The Drowning Child

41

Ren sat in her car outside Rose Dennehy’s 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.

There’s no way it is.

Yes, there is.

We’ve been here before.

Paranoia. Paranoia.

Why doesn’t it ever go away? I’m 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, here’s 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. It’s Ruddock’s 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 he’s negative in NCIC. He’s twenty-six years old, lives on the outskirts of Tate, has his own plumbing business: JJ’s Plumbing Services. It’s just him – no staff.’

‘Does Ruddock know about this yet?’ said Gary.

‘No,’ said Ren. ‘I’m hoping to slam that ball into your court, if you don’t mind. I’m getting along just fine with Ruddock.’

‘You don’t want to be the bad guy,’ said Gary.

‘No, I do not.’

‘Let’s go talk to him together when you get back,’ said Gary. ‘You’re the one who met the woman.’

‘I’m not going to bring up Nash’s 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 can’t have suspected his nephew... unless he found something out afterward.’

‘Or,’ said Ren, ‘he knew all along it was his nephew, but didn’t 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 Dennehy’s.

‘He never mentioned it,’ said Ruddock. ‘And, with my job, I would have expected that – you know, he’d say “I met that missing kid”, or whatever. It makes sense you’d like to bring him in. But he’s a good guy, J. J. – I can vouch for him one hundred per cent. I’m sure all his clients would say the same thing. He’s very well-liked.’

‘Are you and J. J. close?’ said Ren.

‘Yes,’ said Ruddock.

‘Have you discussed the investigation with him?’ said Gary.

‘In passing, yes,’ said Ruddock. ‘But I didn’t tell him anything that wasn’t already in the media. And there’s also the fact that J. J. goes in and out of a lot of houses, I’m sure he loses track of who he saw where or when.’

Hmm.

‘What kind of hours does he work?’ said Gary.

‘Usually eight to five,’ said Ruddock, ‘but he’d work late if he had to, and he does call-outs, obviously. He’s a hard worker.’ He paused. ‘Do you want me to tell him to stop by this evening?’

‘No,’ said Gary. ‘We’d appreciate it if you didn’t talk to him about this for now.’

‘Sure,’ said Ruddock. ‘I understand.’

‘Do you have a cell phone number for him?’ said Gary.

‘Yes,’ said Ruddock. He got his phone and called out the number.

‘Thanks,’ said Gary.

‘Do you have a list of sex offenders living in the area of Rose Dennehy’s house?’ said Ren.

‘Yes,’ said Ruddock.

‘Did we get their alibis checked for last Monday?’ said Ren.

‘Yes,’ said Ruddock. ‘We cast the net wide. They all checked out.’

‘Have there been any reports of suspicious activity on that street or nearby?’ said Ren. ‘Has any kid reported being followed or cars slowing down...’

Ruddock shook his head. ‘No. The only thing that happened near there was that little boy I mentioned who choked.’

‘What was his name?’ said Ren. ‘Monroe?’

‘Luke Monroe.’

‘When did that happen?’ said Ren.

‘Last month,’ said Ruddock. He turned to his computer, typed in Luke Monroe’s name and called up his memorial page. ‘February eleventh.’

What the what now?

‘That’s the same day Caleb was last at Mrs Dennehy’s,’ said Ren. ‘So the same day John Veir was in the area, dropping his son off.’ And the same day your nephew was.

It was clear from Ruddock’s face that he knew exactly what she was thinking.

There was a truck in front of J. J. Nash’s house with JJ’s Plumbing Services written on the side. The shades on the house were down.

‘Despite the truck,’ said Ren, ‘I’m getting the sense no one’s home.’

They rang the doorbell, knocked on the door, called out his name, but there was no answer.

They walked around to the back of the house. They could see a cell phone on the kitchen table. The screen was black.

Ren could feel her heartbeat quicken.

‘Did Ruddock tip him off?’ said Ren. I hate when I think these things. ‘Could Nash have known I was speaking with Rose Dennehy?’

‘Leaves his cell phone behind,’ said Gary. ‘Doesn’t want to be tracked.’

‘Or,’ said Ren, ‘he’s a tradesman who doesn’t want to be bothered outside office hours. Or maybe he knows the police are on to him. Or the FBI, at least.’

Stop.

They came back around to the front of the house. A skinny guy in his sixties, with long dark hair streaked with gray, came out of the next-door house, smoking a cigarette. He was dressed in a sleeveless checked shirt and khaki board shorts. His only concession to the weather was a pair of black fake Uggs.

‘Are you looking for J. J.?’ he said.

‘Yes,’ said Ren.

‘I think he might have gone away on vacation,’ said the man. ‘He kind of rushed out about a half-hour ago, packed up his Harley, and was gone.’

Fuuuuuck.