both do,’ said Teddy.

  ‘If he didn’t live up to them,’ said John, ‘there had to be consequences. So he knew it wasn’t a promise or, at least, that it was conditional: if these conditions are met, you will get a gift or permission to go somewhere or whatever it was he wanted at that time.’ He paused. ‘So the only thing I can think of is that either his friend was lying when he said that, or that Caleb was lying to his friend.’

  ‘Did Caleb have a habit of lying?
’ said Ren.

  ‘No,’ said Teddy.

  ‘No,’ said John a few beats later.

  ‘So, Teddy,’ said Ren, ‘you definitely know nothing about this …’

  ‘No, nothing,’ said Teddy.

  ‘I’m asking because we were also told that there was a change in your relationship with Caleb after Christmas,’ said Ren. ‘That maybe things had gotten a little more …’ God, I hate doing this. This poor woman. ‘… difficult?’

  Tears welled in Teddy’s eyes. ‘Yes,’ she said. ‘And I don’t know why.’

  ‘OK,’ said Ren. She turned to John. ‘Can I just ask – did you expressly say to Caleb that he was creating tension in the house?’

  ‘No,’ said John. ‘Of course not.’

  ‘It’s just a concern,’ said Ren. ‘If he thought that he was causing a problem at home, he might have decided to run away, thinking it would either solve the problem, or teach you a lesson, depending on how he took it.’

  ‘Well, I probably made that sound worse than it was when I said it just there,’ said John.

  I can only imagine what it may have sounded like to a twelve-year-old boy.

  As Ren walked back to her desk, her phone beeped with a text. She looked down.

  Joe Lucchesi. Shit.

  Are you in Denver next week?

  Why would I be in Denver next week?

  Do not encourage this. You would be a disaster together.

  Seriously: how sane can a man be whose wife and son were almost killed by a serial killer and whose daughter was fathered by him? And whose wife died in childbirth because of what that same killer did to her first time around.

  Maybe saner than a grief-stricken bipolar FBI agent.

  Oh. God.

  Joe and I are made for each other.

  Run.

  Ruuuuuuuuuuuuuuun.

  30

  The parking lot of The Crow Bar was filled with police cars, SUVs, Crime Scene Investigations trucks. Ren and Ruddock stood by the hood of his car with a map of the property opened out on it. It marked out twenty-seven structures: The Crow Bar and adjoining house, twenty cabins, a reception area, a storage room, a laundry room, and a shower block.

  Ruddock pointed to Cabin 5. ‘Aaron’s body was found in the water here.’

  Ren nodded. ‘By whom?’

  ‘A woman out walking her dog. She called it in to us.’

  ‘And have we got keys to all these cabins?’ said Ren.

  ‘I’m not sure,’ said Ruddock. Shannon Fuller walked over to them. ‘Hey there,’ she said. ‘We’re missing a key to Cabin 8. Clyde reckons it’s gone from the big ring he keeps all his keys on.’

  ‘Since when?’ said Ren.

  ‘He doesn’t know,’ said Shannon, ‘but he’s only had that for the past six weeks.’

  ‘Unless he never had that key in the first place,’ said Ren.

  Shannon nodded. ‘It’s a possibility.’

  ‘And where were those keys before he was given them?’ said Ren.

  ‘I keep them in the house,’ said Shannon.

  ‘And when’s the last time you remember seeing that key?’ said Ren.

  ‘I couldn’t tell you,’ said Shannon. ‘It’s more Seth who’s been dealing with the cabins.’

  ‘Who else might have keys to the cabins?’ said Ren, as they walked down.

  ‘Apart from the remaining individual owners?’ said Clyde. ‘Just me. I don’t know if John Veir kept copies, but I doubt it – he wasn’t too concerned with the cabins even when he owned the place. Maybe some of the tradesmen who have worked here over the years still have keys, but I doubt it. And I guess, if any of the former owners rented out their properties privately, they would have had copies too – they could be anywhere.’

  ‘Yeah, that’s not really narrowing it down for us,’ said Ren.

  Ren and Ruddock took the map with them and followed the path past the shabby Reception hut with a pale rectangular space above the door where the sign used to be.

  ‘It’s hard to believe that this was the place to be,’ said Ruddock. ‘Well, up until about ’85. Then, as it always goes, somewhere fancier was built nearby and that was that – Lake Verny was pretty much wiped off the map for most people, and all the kids around wanted to go to Rainbow Rapids.’

  ‘And did Rainbow Rapids survive?’ said Ren.

  Ruddock nodded. ‘Yes, it’s still going strong. But the owners know to keep reinventing it.’

  They walked on.

  ‘How’s your hotel working out for you?’ said Ruddock.

  ‘It’s … OK,’ said Ren. ‘The food isn’t exactly dazzling.’

  ‘Well, you’re not going to find sushi there, that’s for sure,’ said Ruddock.

  Sushi! ‘A roast chicken with crispy skin would do it for me right now,’ said Ren.

  ‘Despite appearances,’ said Ruddock.

  What the heck?

  ‘That was a compliment,’ said Ruddock.

  Ren laughed. ‘I’m a girl of simple tastes, really.’

