Lockwoods eyes went wide. John? No way. No... what makes you think that?
Do you think Merrifield could have done it, whether he took Caleb or not?
Well, it wasnt exactly a wise move, considering the law enforcement and media attention around the house, said Lockwood, so, yes like I said, Merrifield wasnt the smartest of men...
Johns very intense, said Ren. I get the sense that hes suppressing a lot of anger. Am I right?
Lockwood tilted his head. John suffers from PTS, so that explains the intensity. But hes not an angry man, not in my opinion, whether Im speaking as a friend, colleague or psychologist. Hes very compassionate, in fact. He saw some terrible things when he was overseas.
Ren nodded. Do you know much about his relationship with Caleb?
They have their ups and downs, said Lockwood, but he adores that boy.
Has there been any change in Johns behavior recently? said Ren.
No.
Have you met Caleb? said Ren.
No, said Lockwood, but John talks about him a lot.
In what sense?
Mainly positive, said Lockwood, but he mentions the bad behavior too.
Has he looked for your advice? said Ren.
There was a flicker of a frown on Lockwoods face. Not in the professional sense but more like a what can you do? attitude. Caleb was like a teenager a little before his time. I told John to give him some responsibility, have him do volunteer work, do some odd jobs for a neighbor. It would teach him to work hard, it would give him goals, a sense of achievement. So, thats what he did, and it seemed to help.
Good idea, said Ren. I hadnt heard about Caleb doing that.
Could he have crossed paths with a killer that way?
Why did you call John last Sunday? said Ren.
Just to chat, said Lockwood. Hows your weekend going...?
Did John mention Caleb? said Ren.
Just that he was there with him, thats all.
Ren nodded. OK.
Back at Tate PD, Ren filled Ruddock in on her conversation with Lockwood. Did you know Caleb did odd jobs for someone?
Yes, said Ruddock. Its somewhere on one of the Veirs questionnaires.
How did I miss that? said Ren.
It was a recent addition, said Ruddock. Neither of them had put it on the original... it came up in a later interview. Caleb had stopped working there a month before he disappeared, so the Veirs just didnt think of it.
OK, said Ren. Let me go take a look.
Ren went back to her desk and looked through the Veirs questionnaires. The woman Caleb worked for was called Rose Dennehy. She was eighty-three years old, a widow with three grown-up daughters, two of whom lived out of state, one of whom lived in Salem. Ren called Paul in the command center.
Did you send anyone to talk to a Rose Dennehy? said Ren. Caleb did odd jobs for her.
No, said Paul. She wasnt a priority.
Mind if I go talk to her? said Ren.
Not at all, said Paul. Go ahead.
40
Rose Dennehy brought Ren into her kitchen, and immediately put the kettle on, without even asking if she wanted a drink. She was a little slow on her feet, but moving around steadily, eager to make Ren feel at home. She set coffee and cake down on the table.
You sweet woman. Thank you, said Ren, taking a drink. So, were trying to figure out who may have crossed paths with Caleb, either once-off or regularly, while he was here. Can you help me with that?
Rose nodded. Caleb comes here every second Saturday to shovel snow, bring logs in from the woodshed, clean the gutters or help me out with whatever small jobs I need. His father drops him off at eleven a.m., and he usually finishes up around two.
And the last time he was here was a month ago, said Ren. February eleventh?
Yes. She paused. The poor dear. I hope hes OK.
I know, said Ren.
About who he would have met, said Rose, my neighbors, if they were around. And every Saturday, my daughter, Eileen she lives in Salem she stops by around eleven thirty to take me shopping, and drops me home by one. So Caleb would know Eileen a little.
So when Calebs here youre out for part of that time, said Ren.
Yes Im always here when he arrives to let him know what needs to be done, but I dont like having to listen to whatever banging is going on, so thats why I leave while I can.
You trust Caleb to be here on his own, said Ren.
Oh, yes. Hes a hard worker, a serious kid. He doesnt fool around if theres work to be done.
Is there a reason he hasnt come back to you since? said Ren. Or did you not need him?
No he was supposed to be here two weeks ago, but he never showed up. I called his house, and his father apologized and said that Caleb would no longer be working, that he was going to have to devote more time at weekends to his homework.
No one mentioned this.
How did Caleb seem to you that last day? said Ren. Could something have happened that bothered him, that maybe meant he didnt want to come back here?
Rose was taken aback. Lord, I hope not, she said. She paused. Now that I think about it, he did seem a little off that day. He was very eager to get paid and leave. In fact, I owed him one hundred dollars it had added up. I kept forgetting to go to the machine.
And the neighbors you mentioned did they talk to Caleb, did they know him?
In passing, said Rose. I wouldnt say hes the chattiest of kids.
