Alex Barclay - Blood Loss

A flicker of something crossed his face.

Annoyance?

‘How long have you worked with them?’

‘Since 1989.’

‘And what do you do there exactly?’ said Ren.

‘I’m head of the Finance and Administration Department.’

‘And how are the finances of MeesterBrandt?’

Mark Whaley gave a wry smile. ‘Well, have you heard of the drug Ellerol?’

‘It’s new, isn’t it?’ said Ren. ‘I’ve seen the TV commercials.’

Eighteen seconds of dazzlingly positive effects, and twenty-two seconds of rapid-fire side-effect warnings. Guarantee: no guarantees.

‘It’s been on the market one year,’ said Mark. ‘And it’s already one of the top five revenue-producing drugs in the country.’

‘But … it’s an antipsychotic,’ said Ren. ‘In the top five?’

‘All of the top five are antipsychotics,’ said Mark.

Oh. My. God.

He looked like he had shocked people before with this information.

‘So,’ said Mark. ‘You can understand that success on that scale would create a lot of work.’

And misery, clearly.

‘And, obviously, it’s not our only drug,’ said Mark.

Ren nodded. ‘Are you happy at MeesterBrandt?’

‘Yes,’ said Mark. ‘Why are you asking these things?’

Ren didn’t reply. She stared.

‘I’m sorry if I’m sounding a little short,’ said Mark. ‘I just don’t see how this is relevant.’

‘I understand that,’ said Ren. ‘You want to get out there, you want to find your daughter. But I’m not wasting your time. Like I said, the more we know-’

There was a knock on the door, and Bob Gage leaned his head in. Ren followed him outside.

‘Beating a confession out of him?’ said Bob.

‘Only a matter of time,’ said Ren.

‘The ex-wife is outside,’ said Bob. ‘Laurie’s mother — Cathy Merritt. She was going crazy at security. I told them to let her through.’

‘We’ll take him out to meet her,’ said Ren. ‘Let the magic happen.’

‘You’re a twisted one,’ said Bob.

‘This could be a ransom situation,’ said Ren. ‘MeesterBrandt’s worth big bucks. Then — would they choose the CFO’s kid over the CEO’s?’

‘Does the CEO have kids?’ said Bob.

‘We shall find out,’ said Ren. ‘Did you know that the top five drugs in our fair land are antipsychotics?’

‘What?’ said Bob. ‘There are that many psychos out there?’

‘Keeping us in a job,’ said Ren.

‘We just need them to stop taking their meds,’ said Bob.

As Bob and Ren walked with Mark Whaley into the reception area, Cathy Merritt burst through the door from the foyer. She was a round, heavy-set woman with thick black hair that was still dotted with snowflakes. She had a full face and cheeks that were beaming their high color through a thick layer of foundation. She was dressed in a low-cut green velvet dress that had shunted her large breasts down to her waist and left a pale, flat expanse of chest behind. Her legs were plump, and covered in black panty-hose. Her feet were squeezed into a pair of black shiny Mary Janes.

Bob and Ren exchanged ‘nutjob’ glances.

Cathy Merritt lunged for Mark, slapping him hard on the chest and pushing against him. Despite her bulk, he didn’t move.

‘I knew it,’ she screamed. ‘I knew it. What have you done? That judge! What have you done to Laurie? I heard this from a hotel receptionist!’ she said. ‘That’s how I heard my daughter had gone missing. I tried your cell, I tried Laurie’s, I got nothing, I called the hotel, and they told me all hell has broken loose, a child has gone missing. My child! That’s how I hear it! What have you done to her?’

‘What have I done to her?’ said Mark. ‘Are you insane? Nothing! We came back from dinner … she was gone. I had checked on her!’

‘You went for dinner?’ said Cathy. ‘You left her in the room alone?’

‘Don’t be ridiculous,’ said Mark. ‘She was not alone. Leo was there. And we had a sitter.’

‘Oh, you left her with a three-year-old and a stranger!’ said Cathy. ‘Well, then!’

‘As if you’ve never left her with a sitter,’ said Mark.

‘Sitters I know!’ said Cathy. ‘Not strangers. Who was this person?’

‘She works for the hotel. She’s a high school student …’

‘Why were you even getting a sitter?’ said Cathy. ‘You were taking Laurie away for the first time in years!’

‘I … I … we watched a movie together, she was going to bed in a little while … I didn’t think going to dinner … we’re in Breck, for crying out loud, it’s not like we’re in a war zone. We were going downstairs for a couple of hours. We could just as easily have been doing that at home.’

‘So, strangers can just walk in and out of your house, no problem?’ said Cathy. ‘And was it a couple of hours? Really?’ She pushed him again. ‘You know what? On the drive here, I’m thinking “once a worthless piece of shit, always a worthless piece of shit”. You haven’t changed one bit.’

She turned to Bob and Ren, and stabbed a finger at them, then at her ex-husband. ‘Watch this guy,’ she said. ‘He is a liar, an alcoholic, and …’ she turned to Mark, ‘you’re a loser!’ Her eyes darted back to Bob to Ren. ‘A loser. Save yourself the time it took me to figure that out.’

Erica Whaley appeared from the hallway where the rest rooms were. The female detective alongside her was reaching out to stop her from getting any closer to Cathy Merritt. But Erica shouted from where she stood, ‘Mark is not a liar. You don’t know him! You haven’t known him for years. He has a new life now.’

‘God help you,’ said Cathy. ‘You seem like a good person, Erica. And Laurie adores you, but … how, how can you be with this …’ She looked at Mark with years-long disgust.

‘He is a wonderful husband, and a wonderful father,’ said Erica.

Mark shook his head. ‘Don’t Erica …’

‘No,’ said Erica. ‘I can’t listen to this. I can’t, honey. And I’m not having the FBI, and the Sheriff, and everyone else listening to it either. From the day I met you, you have loved me, cared for me, provided for me and the children, not done one thing to hurt us. Not one thing.’ She turned to Cathy. ‘I’m sorry, Cathy, but he is not the man you married.’

‘Well, you know something?’ said Cathy. ‘I’m not the woman he married! Because he wore me down. Your wonderful husband nearly destroyed me and he nearly destroyed our daughter-’

‘Destroyed?’ said Mark.

‘We were driving around in the middle of the night dragging you out of dives. Laurie was only a baby!’ She turned to Erica. ‘There’s your wonderful husband! The man, hanging over the toilet bowl, after a night of hard drinking? Wetting the bed? There’s your wonderful husband!’

Who’d have thought?

Ren watched, mute, as the conversation unfolded. You nasty, nasty woman. Ren had pressed her elbow against Bob to keep him from intervening.

Wait for those wonderful things that are revealed in anger.

The door had opened behind Cathy Merritt, and Gary Dettling walked in with Robbie, Cliff and Colin. They stopped at ‘wetting the bed’.

Ren gave the briefest acknowledgment of their arrival, but quickly turned back to Cathy Merritt, whose voice was riding high on hysteria.

She was shouting, ‘Oh, puh-lease, the “people change” bullshit. Look where it’s gotten you. Seriously. Look!’ She poked a finger toward Ren and Bob. ‘What happened to my baby? I knew this was going to happen. I knew it.’

Mark snapped. ‘You knew this would happen? Don’t be ridiculous! You knew this would happen? You’re trying to tell me you were so worried about tonight that you — what? Where were you tonight?’