by Rick Mofina
“Ever since the boy disappeared, it’s been eating at me,” Tate said. “I want my attorney here, but I got nothing to hide.”
“That’s wonderful.”
“I’ll answer any question you’ve got with the truth.”
“Terrific, so what did you hope to get out of a relationship with Faith?”
“I thought we had a future together. She was my chance to start a new life. I was living in a dark place. I was messed up from the war, from my divorce.”
“You were counting on Faith Hudson to help you climb out of your personal hell?”
“You could say that,” Tate said. “I had strong feelings for her.”
“Did you ever meet her son, Gage Hudson?”
“No.”
“Did you and Faith ever discuss her leaving Cal and getting custody of Gage? Was that a factor in your hope for the relationship, a part of the plan, Roy?”
“It was discussed. I said I’d do whatever she wanted me to do to help her get on with her life.”
“So you felt you were on track to have a new life with Faith and Gage, a new life that you desperately needed?”
“Yes.”
“Things were looking up for you—you had hope, isn’t that true?”
“Yes, that’s true.”
“Until Faith had a change of heart, realizing that she wanted to stay in her marriage and work things out. So she broke it off with you. She took away that hope, leaving you alone to deal with your issues, didn’t she?”
Tate swallowed hard and said nothing.
“It hurt when she ended it, didn’t it, Roy?”
Tate glared at Malko, his eyes burning at him for ripping open his wounds. “It hurt.”
“I’m sure,” Malko continued. “Of all the horrors and pain you’ve endured, this was another knife in your heart, wasn’t it?”
“It hurt, that’s the truth. What do you want me to say?”
“You were angry at Faith for hurting you, for giving you hope, then taking it away?”
“I was angry.”
“Who could blame you, Roy? All your adult life you gave it your all and still people wanted to hurt you. You gave everything to your country and you were captured and tortured. You came home and your wife couldn’t understand and divorced you. You find Faith, a woman alone, like you, and she helps pull you out of your abyss, then—” Malko suddenly smacked his hands together with a loud crack “—that bitch lets go of the rope and you fall back into hell.”
Tate’s eyes brimmed with tears.
“Did you want to hurt her, Roy? Did you entertain getting back at her?”
“I advise you not to answer,” Slotter said.
“I was hurting,” Tate said.
“Yes, you were hurting badly and then two months after Faith Hudson destroys your world, her son disappears.”
Malko let that statement hang in the air before resuming.
“And we find that you’re an expert in keeping secrets and helping people disappear, a person with knowledge and expertise in security at the fairgrounds and with the midway attractions. We find that you were at the location where Gage Hudson disappeared within the time frame he disappeared. We find a lock and chain that Cal bought in your residence with Gage’s DNA and your fingerprints on it. All the dots are connecting.”
Marsh set out the photos again.
“You’ve seen these, Roy. We’ll make copies for Mitchell.”
Slotter studied them, then said, “This is weak evidence wrapped in a lot of circumstance, Agent Malko.”
“I was not involved,” Tate said.
“How did the lock and chain get to your garage?”
Tate took in a long breath and let it out slowly.
“After Faith ended it, I went to her home when I knew she’d be alone to ask her to reconsider. I told her that she was just nervous about starting a new chapter and that I would help her get custody, help her move, help her get on with her life, whatever she needed.
“I told her that I needed her, that she filled a painful void and with her I felt whole again. I needed her to hang on to my sanity so I could start over. But she was afraid and very uneasy that I’d shown up at her home, fearful Cal, Gage or a neighbor might come upon me being there.”
“What was the outcome and how does it relate to the lock and chain?”
“Faith rejected me again, only this time she was colder about it. It was as if her being at home had somehow made her a different person than when we were alone together. I felt like she was pushing me over the edge of the earth. I was angry. When I left I called her a selfish, whoring bitch.”
“And the lock and chain?”
“I went out through the garage. I wanted to put my fist through something, and I know this will sound stupid, but that day I needed to buy a chain—I was going to help a friend tow a car—so when I saw the lock and chain in the garage I stole it on my way out. I thought about using it to trash Faith’s car, but instead I just left. It was hanging from a bicycle, likely Gage’s, which is why it might’ve had his DNA. Maybe he scraped a knuckle and bled on it, how would I know?”
“Let me get this straight. You’re reeling with anger, you want to hit something...so you stole the chain from the garage?”
“Yes.”
“Your accounting for the chain seems weak.”
“It’s true. I just grabbed the damned thing. I was going to buy one, so hell, I thought, I’ll just take this. It was a stupid spur-of-the-moment impulse.”
“Sounds like a far-fetched story you’re feeding us on how the chain got to your place.”
“It’s the truth. And the reason I went to the fairgrounds is because I saw the alert and went down to see what I could do to help, behind the scenes, given that I’d worked there and I knew Faith.”
“Quite a tale, Roy,” Malko said. “Do you know what Gage was wearing when he disappeared?”
Tate scratched his stubble thoughtfully.
“From the description issued, I think a Cubs T-shirt, shorts, sneakers.”
