“How old are you?” she asked.
“Fourteen.”
“Really?”
“Why do you sound surprised?”
“Because I’m a year younger than you. And you seem so …” Small was what she was about to say, but at the last second a kinder word came to mind. “Shy.” She peered at him over the horse’s back. “So do you have a last name?”
“Detective Rizzoli says I shouldn’t go around telling everyone.”
“You mean that lady who brought you here? She’s a detective?”
“Yeah.” He got up the nerve to stroke Plum’s muzzle again, and this time the horse accepted the pat and gave a soft nicker.
She stopped combing Plum and gave the boy her full attention. “So what happened to you?”
He didn’t answer, just looked at her with those wide, transparent eyes.
“It’s okay to talk about it here,” she said. “Everybody does. It’s the kind of school where they want you to get your pain out.”
“That’s what shrinks always say.”
“Yeah, I know. I have to talk to her, too.”
“Why do you need a shrink?”
She set the currycomb down. “I have a hole in my head. When I was eleven years old, someone killed my mom and dad. And then he shot me in the head.” She turned to face him. “That’s why I have a shrink. Because I’m supposed to be dealing with the trauma. Even though I can’t remember it. Any of it.”
“Did they catch him? The man who shot you?”
“No. He’s still out there. I think he might be looking for me.”
“How do you know that?”
“Because it happened again, last month. My foster parents got killed, and that’s why I ended up here. Because it’s safe here.”
He said, softly: “That’s why they brought me here, too.”
She stared at him with new understanding, and saw tragedy written in his pale cheeks, in the brightness of his eyes. “Then you’re in the right place,” she said. “It’s the only school for kids like us.”
“You mean all the other kids here …”
“You’ll find out,” she said. “If you stay long enough.”
A shadow blotted out the light above the stall door. “There you are, Teddy. I’ve been looking for you,” said Detective Rizzoli. She noticed Claire and smiled. “Making new friends already?”
“Yes, ma’am,” said Teddy.
“I’m sorry to interrupt, but Dr. Welliver wants to talk to you now.”
He looked at Claire, who answered his unspoken question by mouthing: The shrink.
“She just wants to ask you a few questions. Get to know you better.” Detective Rizzoli opened the stall door. “Come on.”
Teddy stepped out, pulling the door shut behind him. Turning back, he whispered to Claire: “It’s Teddy Clock.”
He looks like a Teddy Clock, thought Claire as she watched him walk away. She left the stall and pushed the wheelbarrow filled with soiled horse bedding out of the stables. In the barnyard, that annoying rooster was causing trouble again, chasing and pecking a beleaguered hen. Even chickens could be cruel. They’re as mean as we are, she thought. They attack each other, even kill each other. Suddenly the sight of that poor hen, cowering under Herman the rooster’s assault, infuriated her.
“Leave her alone!” She aimed a kick, but Herman flapped safely out of reach and darted away, squawking. “Asshole rooster!” she yelled. Turning, she saw one of the princesses laughing at her from the corral. “What?” she snapped.
“He’s just a chicken, retard. What’s your problem?”
“Like anybody cares,” she muttered, and walked away.
Until the moment it all fell apart, the operation was running perfectly. When disaster strikes, you can usually look back and pinpoint exactly where it starts to unravel, where one unlucky event sets off the sequence leading inevitably to disaster. As the saying goes, For want of a nail, the shoe was lost, and it’s true; the smallest detail, overlooked, can doom a horse, a soldier, a battle.
But on that June evening in Rome, with our target in sight, the battle seemed ours to win.
Inside La Nonna, Icarus and his party were finishing up their desserts. We were all in position when they finally emerged, the bodyguards first, followed by Icarus with his wife and sons. A heavy meal, washed down with glasses of excellent wine, had rendered Icarus mellow that evening, and he did not stop to scan his surroundings, but headed directly to his car. He helped his wife, Lucia, and their two sons into the Volvo, then slid behind the steering wheel. Right behind him, the bodyguards climbed into their BMW.
