Harm's Reach

65

Ren and Janine sat in the Sheriff’s Office canteen.

‘I need a shower after that,’ said Ren, ‘a scalding hot one. That was like being in a crypt. How could I not have seen that? Or felt it? It’s freaking me out.’

‘I didn’t see it either,’ said Janine. ‘But it’s not freaking me out. She’s a talented woman. It’s her job to transform, she’s been doing it all her life. Her job is to conjure emotions and have whoever’s watching her believe them. I’m guessing that tears, grief and trauma are the most dramatic, therefore the easiest to mimic. Feigning love may be a lot harder. However freaked out you might be, can you imagine how Robert Prince feels?’

‘Poor man,’ said Ren. ‘I’m presuming that he knows his own dark secret, that that’s why he had the vasectomy in the first place.’

‘Incest is one step beyond even tabloid acceptance,’ said Janine.

‘He barely wanted to go public with the pregnancy,’ said Ren. ‘Now, there’s all this...’ She paused. ‘You know, I’m not sure if “child of two killer parents” has a better genetic ring to it...’

‘Yikes,’ said Janine. She studied Ren. ‘You look miserable.’

‘I am,’ said Ren. ‘I am.’

‘We got her in the end,’ said Janine.

‘I’m not a fan of ends,’ said Ren. ‘I like starts and middles.’

‘Don’t you like happy endings?’ said Janine. ‘And wishing them on strange men at breakfast.’

They laughed loud.

‘When will his victims show up, I wonder...’ said Ren.

‘Can you imagine?’ said Janine.

‘I’ve been trying not to,’ said Ren. ‘So... Viggi Leinster and Angelo Marianelli — solved.’

‘And not girl scout Peggy Beck,’ said Janine.

‘Ah — not yet,’ said Ren. ‘Maybe all the attention drawn to the area might help. Everything happens for a reason. I presume you still get to follow through if anything shows up...’

‘Yes,’ said Janine.

‘We haven’t caught our Shark Bait Bandits,’ said Ren. ‘Though I do not give a shit about them.’

‘Not all crimes are created equal,’ said Janine.

‘How are you holding up about the unit?’ said Ren. ‘Are you OK?’

‘I’m OK,’ said Janine. ‘Tomorrow is another day.’

‘Tomorrow Never Dies,’ said Ren.

‘If Tomorrow Comes,’ said Janine.

‘Oh my God,’ said Ren. ‘I remember that! The mini-series. It was Sidney Sheldon.’

‘Starring — wait for it — Liam Neeson...’

‘No way!’ said Ren. ‘I do not remember that. I will have to re-evaluate that.’

‘It’s on YouTube,’ said Janine. ‘It’s sad that I know that.’

‘Well, we can reminisce further... if tomorrow comes...’ said Ren.

‘That’s appalling,’ said Janine. She went to YouTube, called up the video.

Ren laughed as they watched. ‘The music! I remember the music. DNN dnn dnn dnn DNN dnn dnn dnn DNN. I will get sucked in,’ she said. ‘I have to stop this.’

‘We’re delaying the inevitable.’

‘To the duped husband...’

Robert Prince looked ghostly, with lines that looked deeper, eyes that looked darker. The top two buttons on his crumpled shirt were open and, for a man of his poise, it was all wrong.

Ren and Janine walked into the room.

‘Can I get you a coffee, Mr Prince?’ said Janine.

‘No,’ said Robert. ‘No, thanks. I’ve already had too much... when, really, all I want to do is sleep.’

You’re reaching out. You have no one.

‘Your wife is refusing to speak with us,’ said Ren.

‘It’s not in her interest to,’ said Robert. ‘And we all know now that Ingrid Frank does nothing that is not in her interest.’

‘We’re very sorry,’ said Ren. For focusing on you. ‘For your loss.’ Losses. Multiple losses.

Janine nodded her support.

‘Thank you, both,’ said Robert. ‘I appreciate it. Because the rest of the world is going to think “He still has his millions, what has he got to worry about?” As if you can only be wealthy if you trade your humanity for it.’

‘It’s been a very difficult time for you,’ said Ren.

‘And will continue to be,’ said Robert. ‘At least with the land and the charity, I can do something. I can focus on that. What’s your favorite charity, Agent Bryce, Detective Hooks?’

Oh, no. Please don’t do this to me. I thought you were a killer.

‘I’m serious,’ said Robert. He smiled. ‘Please, allow me to make a small donation. I would never have... I... you saved me.’

I suspected you. I suspected you. I thought you were the controlling sociopath and your beautiful wife was the victim. Jesus Christ. You owe me nothing. I owe you.

‘People will benefit from this,’ said Robert. ‘I know you had to look into me as a suspect. I understand that... if that’s what’s worrying you.’

‘Thank you,’ said Ren. It is. It is. It is. ‘We can discuss that later.’

‘OK,’ said Robert. ‘I will hold you to that.’

‘Now, can you tell us about Delores Ward?’ said Ren.

‘Well, back in November, I found a letter from my grandfather to his law firm, requesting that they transfer a tract of land to the woman whose details they had previously been apprised of; those details were not included in the letter I found. I called the law firm, they said that they could not, by law, speak to me, that it was a private matter between this woman and my grandfather. They wouldn’t tell me what their relationship was, nothing. I put a private investigator on the case. He tracked the deeds to Delores Ward of Evergreen Abbey, but said that she had died in childbirth in 1957, a year before the transfer was made. So I knew there was some form of identity theft at play. I called the abbey to ask them what they knew about Delores Ward, and they asked me would I like to speak with her. You can imagine my surprise that Delores Ward was “alive”. Of course, I hung up the phone. The following day, I was on a flight to Denver and I arrived at the abbey asking to meet her.’

‘So, you got to speak with her?’ said Ren.

‘I did,’ said Robert. ‘I heard her whole sorry tale. You know, Evergreen Abbey was the only shelter she had heard of for women. Walter had spoken highly of it, and of his uncle... but then he had hinted that his own time there had come to an abrupt end. Delores wondered was that because of his uncle realizing there was something not quite right with Walter. After all, she grew up in Butte, she had heard the rumors about the Orchard Girls. She chose to go to the abbey, to tell Fr Dan her story. He was a priest — she figured that she could confide in him, and, of course, she was right. But Angelo Marianelli managed to track her down, and she was forced to kill him in self-defense. Once Delores knew that Walter had stooped to this new low of ordering her murder, she returned to Butte one last time and that’s how she got him to sign over the land. She said if anything came of her terrible ordeal, it would be her ability to carry out charitable works.’ He put his head in his hands. ‘I can’t begin to tell you how ashamed I am of what my grandfather did. But we agreed to make it right in the only way we could at this stage, which was to set up ACORA in honor of my mother and of Virginia Leinster. He looked up at them. ‘Did you see the postcards on Delores Ward’s wall?’

Ren nodded.

‘They’re “from” her family,’ said Robert. ‘The family who died in the fire. Any time she went on one of her trips, she wrote postcards to herself and signed their names.’