Alex Barclay - The Drowning Child

‘So, what family member came?’ said Ren.

‘It was a friend, in fact,’ said Shannon. ‘Patti Ellis.’ She shook her head. ‘I’m so sorry. I’m sorry for coming in here like that today. Teddy obviously has no memory of any of this. She must have blocked the whole thing out. I’m a mess. I’m sorry. Who would want to hurt Aaron?’

‘We’re going to do our very best to find that out,’ said Ren. ‘But first, I have to ask you, why did you think Teddy might? I know what you’ve just told me, but why would you think Teddy would have reason to harm your son.’

Shannon flushed. ‘I—’

‘Are you and John having an affair?’ said Ren.

Shannon sat down on one of the kitchen chairs. Tears welled in her eyes. ‘Yes... we were.’

‘Let’s talk about this in my car,’ said Ren. ‘If you could wait outside, I just want to have a word with John.’

Shannon left. Ren called John into the hallway. ‘What did you say to Teddy?’

‘I told her it was about...’ He shrugged.

‘The affair,’ said Ren. ‘She knows?’

He nodded.

‘But she has no memory of what happened with Caleb when he was a baby,’ said Ren.

‘No,’ said John. ‘I wanted to protect her.’

‘I understand,’ said Ren. ‘For right now, I need to go speak with Shannon. But I will need you and Teddy to come into Tate PD this afternoon.’

Shannon Fuller was standing beside Ren’s car, her arms crossed, her head bowed. Ren walked over, unlocked the car, and they both got in.

‘So...’ said Ren. ‘You and John...’

‘Yes...’ said Shannon.

‘Is it ongoing?’

‘No... not really. It’s—’

‘Complicated...’ Ren smiled.

Shannon’s shoulders relaxed.

‘Tell me...’ said Ren.

‘Well, we met when I bought the resort,’ said Shannon. ‘We’d see each other every now and then. Everything I said to you about him is true – how kind he was, what a good guy. At that point, though, that’s all I thought. Then one day last summer, I ran into him in the store at Lister Creek – he was on his way home from work, I was on my way in to visit Seth. We got to talking...’

There is still such a sparkle in your eye for that man.

‘There was just... a connection,’ said Shannon. ‘Plus, he knew I was worried about Seth, and he sort of implied he’d look out for him, which I thought was really kind. Maybe that’s what it was... his compassion. I guess we don’t expect it in men who look so... tough.’ She sucked in a breath. ‘I know I should have stayed away from him.’

‘Life isn’t that simple, though, is it?’ said Ren.

‘No,’ said Shannon. ‘No.’

‘How did it progress from the meeting in the store into an affair?’ said Ren.

‘Well, we already had each other’s cell phone numbers,’ said Shannon, ‘but that evening after we met at Lister Creek – he texted me, checking if I got home OK after my visit. A couple of days later—’

‘When was this exactly?’ said Ren.

‘The end of July last year,’ said Shannon. ‘So a couple of days later, I asked him to come fix something at the bar... and it went from there... until Teddy found out in October. She was trying to hook up her phone to the Bluetooth printer at home and his second phone – he’d forgotten to power it off – showed up as an open device or whatever that’s called. She searched all over for it, and she found it in his sports bag. It was all there.’ She blushed again.

‘So, the “not really” part,’ said Ren. ‘I’m guessing it hasn’t really ended...’

‘We tried,’ said Shannon. ‘But it was just too hard. It started up again in December, ended in early January... and... when Aaron died, John was here to support me – emotionally. As a friend.’

‘Did Teddy know in December that it had started up again?’ said Ren.

‘Yes,’ said Shannon.

‘And nobody thought to mention this to us...’ said Ren.

‘I didn’t think it was my place,’ said Shannon. ‘Not when they’re going through this. I don’t want to add any more pain. And I didn’t see how it mattered. It’s over now.’

‘Did Seth know about it?’ said Ren.

‘Seth? No – he might have had his suspicions, but no. Why?’

‘What about Aaron or Caleb?’ said Ren. ‘Could they have known?’

Her eyes widened. She took her time to answer. ‘That never entered my head. No...?’

‘Your plant pots out front...’ said Ren.

Shannon had a resigned look on her face.

‘Someone trashed them?’ said Ren.

‘Yes.’

‘Teddy?’ said Ren.

Shannon nodded. ‘She showed up New Year’s Day, totally lost it.’

‘Was Aaron there?’ said Ren. ‘Did he see it?’

‘Yes,’ said Shannon. ‘But he didn’t know what it was about. I told him it was to do with the bar and money I still owed the Veirs. It was the first thing that came into my head.’

‘Did Teddy know that John was back offering you emotional support when Aaron died?’

‘Yes,’ said Shannon. ‘He decided to just come clean – he told Teddy I needed him, and that it wouldn’t feel right for him not to be there for me.’

‘How did she take that?’ said Ren.

‘He didn’t say,’ said Shannon. ‘And I didn’t ask.’

‘When you came here today,’ said Ren, ‘did you really think that Teddy Veir could have done something to harm Aaron?’

‘I know you’re expecting me to say “no”,’ said Shannon, ‘and that saying “no” is the right thing to say, but yes... yes, I did. And I’m not sure I feel any differently now.’ She paused. ‘You’ll look into it, won’t you?’

‘Yes,’ said Ren. ‘Of course.’

Shannon stared out the window. ‘Do you think it’s karma?’

The what now?

‘Bad things happening to both our sons...’ said Shannon, turning to her. ‘John and me. I mean... is God punishing us?’

‘No,’ said Ren. ‘No, no, no.’ Why would you even think that? ‘I don’t know why this had to happen,’ said Ren, ‘but it is not karma.’

‘But, wouldn’t you think it was karma if you did something shitty and someone you loved died?’

‘No,’ said Ren. ‘Now, if you’ll excuse me... I need to get back to the Veirs. Thank you for your time.’ She got out of the car. Shannon got out, and started to walk after her.

‘I’m sorry,’ said Shannon. ‘Did I say something to upset you?’

Ren kept walking.

Blink.

Blink.

Blink.

Back at Tate PD, Ren filled the team in on the Veirs and Shannon Fuller.

‘I’ve asked both the Veirs to come in later,’ said Ren. ‘After I spoke with Shannon, I went back in to ask them for a photo with the sleeping bag in it. Teddy was in pretty bad shape. We need to know more about her mental health from her doctors. The episode with Caleb as a baby, particularly as he was only a week old, would suggest post-partum psychosis to me. Does that make someone susceptible to future psychotic episodes? I don’t know.’

‘I can try speaking with her doctor,’ said Ruddock.

‘Is she taking any meds?’ said Ren.

‘Xanax for anxiety,’ said Ruddock.

‘I was thinking,’ said Ren, ‘if there was an affair between John Veir and Shannon Fuller, that brings up the possibility of blackmail. Not everyone would know that his wife already knows about it. If someone thought they could blackmail John Veir...’ She paused. ‘What about Merrifield? Could he have wanted John Veir’s help to escape? And something went wrong...’

‘How would Merrifield know that John Veir was having an affair?’ said Wiley.

Ren thought about it. ‘Seth Fuller? He’s a common denominator.’