Alex Barclay - Harm's Reach

‘Are you injured?’ said Ren, running up to her, two steps at a time.

‘No,’ said Eleanor. ‘No...’

‘Who’s in there?’ said Ren.

‘Just Delores,’ said Eleanor. ‘She’s been shot. She’s dead. She’s dead.’

Janine went past Eleanor into the library.

‘Did you see who did this?’ said Ren.

‘No,’ said Eleanor. ‘I just heard the gunshot, I came running. Then I could hear a car being driven away.’ Her legs buckled under her.

Ren crouched down and helped to move her to a sitting position against the wall. ‘Wait there, I’ll get you a chair.’ She went into the library... where the lifeless body of Delores Ward lay.

‘One to the head, one to the chest,’ said Janine. ‘No sign of the weapon.’

‘That poor woman,’ said Ren.

Not far from the body was an open metal tin and dark bones scattered across the floor. Janine walked over to it.

‘Looks like we’ve got a partial jaw bone, femur, tibia...’ she said.

‘The broken pipe must have washed them out from under the cabin,’ said Ren. ‘My guess is that the bone the girl saw someone waving about was real. And it was Conor Gorman who found it. If Delores saw him looking around, or if he called to the cabin... he might just have agreed to keep her secret. And later, she would keep one for him. Was it just that he was making sure he could get away from the ranch? Was he getting rides with Kendall’s crew or something? Was that how he got into Golden the night of the bar fight?’

Janine looked down at the body. ‘The pull of a trigger... and the whole world is changed.’

Ren was staring out the window at the rain, at the broken-down cabin.

Triggers. Oh my God. Triggers.

‘Triggers!’ said Ren. She turned to Janine. ‘You said there was a tattoo place in Golden...’

‘Yes,’ said Janine.

‘Can you find out when Conor Gorman got his tattoo?’ said Ren.

‘Sure.’

‘I need to make another call,’ said Ren. She walked a few feet away and Googled the number for the Southampton Police Department in New York.

‘My name is SA Ren Bryce. I’m calling from Safe Streets in Denver. I need to speak with whoever handled an MVC on New Year’s Eve last,’ she said. ‘Driver’s name was Conor Gorman.’

‘Let me put you through to Detective Lin,’ said the operator.

Ren introduced herself and repeated her request.

‘Yes, Conor Gorman,’ said Detective Lin. ‘Do you want to know what he did — he crashed a Lotus Series 2 Super Seven into a tree on Tuckahoe Lane. I died a little inside. It was like watching Ferris Bueller , only they trash the car before they make it home.’

Ren laughed. ‘Was he alone at the time?’

‘He was,’ said Lin. ‘Thrown right from it, without a scratch. Unbelievable. Lucky little shit. He had the arrogance to take that baby out — no clue how to handle it. That car has evil manners...’

Evil manners. I love it.

‘I heard later from a neighbor that before he took it, there was a disturbance outside his home about a half hour earlier,’ said Lin.

‘Outside the Princes’?’ said Ren.

‘Yes,’ said Lin.

‘He had a fight with Robert Prince, then took his car?’ said Ren.

‘No — with the wife,’ said Lin. ‘She probably asked him to take the garbage out. The kid’s a brat.’

‘Did she come pick him up?’ said Ren.

‘In the end, yes — he had been on a bender for a couple days before we picked him up,’ said Lin. ‘She showed up, spared him Robert Prince killing him, I’d say.’

‘OK,’ said Ren. ‘Well, thanks for filling me in.’

So, Conor Gorman fights with Ingrid, implodes, then realizes: act out, and Ingrid will come my way. Rinse, repeat.

She turned to Janine. ‘Conor Gorman fought with Ingrid Prince New Year’s Eve — right before he crashed Robert Prince’s Lotus,’ said Ren.

‘Conor Gorman got that tattoo late May,’ said Janine.

Ren checked her calendar. ‘That was after I interviewed him. I told him that Ingrid Prince was the one who said he should stay at the ranch. Robert Prince said she was creating distance, she didn’t want Conor to see her as a mother figure. She must have been getting vibes from him. Every time Conor Gorman has acted out... it was connected to Ingrid Prince. She’s his trigger.’

‘He’s obsessed with Ingrid Prince.’ They both said it at the same time.

‘Oh my God,’ said Ren. ‘She abandoned him today, too. She was supposed to pick him up. She didn’t show.’ Then something hit her. She could feel herself go cold. ‘Janine... Laura Flynn wanted to take him away from Ingrid Prince... and he didn’t want to go. He didn’t want to leave Ingrid. He killed Laura. It was Conor Gorman.’

Ren called Kohler and explained her theory.

‘We’ll put the ranch and the abbey on lockdown, and issue an alert. Any idea where he’s headed?’

‘We don’t know yet which car he’s taken,’ said Ren. ‘We’ve got someone here trying to work that out. We think he could be headed to the Princes’ rental in Golden.’

‘We’ll send someone there,’ said Kohler.

‘We’ll meet you there,’ said Ren.

Ren called Kristen Faule. ‘Did you hear back from Ingrid Prince?’

‘No,’ said Kristen. ‘I also tried Robert Prince, and had no luck.’

Shit. ‘If Ingrid arrives at the ranch or if she makes contact with you in any way, please go directly to one of the Sheriff’s Office investigators at the ranch. Do not try to contact the Princes yourself.’

‘OK,’ said Kristen. ‘OK.’

The panic in your voice. Your baby is under attack.

Janine’s phone started to ring. She picked up.

‘Detective Hooks? This is Casey from Ink Corp tattoo shop. That kid you were asking about that came in for the cat tattoo? He’s just been here. He wanted another tattoo — lettering this time. I told him the guy he needed for that wasn’t here, he wouldn’t be back for another half hour. He was so pissed.’

‘What lettering did he want?’ said Janine.

‘Uh... “Angry cats get scratched skin”... but in Swedish. Weird.’

‘Did you see where he went?’ said Janine.

‘No,’ said Casey. ‘But he was mad as hell.’

‘When did he leave?’ said Janine.

‘Right before I called you,’ said Casey. ‘I’m not sure about his mental state. And I thought I might have seen, like, blood on his neck. Like he had tried to wipe it away...’

‘Thank you for letting me know,’ said Janine.

She ended the call.

Ren and Janine sped toward the Princes’ rental.

‘His father abandoned him,’ said Ren, ‘his mother died, Laura’s gone. He’s been pushed over the edge.’

Ren phoned Ingrid Prince. She picked up. Hallelujah . ‘Mrs Prince, have you seen Conor today?’

‘No,’ said Ingrid. ‘I was to pick him up at the ranch this morning, but I’ve been tied up here at the house. Robert is going tomorrow instead when he gets back.’

‘We believe that you might be in danger,’ said Ren. ‘We’re on our way. Do not open the door to Conor Gorman. Lock yourself in.’

‘To Conor?’ said Ingrid. ‘Why not? Why isn’t he at the ranch?’

‘We think he’s very angry with you for not showing up today, Mrs Prince,’ said Ren. ‘We think he’s fixated on you. We believe that he killed Laura Flynn because she wanted to take him away from you. And we think you upset him too by not showing up today. Please, stay safe. We’re on our way.’

‘I don’t want to stay here, if he’s coming this way,’ said Ingrid. ‘What if he’s able to get in? I should go somewhere.’