  They arrived at Cabin 5, the cabin closest to where Aaron’s body was found. Clyde Brimmer was standing at the top of the path beside a Crime Scene Investigations van.

  ‘Nice work, Clyde,’ said Ruddock. ‘Thank you for persisting with what you believed in. It’s very sad news, but the kind we need to know.’

  What a sweet man.

  Clyde nodded sadly.

  Ruddock and Ren walked down to the water’s edge.

  ‘The body was found here,’ said Ruddock, pointing. He turned and waved the crime scene techs over. Three divers had arrived, and descended along with them.

  ‘Do your best,’ said Ruddock, ‘but we know there’s a slim chance of any evidence being found at this stage.’

  Ren turned to him when the others started to work. ‘So,’ she said, ‘was he drowned close by? Or driven here in a vehicle to be disposed of? Shannon was out for the count that night, she wouldn’t have heard anyone drive in. Seth didn’t report hearing anything.’ She looked around. ‘There’s no access point here, is there?’

  ‘No,’ said Ruddock. ‘All vehicles have to come through the front.’

  ‘Where could Aaron have been drowned near here?’ said Ren.

  Ruddock shrugged. ‘In one of the cabins … in a bathtub? A sink? You could drown someone in a bucket of water, if you really wanted to.’

  ‘Is there water running to all the cabins?’ said Ren.

  She turned to ask Clyde. He was gone.

  ‘Oh,’ said Ren. ‘Clyde has vanished.’

  ‘It’s probably all too much for him,’ said Ruddock.

  ‘Jumping-into-the-lake too much, or just having-a-quiet-cry too much?’

  Ruddock smiled. ‘I wouldn’t say we have to worry.’

  Not as simple for me.

  ‘I’m going to go see if I can find him,’ said Ren. She walked up the path and passed a crime scene tech coming down.

  ‘Did you see a guy leaving here?’ said Ren. ‘Late forties, but looks a little older, short, slightly bedraggled-looking.’

  ‘Nope.’

  ‘Clyde?’ Ren called. ‘Clyde?’

  She walked back to the cabin. There was no sign of him. She walked up to the edge of the lake, looked up and down.

  He’s fine. Relax.

  Ren went back to Ruddock and they went together to Cabin 5, where two crime scene techs were at work. The place looked like it hadn’t been opened in decades.

  ‘I don’t think it happened here,’ said Ren. She went over to the faucet and turned it on. Water sputtered out of it.

  Where the heck did Clyde go?

  He’s going to kill himself.

  Stop.

  Ruddock turned to her. ‘You’re worrying about Clyde, aren’t you?’

  She laughed. ‘I am.’

  ‘Why don’t you call The Crow? All he might have needed was a stiff drink.’

  Ren called the bar. Shannon picked up.

  ‘Shannon, it’s Ren Bryce. Firstly
– is there water running to all the cabins?’

  ‘Yes,’ said Shannon.

  ‘And is Clyde with you?’

  ‘No,’ said Shannon.

  ‘Can you take a look out the window and see if you can see him on his way?’

  ‘Sure,’ said Shannon. Ren could hear her move out from behind the bar, she heard her footsteps on the timber floor. ‘No,’ said Shannon. ‘I can’t. Is everything OK?’

  ‘I wanted to talk to him, but he’s disappeared.’

  ‘Where are you?’ said Shannon.

  Shit. Not far from where Aaron was found.

  ‘Try Cabin 8,’ said Shannon, sidestepping the answer that had just dawned on her.

  The cabin with the missing key.

  ‘Why eight?’ said Ren.

  ‘Because Clyde’s in beating-himself-up mode – he feels responsible for Aaron, no matter how many times I tell him he’s not. Cabin 8 is where Clyde’s sister fell through the deck all those years back. The kids all think it’s haunted. Clyde sometimes goes there to feel bad about himself.’

  Bad things happen around Clyde Brimmer.

  Stop.

  31

  Clyde was sitting on a rock beside Cabin 8. Ren walked down to him.

  ‘Hey,’ said Ren, gently. ‘How are you doing?’

  He shrugged. ‘I’ve been better.’ He was holding a tattered photograph in his hand.

  His sister. ‘Who’s that in the photograph?’

  ‘My sister, Lizzie,’ he said.

  ‘How old was she?’ said Ren.

  ‘Ten,’ said Clyde. ‘This was taken the year she died.’ He handed her the photo. Lizzie was a skinny, tanned little girl, dressed in a navy-and-white striped swimsuit, her wavy, sandy blonde hair falling around her shoulders, one hand trying to push it back off her face.

  ‘She’s adorable,’ said Ren. She paused. ‘I’m so sorry.’

  Clyde nodded. ‘Thank you.’ He looked at her. ‘I wish I could go back in time …’

  ‘It wasn’t your fault,’ said Ren.

  ‘That’s what everyone keeps telling me,’ said Clyde. ‘But if I had just insisted on fixing that deck …’

  ‘You’re being too hard on yourself,’ said Ren. ‘You did what you were told to do by the owners. And you were only seventeen years old. Do the same owners still own this cabin?’ said Ren.