The Drowning Child

69

Ren pulled into the side of the road.

‘Pardon me?’

‘Yes,’ said Gary. ‘A young woman said she saw Caleb at French Prairie rest area – it’s about a forty-five-minute drive from here.’

‘And what makes this so credible?’ said Sylvie.

‘She’s an artist, she draws portraits,’ said Gary. ‘As she said to Salem PD: “Faces are my thing.” She’d have that kind of attention to detail...’

‘Jesus Christ,’ said Ren. ‘What the fuck is going on? Did this woman say anything about Caleb’s demeanor?’

‘She said that he seemed agitated,’ said Gary. ‘Wilsonville PD are on their way there now.’

‘What do you want me to do?’ said Ren.

‘Tell Teddy Veir,’ said Gary.

‘Any sign of John?’ said Ren.

‘No,’ said Gary. ‘but we located Jimmy Lyle’s rental tucked into the back of the church car park, close to the funeral home. So he has access to another vehicle—’

‘Or he has someone else to help him out...’

Ren pulled up outside the Veirs’ house. Teddy’s car was there, but instead of Patti Ellis’s, there was another car. When Teddy brought Ren in, she saw Alice Veir sitting on the sofa.

What the heck?

‘Alice... when did you get here?’

‘About two hours ago,’ said Alice.

Weirdness. ‘Did you stop anywhere along the way?’

She nodded, but it was as if to buy time. ‘Yes – French Prairie Rest Area.’

Ren’s heart started to pound.

They locked eyes.

‘At what time?’ said Ren.

‘About four p.m.,’ said Alice. ‘I stopped for gas, picked up some water.’

Assured. But lying.

‘Why do you ask?’ said Alice.

‘Just wondering,’ said Ren. Wondering why I’m getting the sense you know exactly why I’m asking. ‘Did you see anything out of the ordinary while you were there?’

‘No,’ said Alice.

‘No?’ said Ren.

‘Did you see John there?’ said Teddy. ‘Is that what this is?’

‘No,’ said Ren.

What do I do here? Leave them? Alice Veir is picking up on something. I’m picking up on something.

‘Ladies, can I ask you both to stay here for the time being? I’m going to have a family liaison officer come sit with you.’

They nodded.

Ren looked across their tense faces, behind them, to the walls, to the family photos.

How moments are captured, years pass, and lives are turned upside down.

Ren went into the hallway again and called Gary.

‘Something’s up with Alice Veir,’ she said. ‘She was also at French Prairie – two hours ago. She’s here with Teddy. Can you send a family liaison officer, please? I don’t want to leave them alone.’

‘No problem,’ said Gary. ‘Also, the results came in on the Lister Creek landfill search... two things were found: the first was Caleb Veir’s suitcase. The second was Rose Dennehy’s cell phone.’

‘Rose Dennehy’s cell phone?’ said Ren. ‘What the fuck?’

‘It wasn’t in the suitcase,’ said Gary, ‘but it looks like it was part of the same garbage collection.’

‘What’s that all about?’ said Ren. ‘Caleb stole Rose Dennehy’s cell phone? John Veir did?’

‘We’ll know more when we get into the phone.’

Ren drove in the direction of Tate PD, her thoughts back on Alice Veir.

Yet again, she’s in the right place at the right time. Or the wrong place.

Is the sighting of Caleb fake? Did Alice pay that woman to come forward? What is going on? She is obsessed with the unreliability of eyewitness testimony. Does she know we know about Lister Creek? Could Paula Leon have called her?

Ren’s cell phone rang. She picked up. ‘Beckman.’

‘Hi, Ren – just to let you know, based on the samples your guys sent in, we got a match for the water in Luke Monroe’s sphenoid sinus: he was drowned in Rose Dennehy’s koi pond.’

Holy shit.

Ren’s first thought was John Veir.

The next was J. J. Nash.

Ren called the CAST agent.

‘Ren Bryce here – did you lift any prints from the cell phone?’

‘Yes, ma’am,’ he said. She could hear the smile in his voice. ‘John Veir’s.’

Ren frowned. ‘John Veir? And what did you get from the phone dump?’

‘I got video of Luke Monroe...’

Oh, no. ‘Being... drowned?’

‘I’m afraid so.’

‘Jesus Christ.’ John Veir... A shiver ran up her spine. ‘OK, thanks,’ she said. Her mind went into overdrive.

There was one other person she knew was in the area that day, one person who hadn’t been questioned, who hadn’t been ruled out.

Her final thought, the most horrifying one, was: Caleb Veir.

The sighting’s not fake. It’s real: Caleb Veir is alive. Caleb Veir killed Luke Monroe.

Jesus.

Christ.