Alex Barclay - Harm's Reach

‘I guess so,’ said Simone. ‘I can’t imagine Robert trawling through the computer to check up on them. He’s not that kind of guy.’

Conflicting reports...

‘Maybe it all just added to the excitement, sneaking down to our apartment,’ said Simone.

‘We’d like to take a look at your computer, if that’s OK?’ said Ren.

‘Of course.’

‘We’ll send someone from the FBI office in New York,’ said Ren. ‘Please keep this confidential. And thank you for your call.’

Ren sat in stunned silence. She called Janine to fill her in.

‘And I have something for you,’ said Janine.

‘I can hear the edge of excitement in your voice...’

‘Are you sitting down? The lab picked up a partial print from Laura Flynn’s rental car. We got a match. Kohler arrested a young man in the Ace-Hi Tavern in Golden January 8th; he had gotten into a bar fight. His name is Conor Gorman. Do you want to know who he lives with?’

‘I do...’

‘A Mr and Mrs Robert Prince.’

‘What?’

‘He was one of the Faules’ trusted runaways,’ said Janine. ‘And his aunt is Laura Flynn.’

Ren could feel her blood pressure soar. ‘What the fuck is wrong with the Princes?’

‘We’re going to hear it all,’ said Janine. ‘They’re protecting him, he’s grieving...’

‘Oh, he knows something and they know he knows it — he’s sixteen, he could say anything to us. Has he been at the ranch since January? Was he sent there to get him away from whatever was going on in the house?’

‘If Laura was thinking of having a termination,’ said Janine, ‘she might have gone to him for help.’

‘And someone stopped her before she got there...’ said Ren. ‘But would you confide in a teenage boy about something like that?’

‘It’s a harrowing decision to make... if that’s what happened,’ said Janine. ‘And he’s the only family she’s got.’

‘It’s a dangerous decision to make, more to the point,’ said Ren. ‘This is not her baby to abort. Plus we know Robert Prince has to be anti-abortion if he’s a staunch Catholic.’

‘Surely that would make him protective of all life,’ said Janine. ‘Killing a woman and her unborn child, because she was planning to kill her unborn child...’

‘I know... it doesn’t add up,’ said Ren. ‘The question is — why would she have wanted to have an abortion?’

‘The only thing that makes sense is that she discovered there was something wrong with the baby...’ said Janine.

‘Or if the Princes made up the surrogacy story after she went missing,’ said Ren. ‘What if the twenty-five thousand they paid into her account was the first of a payment to keep quiet about an affair with Robert Prince?’

‘Innneresting,’ said Janine. ‘I can imagine Ingrid Prince going along with that to protect their image.’

‘It’s him,’ said Ren, ‘Robert Prince. There’s something about him. He’s concerned that I’m treating them like bad guys, but then they’re lying? If they have nothing to hide, then why are they lying?’

‘It might be motivated by something else,’ said Janine. ‘It’s not necessarily because they have something to do with Laura Flynn’s death.’

‘We’ll see what our next little chat reveals,’ said Ren.

‘I’m not going to the fancy rental this time,’ said Janine. ‘I’m hauling their asses in here.’

Ingrid Prince sat alone in the interview room of the Sheriff’s Office. She was dressed in jeans, a loose orange T-shirt and an oversized beige cardigan. She was fidgeting with one of the buttons. Fear flickered in her eyes.

Janine and Ren sat in silence for some time.

‘You’re sure you’re happy to talk without your lawyer present?’ said Janine.

‘Yes,’ said Ingrid. ‘I’ve nothing to hide.’ She paused, wide-eyed. ‘Not that Robert does, but... lawyers are part of his world... it’s just how it is.’

Hmm. Lawyers aren’t part of yours? As a former celebrity model with an agent and endorsements?

‘Mrs Prince, why didn’t you tell us about Conor Gorman?’ said Ren.

‘Please... call me Ingrid.’

Yes... now’s a good time for that shiz.

Ingrid shifted forward in her seat. She took a deep breath. ‘We were trying to protect him.’

‘Protect him?’ said Ren.

‘Conor is a troubled young man,’ said Ingrid. ‘He has a tough family history, as you know. His father died when he was a baby. Then his mother died when he was just eleven years old. He had no one else. Laura wanted to adopt him, but we figured that would be a big ordeal. It was all very difficult. Laura blamed herself for Saoirse’s death — because it happened at her twenty-first birthday party. Of course, it was not her fault at all. When it happened, Robert and I talked and we decided that we would take Conor in.’

‘There were no other relatives...’ said Ren.

‘No,’ said Ingrid.

‘It was very kind of you to do that,’ said Ren.

‘You would have done the same,’ said Ingrid. ‘We had the means. We were already very fond of Laura. Saoirse Flynn had been working as our friends’ nanny, so that was how the connection was made.’

‘Which friends?’ She asked innocently...

‘Simone and Alistair Spencer. They live on the second floor of our building.’

‘So... you took Conor in,’ said Ren. ‘How did that work out?’

‘Well, he was already showing signs of trouble, even though he was so young. Obviously we allowed for the fact that he had just lost his mother. But... even as time passed, we could see that he had issues. His mother was young when she had him, his father was an alcoholic, and never really on the scene... apparently he died before Conor’s first birthday. No one spoke about him. I don’t think he was a great loss. To be honest, I think Saoirse had a drink problem too — a weekend problem, you could call it. But she was a wonderful nanny. She was amazing with the Spencers’ kids. But... Conor... there’s no denying he had issues.’

‘How long has he been at the ranch?’ said Ren.

‘Since January.’

‘He was arrested in Golden the same month — is that right?’ said Ren.

Ingrid nodded. ‘Yes — he got into a bar fight. I was staying in Golden at the time, Robert was away on business, so I went to pick Conor up. I brought him back to the ranch. I told him... there’s a Swedish proverb, like, if you lash out, you’re going to get hurt. Angry cats get scratched skin. I told him that. I feel for him. I really do, but he needs to get a handle on his anger. That’s what we’re hoping for. I care about Conor.’

‘How did he end up at The Darned Heart in the first place?’ said Ren.

‘The first time was November,’ said Ingrid. ‘His behavior had gone out of control. He began drinking heavily, smoking dope, staying out late, not telling us where he was. He wouldn’t listen to any of us. He and Robert butted heads a lot. We really wanted to support him, but Robert was at the end of his tether...’

‘And how did that manifest itself?’ said Ren.

‘Robert told him he’d throw him out — but only to shock him. I can promise you that. Conor is such a bright young man, we couldn’t bear the idea of him wasting that, of flunking out of high school... we wanted to save him.’

‘So, what happened?’ said Ren. ‘How did he end up agreeing to go halfway across the country to a ranch for troubled teens? It seems like quite a leap.’

‘Well, we decided to go to Golden, so we wouldn’t be too far away,’ said Ingrid. ‘But when we were all back in our house in the country for New Year. Conor got drunk, caused a scene, which was embarrassing enough. Then he stole the keys to one of Robert’s cars and crashed it. He was lucky to make it out alive. He just left the car where it was and disappeared for three days. We were out of our minds with worry. Laura was distraught. When he came back, finally, she pleaded with him to get help.’