Icarus was the first to pull away, into the road.
At that instant the produce truck veered into position, lurching to an angled stop that blocked the BMW. The bodyguards climbed out, shouting at the truck driver to move, but he ignored them as he nonchalantly carried a crate of onions into La Nonna’s kitchen.
That’s when the bodyguards realized their tire had been slashed, and they were stranded. An ambush. Icarus saw at once what was happening, and he reacted as we expected he would.
He hit his accelerator and roared away, speeding toward the safety of his hilltop home.
We were in the car right behind him. A second car, with two more members of our team, waited a hundred yards up the road. It cut into position just in front of Icarus, and the Volvo was now boxed between our two vehicles.
The road narrowed as it wound up the hillside, carving hairpin turns. A blind curve was coming up, and the first car braked to slow down the Volvo. Our plan was to force it to a stop, to yank Icarus from the Volvo and bundle him into our vehicle. But instead of slowing, Icarus surprised us. Recklessly he accelerated, squeezing past the first car, with barely an inch to spare.
No one saw the oncoming truck until it was too late.
Icarus desperately swerved right, but that sent the Volvo into the guardrail. It caromed off and skidded.
The truck hit it broadside, crumpling the passenger doors.
Even before I scrambled out of my car, I knew that the wife was dead. I was the one who yanked open Icarus’s door, the one who first glimpsed the carnage inside. Lucia’s broken body. The destroyed face of the ten-year-old. And little Carlo, still conscious but dying. Carlo looked at me, and I saw the question in his eyes. It is a question that I still struggle to answer: Why?
We dragged Icarus from the Volvo. Unlike his family, he was very much alive and fighting us. Within seconds we had his wrists and ankles bound. We tossed him into the backseat of my vehicle and threw a blanket over him.
The hapless truck driver, dazed and light-headed from the collision, had no idea what had really happened. Later he would tell the police that Good Samaritans had stopped to rescue the Volvo’s driver, and must have brought him to a hospital. But our destination was a private airstrip forty-eight miles away, where a chartered jet was fueled and waiting.
We had accomplished what we came to do, but this was not the way it should have ended, with three dead innocents. After any other successful mission, we would have celebrated with a round of whiskey and high fives. But that night we were subdued. Anxious about the repercussions to follow.
We had no idea how terrible they would be.
THIRTEEN
Wind rattled the windows of Dr. Anna Welliver’s office, and from that lofty perch in the castle’s turret Jane saw black clouds rolling in from the mountains, moving inexorably toward them. A summer storm was coming, and the sound of the wind made Jane uneasy as she and Maura watched Dr. Welliver assemble a tray of teacups and saucers. Outside the view looked threatening, but inside the turret it was a cozy space with a floral sofa and incense sticks and crystals hanging in the window, a serene retreat where a traumatized child could curl into the overstuffed chair and safely share his darkest fears. The incense made it seem more like the parlor of an eccentric earth mother than a therapist’s office, but then Welliver was eccentric, with her wild gray hair and granny dresses and or
thopedic shoes.
“I’ve had about forty-eight hours to observe the boy,” said Dr. Welliver. “And I must say, I have concerns.” On the side table, the electric kettle began to hiss and burble, and she rose to pour steaming water into a porcelain teapot.
“What problems do you see?” asked Jane.
“Superficially, he seems to be settling in remarkably well. He appeared to enjoy the first day of classes. Ms. Duplessis said he reads well above his grade level. Mr. Roman coaxed him into shooting a few arrows at archery class. And last night, I discovered him in the computer room, surfing YouTube.”
Jane glanced at Maura. “You can’t make a cell phone call here, but you can surf the Web?”
“We can’t hold back the digital age,” said Dr. Welliver with a laugh. She settled heavily back into her chair, her dress puffing up like a tent around her generous body. “Of course we block inappropriate websites, and our students know they’re never to reveal any personal information. Not their locations, not their names. It’s a matter of safety.”
