Alex Barclay - Harm's Reach

‘Honestly, we don’t know,’ said Robert. ‘Ingrid and I are not really in a place to discuss that right now. And it depends on what Conor wants. He’s no longer a minor. Either way, I’d like to continue to support him... for Laura’s sake too.’

Ren and Janine went for coffee in the kitchen of the Sheriff’s Office.

‘What do you make of Robert Prince?’ said Ren.

‘I’m not sure,’ said Janine. ‘Am I getting a guarded because he’s guilty of something vibe, or guarded because he’s a wealthy man living in the public eye?’

‘I don’t get why he’s supporting Conor’s treatment,’ said Ren. ‘Why would he do that?’

‘Because he’s a good Catholic?’ said Janine. ‘Or he doesn’t want to look bad to other people by kicking Conor out.’

Ren nodded. ‘Well, the ranch is a good way of getting Conor out of the way, but not quite abandoning him. All under the guise of support.’

‘The lawyer seemed OK; he didn’t butt in, he wasn’t getting all defensive,’ said Janine.

‘Strategy, strategy...’

They walked down the hallway to Janine’s office.

‘Can I take home some of those files?’ said Ren. ‘The ones that match the résumés?’

‘Sure,’ said Janine. ‘I can give you my duplicates.’

‘That would be great.’

Ren followed her to the open-plan office and to a battered five-drawer file cabinet.

‘You’d think they’d get you a new one...’ said Ren.

Janine laughed. ‘So, which ones do you want?’

‘There’s one I want to look at first,’ said Ren. She took a list from her bag. ‘OK, let’s see if you know which one it is: clue number one: 1957...’

Janine turned to her. ‘Missing Person: Viggi Leinster, starlet, socialite, New York, dahling.’

‘Ooh...’ said Ren. ‘You’re good.’

‘I’ve only one 1957,’ said Janine.

‘Can you remember the deets?’ said Ren.

‘Vaguely... Viggi Leinster, briefly big on the social scene in New York. Only nineteen years old when she disappeared.’

Ren read from the one-page résumé. ‘She was last seen on October 28, 1957 at Vescovi’s, a restaurant in New York city. She had been attending the after-show premiere of Nights of Cabiria .’

‘Yup — that’s the last confirmed sighting,’ said Janine.

Ren scanned down the page. ‘The last unconfirmed sighting was...’

‘Denver,’ they both said at the same time.

‘But... 1957?’ said Janine. ‘New information now? From an Irish girl? Is that likely?’

‘I know,’ said Ren.

‘I have a theory on Viggi Leinster,’ said Janine. ‘I believe that she disappeared on purpose. The man she was suspected of having an affair with, a gangster called Angelo Marianelli, also disappeared... six weeks later, I found out. I’m thinking Viggi Leinster may have been threatened because of something he was doing, he got her out of the way, and followed her a little while later when it was safe.’

‘Where did the gangster love story come from?’ said Ren.

‘His name is mentioned in the file,’ said Janine. ‘One of the busboys in Vescovi’s caught them in the coat check one night...’

Ren read it again. ‘And Viggi Leinster’s neighbor was the one who reported her missing.’

‘Yes,’ said Janine. ‘She’s dead now. They’re all dead.’

‘They’re. Allll. Deaaaad.’

Janine laughed.

‘Maybe one of the cops on the case was Irish,’ said Ren, ‘maybe he was heading to the grave with some serious information, his granddaughter/grand-niece Laura Flynn comes to New York, he gets a little drunk, opens up to her and tells her what really happened.’

‘All without one cliché taking place,’ said Janine.

‘Hey — what about the missing gangster — he could have been in Chicago... maybe that’s why Laura went there...’ She paused. ‘I’m going full-blown cliché on this.’

‘I can see that,’ said Janine.

‘Who’s got the gangster case?’ said Ren.

‘A cop in New York,’ said Janine. ‘We’ve spoken, we’ve shared notes. But that was, like, four years ago. I can call him in the morning, if you like.’

She slid open one of the drawers to the file cabinet and handed the folder to Ren. ‘It’s not exactly bursting at the seams. Do you want to take any others?’

‘I’m thinking these four too,’ said Ren. She pointed to her list.

‘You’re taking five?’ said Janine. ‘I thought you didn’t like uneven numbers.’

‘I don’t,’ said Ren, ‘it depends. And please, for your own sake, do not expect consistency from me. Ever.’

That night, Ren and Ben sat on the sofa in Annie’s house after dinner. She told him about the investigation, and the Princes’ surrogacy.

‘I wonder what it would be like to fake a pregnancy,’ said Ren. ‘Like, it must be weird to have to keep up a whole nine-month lie, ten-month lie, whatever length pregnancy is supposed to be now. I mean, it must take a special kind of... I don’t know...’

Ben laughed. ‘You’d know all about lying, undercover agent Remy Torres.’

Pause. ‘Hey, that’s different,’ said Ren. ‘I’m not lying to the people I love.’

‘So, where exactly did you tell your family you were for that whole year you were living with a crime queen in a drug compound?’ said Ben.

‘Living with a crime queen... Jesus. And where do you tell your family you are?’ said Ren.

Ooh, this wine is performing well tonight.

‘Now, I tell them I’m under covers... with a hot bitch.’

‘Ha, ha,’ said Ren.

She grabbed the bottle of wine and poured the last of it between them.

‘Anyway, this isn’t about me,’ said Ben. ‘I don’t think it takes a special kind of anything. It’s just... it is what it is. I don’t know what you expected me to say.’

‘I don’t come to conversations with expectations,’ said Ren.

‘Okaay.’

‘Do you?’ said Ren.

‘No, but... where are we going with this conversation?’

‘I don’t know,’ said Ren. ‘Do we need a destination?’

Ben made a face.

Don’t look at me like I’m nuts.

‘I just resent you tying me and work into this,’ said Ren. ‘I mean... what’s your point?’ That I have the capacity to lie to people I love? Which I actually do. Which I hate.

‘I don’t have a point,’ said Ben.

‘That’s ridiculous,’ said Ren. ‘Of course you have a point.’

‘I don’t,’ said Ben. ‘Relax.’

Relax?!?!?!?!?

‘Relax?’ said Ren. ‘Seriously?’

‘Yeah, seriously. What the hell?’

‘I’m talking about a woman faking a pregnancy and you’re talking about—’

‘OK, correct me if I’m wrong,’ said Ben, ‘but didn’t you infiltrate that gang by pretending to Domenica Val Pando that you had lost a baby? I mean, that’s what we were taught... use anything to make an entrance...’

Oh my God. I had completely forgotten that. How could I have forgotten that? ‘I... I... cannot believe you’re bringing that into this. It’s completely different.’ How can you not see that?

‘How can you possibly think that that’s completely different?’ said Ben.

‘It’s work!’ said Ren.

‘But, say you’re a celebrity and you’re faking it because your body is your fortune and you don’t want to ruin it and you’re going on tour, so you don’t want to be pregnant or whatever... that’s work too.’

‘That’s bullshit!’ said Ren. ‘And why are we even having this conversation?’

‘You tell me,’ said Ben.

‘What the fuck is that supposed to mean?’ said Ren.