Alex Barclay - The Drowning Child

‘And there’s Seth’s “interest” in Caleb,’ said Ruddock. ‘Plus, if Seth has Caleb’s trust, too, that could make it easy for him to lure Caleb somewhere.’

‘What is the word on Merrifield?’ said Ren.

‘No leads,’ said Ruddock. ‘It’s like he vanished into thin air.’

‘Another thing occurred to me after talking to Shannon Fuller,’ said Ren. ‘She mentioned running into John Veir at Lister Creek rest area. I’m wondering if it’s somewhere he stops regularly. Did anyone call in video from the store there for Monday?

‘I can do that,’ said Wiley.

Why do I not trust anything you do?

‘He may not have gone inside the store,’ said Ren. ‘I think he went into the gas station for our benefit, hoping we would assume he wouldn’t make a second stop on the way to work.’

‘We’ll put a piece in the Marion County Gazette and the Salem Journal about items we want the public to look out for,’ said Ruddock. ‘We’ll include photos of the sleeping bag, the clothes Caleb was wearing, the suitcase, his school knapsack...’

‘We also got a photo of John and Teddy Veir standing in their driveway – maybe their cars will jog someone’s memory,’ said Wiley.

Ren nodded. ‘We also need to see if we can establish a connection between Aaron and Caleb – maybe there’s something we’ve missed.’

‘Plus,’ said Paul, ‘if this bruise was caused by him falling or someone striking him, most of his final hours were spent at the middle school dance – we need to check if anything happened there.’

‘I can go back and talk to Caleb’s teacher,’ said Sylvie. ‘Make it clear to teachers and parents that if they have information, it’s crucial they speak up, that they won’t get in trouble.’

A young officer stuck his head in the door. ‘The Veirs are here, Chief.’

Ren turned to Ruddock. ‘Can you and I take John?’

Ruddock nodded.

Gary said, ‘Wiley – how about you and I speak with the mom?’

John Veir looked like he had been crying.

I don’t know what to feel about you. I have no idea who you are.

‘John,’ said Ren, ‘can you talk us through what happened with Teddy and Caleb?’

‘I was in Iraq when Caleb was born,’ said John. ‘Teddy got post-partum psychosis when Caleb was only a week old. I got a call from her friend, Patti, saying that Teddy had to be hospitalized. Patti said she would take care of Caleb, that she’d move into our house, so he was in familiar surroundings and he would be comfortable. Patti’s a really kind lady.’ He paused. ‘She didn’t tell me at the time what had happened at the creek. She didn’t want to distress me while I was so far away, but she did tell me as soon as I got back. I went and spoke with Teddy’s doctors. We figured it was best not to tell her what happened.’

‘So Teddy was hospitalized...’ said Ren.

‘Yes, and put on medication,’ said John. ‘She was in and out of psychiatric care for several years after that. And I was redeployed at different points during that time. But what happened that day was a one-off event, the doctors explained everything – that’s not who Teddy was.’

‘I understand,’ said Ren.

‘I can’t believe that Shannon connected that with what happened to Aaron – I thought she’d have more compassion.’

‘Well, it’s safe to say that Shannon isn’t exactly thinking straight herself at the moment,’ said Ren. ‘Her entire world has been turned upside down. She’s suffered a tragedy – she probably thought it couldn’t get any worse than losing her only child, and then she finds out yes, yes it could.’

John nodded. ‘I guess so.’

Ren looked at her notes from Sylvie Ross’s interviews. ‘John, we heard that there’s been some tension between Teddy and Caleb recently. Neither you nor Teddy mentioned that to us when we spoke with you before. Were you unaware of that?’

John shrugged. ‘No – not really. It just seemed like a hurtful thing to say in the middle of all this, when she is so devastated. To be honest, I didn’t think it was relevant. I know Teddy wouldn’t hurt a fly. And none of this has anything to do with me and Shannon. Besides, I don’t believe Caleb would have run away from home. I know that for absolute sure.’ He started to cry.

This is a shitshow.

Everyone reconvened at the command center to swap notes on their interviews with the Veirs.

‘Teddy Veir admitted to the meltdown at The Crow Bar,’ said Gary. ‘She backed up what Shannon already told you, Ren. I also asked her whether she’d told anyone else about the affair, and she said no.’

‘Sounds to me like the anger was specific to the circumstances,’ said Ruddock.

Ren shrugged. ‘Unless she’s one of those people who’s prone to explosive rage.’

‘Do you think she might have done something to Caleb?’ said Ruddock.

‘It’s a possibility,’ said Ren. ‘She clearly has a temper, but... exceptional circumstances. Though maybe she did lose it with Caleb, and that’s why the Veirs seem like they’re lying? Maybe John is protecting her.’ She shrugged.

Sylvie came into the office.

‘OK – I just spoke with Caleb’s teacher again,’ she said. ‘Caleb told one of his friends back in December that he was getting a PlayStation for Christmas – apparently he found it in the garage. Only – here’s the weird part – he was never given it. So someone bought it for him, then changed their mind. Or someone bought a PlayStation that wasn’t intended for Caleb and stored it in the Veirs’ garage...’

‘Imagine his little face on Christmas morning,’ said Ren. ‘Who would do that to a child?’

Sylvie looked at her patiently. ‘John or Teddy Veir, obviously.’

Ren stood up. ‘Are they still here?’ She didn’t wait for an answer. She ran out to reception. John and Teddy were just about to leave. They turned when they heard their names.

‘One of Caleb’s friends said that Caleb found a PlayStation in the garage before Christmas,’ said Ren. ‘Do you know anything about that?’

Bing: John Veir does.

‘No,’ said John. ‘Really?’

‘I don’t know anything about that,’ said Teddy. ‘John is the one who takes care of those kind of gifts. But we hadn’t planned on getting Caleb one.’ She turned to John. ‘You didn’t change your mind about that, did you?’

‘No,’ said John. ‘I did tell Caleb if he behaved better – consistently – that I would buy him one. He had gotten a little disrespectful, he was creating tension in the house. He’s our son, we love him, but I couldn’t tolerate that kind of behavior.’

‘Tolerate is a strong word,’ said Ren. ‘How bad had it gotten?’

‘Maybe I expect too much,’ said John. ‘Maybe I should “tolerate” more.’

Teddy raised her eyebrows.

‘I have high expectations of Caleb,’ said John.

‘We both do,’ said Teddy.

‘If he didn’t live up to them,’ said John, ‘there had to be consequences. So he knew it wasn’t a promise or, at least, that it was conditional: if these conditions are met, you will get a gift or permission to go somewhere or whatever it was he wanted at that time.’ He paused. ‘So the only thing I can think of is that either his friend was lying when he said that, or that Caleb was lying to his friend.’

‘Did Caleb have a habit of lying?’ said Ren.

‘No,’ said Teddy.

‘No,’ said John a few beats later.

‘So, Teddy,’ said Ren, ‘you definitely know nothing about this...’

‘No, nothing,’ said Teddy.

‘I’m asking because we were also told that there was a change in your relationship with Caleb after Christmas,’ said Ren. ‘That maybe things had gotten a little more...’ God, I hate doing this . This poor woman . ‘… difficult?’