“For these children, in particular,” said Maura.
“The point I was trying to make,” said Dr. Welliver, “is that Teddy has, to all appearances, adjusted very well to this new environment. He even seems to have made a few friends.”
“So what’s the problem?” asked Jane.
“At my session with him yesterday, I discovered quite a few things he doesn’t remember—or chooses not to remember—about his birth family.”
“You do know there’s a reason he can’t remember the night they died.”
“I know they were killed aboard their sailboat off Saint Thomas. And there was an explosion that made Teddy black out. But I can’t help wondering if that explosion is the whole explanation for his memory gaps. When I ask him about his family, he tries to avoid all my questions. He deflects. Says he’s hungry or needs to use the bathroom. Occasionally, he still refers to members of his family in the present tense. He simply doesn’t want to deal with that loss at all.”
“He was only twelve years old,” said Maura. “Still a tender age.”
“It’s been two years. That’s time enough for him to have processed his loss, the way our other students have. There’s a lot of work to be done with Teddy. To get him past this denial stage. To accept his family is gone.” She looked at Jane. “It’s a good thing you brought him here, Detective. I hope you’ll let him stay.”
“This was an emergency move,” said Jane. “It’s not my decision where he stays in the long term.”
“Last night, the Evensong board unanimously agreed to accept Teddy, all expenses paid. Please convey that to the state of Massachusetts. We do want to be of service.”
“I’ll tell you how you can really be of service,” said Jane. “Tell me about the other two students. Claire Ward and Will Yablonski.”
Welliver stood to pour the herbal tea, which had been brewing. In silence she filled the cups and served her visitors, then she sat down and stirred several generous spoonfuls of sugar into her tea. “This is a delicate matter,” she finally said. “Sharing confidential files about our students.”
“I’ve got a delicate matter, too,” said Jane. “I’m trying to keep Teddy alive.”
“Why do you think there’s a connection among these three children?”
Maura said, “The coincidence is eerie. That’s why I called Jane, because there are so many parallels. Three different families, the Wards, the Yablonskis, and the Clocks, were all killed the same year. Even the same week. Now, two years later, their surviving children are attacked again. Within weeks of one another.”
“Yes, I agree it is odd.”
“It’s way more than odd,” said Jane.
“But it’s merely a coincidence.”
Jane leaned forward to look straight into Dr. Welliver’s eyes. “How can you so easily dismiss the possibility there’s a connection?”
“Because these families were killed in different locations. Teddy Clock’s family died on their sailboat off Saint Thomas. Claire’s parents were shot to death in London.”
“And Will’s parents? The Yablonskis?”
“They died when their private plane went down, in Maryland.”
Jane frowned. “I thought they were murdered. That sounds more like an accident.”
Dr. Welliver turned and looked out the glass door to the rooftop walkway, where mist was swirling in the wind. “I’ve probably told you far too much already. These are my patients, and they trust me to keep their secrets. I feel bound by rules of confidentiality.”
Jane said, “You know, I could just pick up the phone and talk directly to law enforcement. I could get those details myself. Why don’t you make my life easier and just tell me. Was that plane crash an accident?”
Dr. Welliver was silent for a moment as she weighed her response. “No, it wasn’t an accident,” she finally said. “NTSB concluded that the plane was sabotaged. But again, there’s no obvious link with the other two families. Except for the manner of their deaths.”
“Excuse me for saying this,” said Jane, “but drawing that conclusion is my job, not yours. Most likely it is a coincidence, but I have to proceed as if it’s by design. Because if I miss something, we could end up with three dead kids.”
