Blood Loss

61

Taber Grace sat in his brother’s living room, staring at the family photos lined up along the wall. It felt strange being in a warm, feelgood home, drowning in other people’s shit. The doorbell rang. He went to the door and Special Agent Ren Bryce was standing there … the BuBabe he saw behind the Summit County Sheriff at the press conference.

‘Hello,’ she said. She reached out and shook his hand. ‘Nice to meet you.’

‘You too,’ said Taber. ‘Come in, take a seat.’

‘Thanks. So …’ said Ren, ‘Mark Whaley …’

‘Mark Whaley came to me because he wanted to blow the whistle on MeesterBrandt,’ said Taber. ‘He believed that they were involved in illegal practices. The problem was that I found no evidence of that. I found no evidence of anything illegal at MeesterBrandt. I used every method available to me, and that’s what I found out.’

What? ‘But why did he think there was?’ said Ren. ‘And he’s not alone in that belief.’

‘Mark Whaley stood to gain anywhere between $40 million and $80 million for whistleblowing,’ said Taber. ‘As you know — he was entitled to fifteen or twenty percent of what the government would recoup. He wanted to retire next year and he wanted to have a lot of money to do it in style. The second issue was that I was able to access Mark’s computer too, and what I found there wasn’t very pleasant. Photos of teens. Lots of them. The same ones your agents are about to find.’

‘So, do you believe that Mark Whaley sexually assaulted Shelby Royce and took his own life?’ said Ren.

Taber Grace nodded. ‘I think Mark Whaley finally got caught doing what he loved to do. I would have put a bullet in my head if I were as screwed-up as he was.’

‘Do you know anything about ex-Congressman Shep Collier?’ said Ren.

‘Just that he didn’t have the guts to put a bullet in his head when he was caught.’

‘But, what about his connection with Mark Whaley?’ said Ren.

‘I knew nothing about a connection until afterward. I know as much as you do.’

She nodded. ‘So why were you watching the Merritts’ house?’

Taber stared at her. ‘Uh … I know it sounds dumb, but I wanted to find a way to give back the money Mark Whaley paid me: to get it back to his daughter … ’

WTF? ‘How did you think you were going to do that?’ said Ren. ‘Give money to a little girl and expect that to not be noticed?’

‘No, not just give it to her like that. Just, maybe to leave an anonymous package in the mailbox.’

Ren frowned. ‘OK,’ she said. ‘Thank you for your time.’

Taber Grace sat down at his desk. His heart was pounding. His shirt was soaked in sweat. His hand was shaking as he picked up the phone.

‘Did you get all that?’ he said.

‘Yes,’ said the voice at the other end.

‘Then tell me where … tell me where my wife and son are.’

‘Isn’t she your ex-wife?’ said the voice.

‘Screw you,’ said Taber. ‘Screw you.’