“And a Cubs ball cap.”
“Right, a ball cap.”
“Like this one.” Malko removed new photos from the folder, setting them before Tate. “We found this in a box marked Goodwill, wrapped in a jacket, as if someone had intended to hide it.” Malko tapped the photos. “This is exactly like the blue, youth-size adjustable cap that Gage was wearing when he disappeared. How did you obtain this hat, Roy?”
Surprise and what seemed like dismay dawned on Tate’s face but he said nothing.
“You’re not going to tell us how the cap got there?” Malko asked.
“Are you telling me that’s Gage’s cap?” Tate said.
“We’re testing it for DNA, Roy.”
“You won’t find any.”
Malko stood and leaned over the desk and closer to Tate.
“You were prepared to help Faith disappear with Gage, but when she rejected you, you exacted vengeance, didn’t you?”
Malko met Tate’s stare but said nothing.
“Or is the breakup just a story you and Faith worked out to cover for the plan to abduct her son and disappear together?”
Tate continued staring at Malko.
“Ultra-Fun’s records show that Sidney Griner and Alma McCain were employees during the period you were a security consultant.”
“So?”
“They were working in key areas of the Chambers when the Hudsons reported Gage missing. It’s possible that you could’ve arranged for them to help you, or someone entered and left the Chambers with Gage unseen and unrecorded.”
Tate shook his head. “I’m not involved.”
Malko’s gaze telegraphed strong doubts as he continued.
“Is Beth Gibson involved?”
Tate said nothing as
Malko pulled in even closer and whispered. “Now’s the time to tell us—where’s Gage Hudson, Roy?”
48
Cal waited alone in Interview Room 402, his mind boiling with confusion and fear.
Why did Malko and Marsh pull him away from the other agents to wait here for more questions?
Something big was unfolding around him, but no one would tell him a damned thing. They’d left him to stare at the cinder-block walls, his thoughts jumping from having seen a man who was vaguely familiar taken by in handcuffs, to seeing Faith being escorted past his room.
Why did they bring them in? Why were they keeping Cal here and not letting him talk to Faith? There must be a break in the case.
Cal’s attempt to deduce what that break might be was futile and as minutes swept by his focus veered to the FBI’s scrutiny of some of his darkest stories. He analyzed the reason for his reaction to the ones they’d cited.
Maybe he’d appeared too quick to dismiss them but he couldn’t let them dig into those stories—one of them in particular. And if they found out who Beth Gibson was, and how she was connected, he would be finished. Why was she haunting him and raising the specter of what they did? It had nothing to do with Gage.
Cal paused, thinking over that last assertion. His breathing quickened with a chilling fear.
That story can’t possibly be tied to Gage. No, there’s no chance. How could it be? Cal’s anxiety careened around the stark, cold room, taking him back to the man in handcuffs. Who was that guy? What did he have to do with the case?
The door opened with Malko and Marsh entering the room.
“Why’s Faith here? Can I talk to her?” Cal said.
He tried reading their sober faces as they positioned chairs and sat.
“There’ve been developments,” Malko said.
“Is it Gage? Did you find him?”
“No.”
“Where’s Faith? I want to talk to her.”
“We’ll get to her,” Malko said. “First, you need to start telling us the truth.”
“What do you mean?”
“You and Faith failed your polygraphs.”
Cal’s face reddened. “Come on. We know how reliable those things are,” he said.
“Our guy’s track record is nearly perfect, so no more bullshit, Cal.” Malko’s eyes flicked to Marsh, who was working on her phone. “We want you to look at something.”
Marsh cued up a video clip, which she turned to Cal. It showed the man Cal had seen earlier in cuffs. He was sitting alone in an interview room.
“Do you know who this is, Cal?”
“He looks familiar. I think I met him...it was at the Christmas party last year, that’s it. I think he’s a cop and his name is Tucker or Taylor.”
“Tate. Roy Tate.”
“Yes, that’s it,” Cal said. “So what’s he got to do with anything?”
“What can you tell us about him?”
“Not much. I only vaguely remember meeting him at a police and press party. I never worked with him. Wait. Roy Tate. Yeah, now that I remember, he’s with the US Marshals Service. I don’t really know the guy. Why’re you asking me?”
“Are you sure that’s all you can tell us?”
“Yes, why?”
A long moment passed, then Malko leaned forward and looked Cal in the eye.
“Your wife’s been having an affair with him.”
Cal’s attention shot from Malko to Marsh and back as if this were a sick joke.
“Is this some sort of strategy?” he said.
“No.”
“Faith and I have had serious problems but this is a lie.”
“It’s the truth. She’s admitted it to us.”
“I don’t believe you. It’s some kind of mind game you’re playing, part of a cruel plan.”
Marsh worked her phone, calling up another video clip for Cal. In this one Faith was in tears confessing to the cinder-block walls.
“I was having an affair with Roy Tate... I felt invisible until Roy came along. He was alone. I was alone...we found each other and things just fit for both of us. It felt good and it helped for a while. Roy was like medicine I needed...”