Welliver set down her teacup and studied Jane for a moment, as if trying to gauge her determination. At last, she rose from her chair and shuffled to the filing cabinet, where she rooted inside for a chart. “The Yablonskis’ plane went down soon after takeoff,” she said. “Neil Yablonski was at the controls when it happened. He and his wife were the only ones aboard. At first, it was presumed to be an accident.” She brought Will’s file back to the desk and handed it to Jane. “Then the NTSB found forensic evidence of explosives. The investigators searched for a motive, for any reason why this particular couple was targeted. They never came up with an answer. Luckily their son, Will, wasn’t on board his parents’ plane that day. He’d chosen to spend the weekend with his aunt and uncle, so he could work on a science project.”
Jane opened the folder and scanned the Evensong School’s intake form.
Fourteen-year-old white male with no known surviving family members. Referred by the state of New Hampshire after a fire of suspicious origin destroyed the home of his aunt and uncle, Brian and Lynn Temple, who have served as his guardians since his parents’ deaths two years ago …
Jane read the next paragraph and looked up at Welliver, who was adding yet a fourth teaspoon of sugar to her cup of herbal tea. “The kid was briefly considered a suspect in the New Hampshire fire?”
“The police had to consider that possibility, because Will was the sole survivor. He told them he was outside looking through his telescope when the house exploded. A passing motorist spotted the flames and stopped to help. She’s the one who brought the boy to the emergency room.”
“The kid just happened to be outside looking through his telescope?”
“Will’s father and his uncle were both NASA scientists who worked at Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland. It’s not surprising that Will’s an amateur astronomer.”
“So the kid’s a geek,” said Jane.
“You could call him that. Which is why the police considered him a suspect, if only briefly, because he certainly has the intelligence to build a bomb. But he had no motive.”
“That they know of.”
“From what I’ve observed, Will is a very well-behaved boy with excellent academic skills, especially math. I see no aggression whatsoever. Socially he’s a bit awkward. His aunt and uncle homeschooled him in New Hampshire, so he didn’t have much interaction with other children. That may be one of the reasons he’s not quick to make friends.”
“Why was he homeschooled?” asked Maura.
“He had problems back in Maryland. The poor boy was teased and bullied.”
“Why?”
“Because of his weight.” Dr. Welliver looked down at her own large frame, only partly disguised
by the voluminous dresses she always wore. “Most of my life, I’ve struggled with my own weight, so I know what it’s like to be ridiculed. Children can be especially cruel, zeroing in on the fact Will’s heavy, and also a bit clumsy. Here we intervene at once if we see any bullying going on, but we’re not omniscient. Despite any teasing, Will’s always cheerful and good-natured. He’s kind to the younger children. He’s a reliable student who’s never in trouble.” Welliver paused. “Unlike the girl.”
“Claire Ward,” said Jane.
Welliver sighed. “Our little nocturnal wanderer.” She pushed out of her chair and went back to the filing cabinet to look for Claire’s chart. “Now, this child has caused us multiple headaches. Most of them related to her neurologic issues.”
“What do you mean, neurologic issues?”
Welliver straightened and looked at her. “Claire was with her parents the night they were attacked in London. All of them were shot in the head. Only Claire survived.”
In the distance, thunder rumbled, and the sky had turned ominously dark. Jane looked down at her own arm and saw that the hairs had lifted, as if a cool wind had just blown across her skin.
Welliver placed Claire’s folder in front of Jane. “It happened as the family was walking to their car after dining in a restaurant. Claire’s father was Erskine Ward, a foreign service officer who’d worked in London, Rome, and Washington. Her mother, Isabel, was a homemaker. Because of Erskine’s job at the US embassy, there was concern that this might have been a terrorist attack, but in the end the police concluded it was a robbery gone wrong. Claire couldn’t help the investigation because she couldn’t remember the attack. The first thing she does remember is waking up in the hospital, after surgery.”
“For a girl who was shot in the head, she seems amazingly normal now,” said Jane.
“At first glance, she does look perfectly normal.” Welliver looked at Maura. “Even you didn’t immediately spot her deficits, did you, Dr. Isles?”
“No,” Maura admitted. “They’re subtle.”
The Rizzoli & Isles Series 11-Book Bundle Page 288
