by Dana Moss
Lucy said, “That’s a blessing to us all.”
Maria carried her files to her office, and Taffy followed her.
She shut the office door behind them and turned to face Maria.
“Please, please, explain this to me. We have him out there. We can nail him for something, can’t we?”
Maria put down the files she was carrying. She opened one and pulled out a piece of paper.
“Marshmallow Reds.”
“Excuse me?” Maria handed the paper to Taffy.
“That’s the street name for one of the barbiturates identified in Tyler’s toxicology report.”
She pointed to one of the lines on the page, but Taffy couldn’t decipher any of it.
“There’s another generic type of sleeping pill as well. Plus the alcohol and a few other things. A real cocktail.”
“It’s what killed him?”
“Put him into a coma until he stopped breathing.”
“And yet you think Rex had nothing to do with it?”
“Apart from their altercation on the night in question, no, I don’t think he did. I think it was suicide, Taffy, plain and simple. The dealer Lucy tracked down in Eugene identified someone who fit Tyler’s description who bought the pills matching that report, but he didn’t recognize a photo of Rex.”
Taffy knew she shouldn’t be disappointed, but she was. Why couldn’t she shake her hunch that Rex had played some key role in Tyler’s demise?
“So who’s this dealer?”
Maria checked her notes. “Known as Tug. Often hangs out at a bar called the Lame Duck.”
That name rang a bell. Taffy scoured her memory. Where had she heard it before?
“In Rex’s backpack. In his locker! He had a business card from that bar in his locker. That ties him to the dealer! Maybe Rex paid him off to not say anything?”
Maria started shaking her head. “I’m not sure—”
“But I know Monica lied for Rex, saying he was in her tent when they were camping, but he probably set Tyler adrift in the canoe to make it look like a suicide!”
“But why? That’s the part I can’t figure out. With all he’s got to lose, what would possess him to get rid of Tyler?”
“Jenny.”
Maria sat down in her chair. “I’m still not convinced.”
“So maybe Rex just wanted to hurt Tyler, scare him maybe? And the threat went farther than anticipated. A strung-out night and bad hangover led to an unintended overdose. Of course, Rex would have to cover it up. With all he’s got to lose.”
Maria pushed her papers around on her desk, not meeting Taffy’s gaze. “I could ask Lucy or Malcolm to talk to the dealer again, but… Look, the bottom line is, Rex is going to just get his hand slapped about the drugs and a reprimand about the vandalism. His family will discipline him. The school won’t kick him out. He’ll still be eligible for his scholarship. There’s not a straightforward charge for this situation, and a defender will argue and likely prove that Tyler was suicidal. The emails Todd shared with us support that. The high dose of sleeping pills and other drugs and alcohol he took do, too. At minimum, it will be easy to prove reasonable doubt that Rex provoked or caused the suicide attempt. One boy’s life is ruined, destroyed. What’s the point in ruining another boy’s life?”
“That last line is the chief’s or the mayor’s. I can’t believe you’d say something like that, Maria.”
She sighed. “You take it all too personally, Taffy. This is just the way the cookie crumbles sometimes.”
“Crumbling cookies is my department. Cookies and candy. Marshmallows and gumdrops.” Taffy’s shoulders drooped as she sat down in the chair across from Maria’s desk. “So that’s it? Case closed?”
“Pretty much. The last thing I’d like to do is confirm where he might have picked up those sleeping pills. But I’ve got a good hunch.”
Taffy raised an expectant eyebrow.
“Remember that first day we interviewed Noel, when he said Shannon was asleep in the guest room? He said she needed pills to sleep.”
“You think Tyler took his mom’s sleeping pills?”
“I’m going to the Blue Bird to talk to her before she leaves town.”
“Can I come?”
“I guess. But I thought maybe you’d be busy with a yoga class with Cara or something. You two have been so chummy lately.”
Taffy felt a pang of guilt. And not just about her new friendship with Cara.
She realized she couldn’t keep the Bradford family secrets anymore.
“Wait, Maria. Before we go, there are some other things I need to tell you.”
Taffy convinced Maria to take off her coat and sit down again.
“You might want to pull out your notebook.”
Maria raised an eyebrow as she reached into the pocket of her jacket, which she’d slung over the back of her chair.
Taffy cleared her throat. “So. Well. Cara’s pregnant.’
Maria raised her eyebrow higher.
“The baby can’t be Noel’s because he had a vasectomy.”
Maria stuck her pencil in her teeth and started chewing.
“And Noel and Shannon have been having an affair.”
Maria grimaced. She took the pencil out of her mouth and pointed it at Taffy. “And you know all this how? Don’t tell me they’re hunches, or I will throw this pencil at your eye.”
“All true. All from the original source. Except for the affair, but I can’t betray my source for that one.”
“You’ve got some little bird whispering in your ear? Never mind, doesn’t matter. And you’ve known all this since… when?”
Her pencil scribbled in her notebook. When Taffy didn’t answer immediately, Maria looked up.
“Taff?”
“I guess I’ve known some of it for a few days.”
“And you didn’t tell me?”
“Cara’s secret wasn’t mine to tell!”
Maria let that sink in. Taffy went on.
“And I only spoke to Noel yesterday, and Cara doesn’t even know about the vasectomy, so she thinks Noel is going to be all excited, but she doesn’t know about Shannon either, and that’s going to make her want to kill him.”
“No more killing on my watch.”
