Killing Ways

40

Ren found Joe Lucchesi in the kitchen with Everett.

‘OK,’ said Ren. ‘Are you ready?’

Joe nodded. ‘Sure. I’ll take this with me.’

That’s my coffee mug.

‘But, I don’t really need you to go through everything with me,’ said Joe.

Of course not. Why would you? ‘If you’re sure...’ said Ren.

‘Why don’t you leave everything with me, I can go through it at my own pace, take a look around the conference room at what you’ve got up there on the walls.’

‘Well, how about you start off in the interview room for round one? Would that be weird? We’re tight on space. The only other option is one of two cells.’ She smiled. He didn’t. ‘Anyway, when you’re done, do join me in the conference room.’

‘OK.’

Ren left Joe in the interview room with a stack of files.

She bumped into Everett in the hallway on her way back.

‘I had to put him in one of the interview rooms,’ said Ren. ‘He probably thinks it’s some kind of FBI mind-fuck.’

‘I would too,’ said Everett.

‘It’s a desk, a chair, four walls,’ said Ren. ‘Yes, teeny window, but teeny windows are better than none. I want the conference room. Or at least the freedom to wander freely in and out of it.’ She leaned in. ‘He’s very intense. I need some space.’

‘I like him,’ said Everett.

‘Hey, I’m not saying I don’t.’ She paused. ‘As an aside, Gary could be losing it. We’re in his office, this cell phone rings, and he says, totally spaced out, “I need to take this.” His phone was on the desk. The phone ringing was clearly next door or somewhere. Could he have Alzheimer’s, do you think?’

‘No. Goodbye.’

Ren went to her desk and looked at her notebook where she’d been taking notes when Joe was talking. She Googled Wanda Rawlins’ disappearance. She saw photos of her husband, Vincent Farraday. He had once been a very handsome, plump, well-groomed man. He had warm blue eyes, a thick head of gray hair, and a thick moustache.

Ren called the agent who had interviewed Farraday at the time of his wife’s disappearance. She got him to email the video, and went into the A/V room to watch it.

Sorry, Joe — you could have had the conference room after all...

Ren hit Play, and got the inside of an interview room in an FBI field office in Sherman, Texas. The camera was clearly mounted in the corner of the ceiling, giving an aerial view of Vincent Farraday, who looked like he had all but disintegrated since his wife’s disappearance... or maybe since he had the misfortune of marrying her.

‘These things happen,’ Agent Richmond was saying. ‘You marry one woman, she turns into a whole ’nother one. You married a reformed woman, Mr Farraday. Wanda Rawlins had cleaned up her act — for you. You had sixteen good years with her, she gave you two beautiful daughters. So when she was back using, you must have figured “She doesn’t care any more, she mustn’t love us any more if she can start shooting up again”?’

‘No, sir,’ said Vincent. ‘I understand that addiction can take a powerful hold on a person. Doesn’t make them weak, and it doesn’t make me weak to get frustrated by that, or the girls for getting hurt and angry about it.’

‘What about your daughters?’ said Richmond. ‘Should we be worried about them?’

Vincent Farraday shifted forward in his seat, created a forty-five-degree angle between himself and Richmond. ‘Now, what do you mean by that, Agent?’

‘Your daughter, Chloe...’ said Richmond. ‘She’s been in some trouble.’

‘That’s a low blow,’ said Vincent. ‘She was just sixteen years old.’

‘We’ve spoken with the school, and with some of the parents... she does appear to have anger-management problems.’

‘That was a whole lot of nothing,’ said Vincent.

‘That’s not the conclusion Denison PD came to,’ said Richmond.

‘Well, with respect, that’s their business,’ said Vincent. ‘I believe Chloe and my other daughter, Robin.’

‘Were you involved in the disappearance of your wife?’ said Richmond.

‘No, sir, no I was not,’ said Vincent.

‘Do you have any knowledge of your wife’s whereabouts?’ said Richmond.

‘No, sir, no I do not,’ said Vincent.

‘We have a statement here from one of your neighbors who said that you told him, quote, “I’m about at breaking point. We’re living in a kind of hell. I think we’d all be better off if Wanda was gone. There’s nothing more I can do for her.”’

Vincent nodded. ‘And that’s the God’s honest truth. I said exactly those words, and I understand that they don’t sound too good. I’d tell the police the same thing, if it was my neighbor said them. There wasn’t a word of a lie in what I said. Didn’t mean I thought that killing her was an option. Hell, I can’t even kill a spider. My daughters will tell you that.’ His eyes welled up. ‘I understand you have to do this, but can you please consider what it’s doing to my girls? Their mother’s gone. She’s been gone years. Please don’t take their father away from them too.’

‘Isn’t it true that you haven’t spoken to either of your daughters in six years?’ said Richmond.

Low blow again.

Farraday nodded, wiped away tears. ‘They blamed me for their mama going off the rails, and they blamed me for falling apart afterwards, for abandoning them. But I know one thing — they know I would never have hurt a hair on that woman’s head. We can’t choose who we love. I’ve written enough songs about it to know that.’

Songs? Songs!

Holy shit.