Did Caleb have access to your house while you were out? said Ren.
Yes, said Rose, for washing up, using the bathroom, getting a drink whatever he needed.
Do you think he would have ever let a stranger in? said Ren.
No, said Rose. Hes pretty street smart. She looked at Ren with great compassion. It must be very hard for you to deal with things like this every day.
Finding the bad guys makes it all worthwhile, said Ren.
Im sure it does.
Ren glanced over at a photo of Rose and her family.
What a beautiful family, said Ren. And what a handsome man your husband was. You look so happy.
Rose beamed. We were. He passed eleven years ago, and I miss him every day. She glanced down at Rens ring finger.
Uh-oh. Dont ask.
Have you someone special in your life? said Rose.
I... did, said Ren. I did. I miss him too. I will die alone. And be eaten by neighborhood cats. Not even my own cats. She stood up. Thank you so much for your hospitality, Rose, and for answering my questions.
I hope I was of some help, said Rose.
You absolutely were, said Ren.
I cant believe any man would let a nice girl like you go.
Oh, Jesus. Youre very kind, said Ren. But I killed him is actually what happened. Im not a nice girl at all.
Youll find your Mr Right, said Rose. And youll know it in your heart.
Then Ill doubt it, then Ill fuck it up.
Is there anything else you can think of? said Ren. About that Saturday?
Rose looked toward the counter. Sorry, I was looking to see where my cell phone is, but I lost it a while back Eileens trying to organize a replacement for me. You could talk to her as well, actually, if you wanted, because, like I said, she was here that day too, but Im not sure youll be able to get a hold of her she told me shes headed off on one of her switched-off long weekends. If you cant, I can let her know when she gets back.
Ren saw a calendar stuck to the side of the refrigerator with a magnet. It had notes scattered throughout the month. Could you maybe go back to February on that? said Ren.
Good idea, said Rose. She went to the calendar and flipped it back a month. Yes! she said, stabbing a finger into one of the boxes. Plumber! He came that day. It was an out-of-hours call. He was in and out, quickly. He didnt have the part he needed, said he had to order one in. She paused. I havent been able to get him back here since.
What? said Ren. In a month?
I know, said Rose. And Ive called him several times, but no luck.
Could I get his name from you, please? said Ren.
Yes, said Rose. Its JJs Plumbing Services.
Rens heart rate shot up.
The plumber from the hotel... the one who was in my room...
J. J. Nash is his name, said Rose. His mother is a sister of Pete Ruddocks late wife. So, I guess that makes him the police chiefs nephew.
Uh.
Oh.
41
Ren sat in her car outside Rose Dennehys house, her mind on J. J. Nash in her hotel room, going through her things, reading her notes, taking photos with his cell phone... showing them to his uncle.
Stop.
It could all be completely legitimate.
Theres no way it is.
Yes, there is.
Weve been here before.
Paranoia. Paranoia.
Why doesnt it ever go away? Im taking drugs!
Mood stabilizers, not paranoia eliminators.
Imagine trying to do this job on antipsychotics. Snoozing in the corner.
She ran a background check on Nash, then called Gary.
Well, heres a delicate one, she said. Rose Dennehy the woman who Caleb Veir used to do odd jobs for? There was a plumber in her house the last time Caleb was there. Its Ruddocks nephew, a guy called J. J. Nash. She paused. And I happen to know that he was in my hotel room one of the days I was at work. The hotel said there had been a problem with the showers.
Does he have a record? said Gary.
No, said Ren. I ran him, and hes negative in NCIC. Hes twenty-six years old, lives on the outskirts of Tate, has his own plumbing business: JJs Plumbing Services. Its just him no staff.
Does Ruddock know about this yet? said Gary.
No, said Ren. Im hoping to slam that ball into your court, if you dont mind. Im getting along just fine with Ruddock.
You dont want to be the bad guy, said Gary.
No, I do not.
Lets go talk to him together when you get back, said Gary. Youre the one who met the woman.
Im not going to bring up Nashs visit to my hotel room, said Ren. That could come across a little paranoid.
Ruddock was the one who invited us to consult on this, so he cant have suspected his nephew... unless he found something out afterward.
Or, said Ren, he knew all along it was his nephew, but didnt want to be the one to have to take him in.
Back in Tate PD, Ruddock was surprised to hear that J. J. had met Caleb at Rose Dennehys.
He never mentioned it, said Ruddock. And, with my job, I would have expected that you know, hed say I met that missing kid, or whatever. It makes sense youd like to bring him in. But hes a good guy, J. J. I can vouch for him one hundred per cent. Im sure all his clients would say the same thing. Hes very well-liked.
Are you and J. J. close? said Ren.