Cal felt the room spin. Faith’s admission was like a sledgehammer to his gut.
It couldn’t be true.
The agents allowed him time as he sat there staring at nothing, his heart breaking under the crushing devastation.
How could he be so stupid? Of course it was true. Faith wanted a separation; she’d circled an ad for a divorce lawyer...she was ready to give up on them.
Absorbing the blow, Cal’s mind retreated over time to when he’d first met Faith, to their first date, falling in love, their wedding day, their honeymoon and Gage’s birth, Gage’s childhood, to his disappearance, to this moment—this torment.
How could she betray him? Betray Gage? How could she do this?
With his life in flames Cal battled to process the revelation. Faith’s words echoed in his soul, spearing him again and again with the truth: he was not entirely blameless. He’d sown the seeds for this. He was never there for Faith because he’d become consumed with work, with setting things right to relieve the guilt he felt over things he’d done...
“Cal?” Malko pulled him from his thoughts. “Do you accept that Faith’s affair with Tate is a fact?”
Cal took in a long breath, wiped at his tears and nodded.
“Brace yourself, there’s more.”
“More?”
“It gets worse. We have reason to suspect Faith and Tate are involved in Gage’s disappearance.”
His heart skipped a beat. “I can’t believe this—”
“We found the missing chain and lock, with Gage’s DNA and Faith’s and Tate’s prints on it, in Tate’s residence in Rogers Park.”
Cal stared at Malko in disbelief.
“We also found a ball cap identical to Gage’s hidden there, as well, that we are currently processing for DNA.”
Cal started shaking his head.
“Tate worked with the US Marshals Witness Security Program. He’s an expert at ensuring people disappear. He also worked with the River Ridge Fairgrounds as a security consultant. They may have had others assist them.”
Cal said nothing.
“Is there anything you know that might help us?”
“I—I don’t know anything...this is too much...” He stopped. “What about the carnies?”
“We’re looking hard at them. Is it possible this Beth Gibson is involved?”
Cal swallowed hard, shook his head.
“I doubt it. I told you—she’s a stranger who called to wish us well.”
“The circumstances under which she called are very suspect, Cal. We’re not ruling out any other possibilities but at this point we think Faith and Tate are behind your son’s disappearance.”
Dragging both shaking hands over his face Cal withdrew into his thoughts and fears, struggling against a current of shock and disbelief.
It made no sense. Why would Faith do such a thing? She could easily get custody in a divorce. But she’s smart, so smart. No, he couldn’t believe it—but he’d hurt her, abandoned her, forced her to turn to another man.
But if Faith did do this, then there’s a good chance Gage was still alive—he has to be alive.
Cal shook his head, unable to find a thread of thought.
What if Malko and the FBI have got it all wrong? What if it was someone else? In which case, time was ticking down on Gage’s life.
49
Two hours after Malko and Marsh had talked to Cal they’d gathered with other investigators for a call on the case against Faith Hudson and Roy Tate and the potential for charging them with kidnapping.
River Ridge detectives Rachel Price, Leon Lang and Lieuten
ant Tony Sosa, their supervisor, were with them in the closed-door office for the call.
On the line was Melissa Miller, assistant special agent-in-charge of the FBI’s Chicago office, Bennett Boyle with the Cook County State’s Attorney, and Earl Luckett with US Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois. Both jurisdictions were involved because no one yet knew where the case would land.
Everyone had read through the report Malko had distributed earlier.
Malko started the call. “I think we’re building a solid foundation for a strong case.”
“I wouldn’t say strong.” Boyle could be heard flipping through pages. He was one of the state’s most experienced prosecutors. “What’s your take, Earl?”
Earl Luckett, a veteran of trials involving violent street gangs, corruption, terrorism and kidnappings, was legendary in Chicago.
“I don’t think this is solid enough, Tibor. Where’re you headed here?”
“We’re looking at the emerging picture. Everything points to Faith Hudson and Roy Tate, her unhappiness in the marriage, her affair, his expertise and the physical evidence.”
“You’re talking about the lock, the chain and the ball cap?” Boyle asked.
“Yes. It’s all very damning.”
“How? How you can link the purchase of the lock and chain—and the subsequent discovery—to Faith, Tate or anyone’s involvement in Gage’s kidnapping?”
“Look at the context. It’s where they were bought and where they were found. We’ve found Tate’s prints and Gage’s DNA on them. They could’ve been used to restrain Gage.”
“Not really,” Luckett said. “They were in the family’s possession and Tate admits to stealing them. The prints and DNA are all plausible, defensible.”
“Why are you fixated on that lock and chain?” Boyle asked. “What proof is there connecting it to Gage Hudson’s disappearance?”
“Again, it’s in the context of its purchase, that it was bought at the same strip mall with a Dumpster where we found Gage’s shoe.”
“But how can you tie the shoe to all of this? You didn’t find the chain affixed to the shoe,” Boyle said. “The lock and chain are not strong pieces of evidence in my book.”