“You know what I mean. And if Noel isn’t the father of Cara’s child, who is? She obviously didn’t tell me the whole truth—”
“Seems she’s not the only one,” Maria said, leaning back in her chair and staring up at the ceiling.
Taffy sighed. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to keep things from you.”
Maria shrugged. “I guess it doesn’t matter. Everything you just told me makes an even stronger argument for suicide.”
“How so? Tyler probably didn’t know any of that.”
“Maybe not. Or maybe he knew about all of it and couldn’t stand to be part of such a messed-up family anymore.” Maria sat forward in her chair and leveled her gaze at Taffy. “Maybe you should find out who got Cara pregnant.”
“She won’t tell me. She really seems to believe it’s Noel’s.”
“Maybe you should find out if it was Tyler.”
Taffy’s breath caught. “You can’t be seri—”
“That family’s pretty messed up from what you’re telling me.”
“No, she wouldn’t …” Or would she? Taffy thought about Cara’s irrational criticism of Jenny, the difficult relationship between her and Tyler, Noel being oblivious and rather preoccupied, and Tyler’s depression. “She said Noel didn’t consult her when Tyler moved in with them. Like she didn’t want him to be there.”
“Maybe she knew what she was capable of.”
Taffy shook her head. “I just don’t believe it. She loves Noel. She wants to have his baby.”
“And what lengths would she go to to have it?” Maria shook her head too. “I guess that’s the last thing you want to think about your new BFF.”
Taffy blinked. “She’s not my best friend. You are.”
>
Maria slipped her coat back on. “If you say so.”
“Look, I’m really sorry I didn’t tell you right away.”
“Friends are supposed to tell each other the truth, aren’t they?”
Taffy nodded.
“Then get Cara to tell you who that baby’s father is.”
Maria tucked her notebook back into her jacket pocket. “I’ve got to go to the Blue Bird.”
“I want to come.”
“What about your precious Cara?”
Taffy frowned. “I’ll go see her after.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
They drove to the Blue Bird in Maria’s unmarked cruiser.
Taffy was quiet most of the way. She knew she’d been wrong to keep secrets from Maria, especially ones that could impact the investigation. But what Maria had suggested about Tyler and Cara was too farfetched. Taffy couldn’t believe it. And yet it niggled at her along with her other doubts.
Her phone buzzed with several texts in a row.
Maria glanced over. “Cara?”
“No. Ellie.” She sent back a message to say she was running late.
They drove in silence for a few more minutes until Maria said, “When this investigation is all over, do you think you’ll be able to let it go?”
“I don’t suppose I have a choice in the matter.”
“Hey, at least there’s an upside.” Maria tapped the steering wheel. “If we wrap up this case, we can go camping this weekend after all.”
Taffy crossed her arms. “Sounds like a good reason to keep the case going.”
“Don’t tell me that’s been your motive all along?”
Taffy smiled. “Now that you mention it.”
“I’ve come ’round to the idea myself.” Maria made a right turn on Hanes Avenue. “You bring the marshmallows, I’ll whittle us some sticks.”
“I’m not sure if there should be any eye-poking utensils anywhere within my reach.”
“Oh, come on, Taff. Be a sport.”
“Fine.” Taffy sighed. “So long as our next double date is an auction at Christie’s.”
Maria groaned.
At the Blue Bird, Mrs. Hawthorne showed them into the library. Taffy asked if Monica was working. Mrs. Hawthorne nodded. “She’s just doing the laundry.”
While they waited for Shannon to come down from her room, Maria said, “She was the little bird whispering in your ear, wasn’t she?”
“I can’t say.”
“Since when have you cared about her?”
Taffy sighed. “Since I saw her mother dying of lung cancer at the hospital.”
“Ouch.”
“No dad around. Might just end up being her and her sister, Carlie. And now she’s experimenting with drugs…”
“Is that why you want to nail Rex so badly?”
“Maybe. And I think he reminds me of someone.”
“Someone you wanted to see punished?”
Taffy nodded. “An old boyfriend from high school.”
Maria chuckled. “What did he do? Spill a beer in your car?”
Taffy glanced out the blue-curtained window. “Something like that.”
When Shannon joined them, Maria asked to see her sleeping pill prescription. Shannon gave her a quizzical look but unhesitatingly retrieved the pill bottle from her room. On her return, she handed the bottle to Maria, who looked closely at the label. Maria glanced at Taffy in such a way that seemed to confirm her suspicions.
She looked back at the bottle and then up at Shannon. “But these are from Abandon Health, the local pharmacy?”
Shannon nodded. “Before I left, I couldn’t find mine at home. I had to leave so fast, I didn’t have time to look everywhere. On the road, I called my doctor and told him to forward my prescription to the pharmacy here.”
“Your bottle at home was missing?” Taffy watched Maria nod her head as if the puzzle pieces were starting to fit together.
“I don’t know about missing. I just couldn’t find it that day. I’d taken a pill two nights before, so I knew they were around.”
“Two nights before. So you didn’t take one Sunday night?”
She shook her head. “I was out with friends, and we were drinking wine. I never mix the two.”
“Because it could be fatal?”
“Not with just one pill, of course, but I’d rather be safe than sorry. If it’s wine one night, then it’s no pills, and vice versa.”
“Did Tyler know not to mix the two?”
“Doesn’t everybody know that?” Shannon blinked.
“Most people know, yes, which is why some people choose to combine the two, in larger doses, when attempting suicide.”
“Wait, what are you saying?”
“We got the toxicology report back. Tyler’s death was a suicide, Mrs. Bradford. I’m really sorry.”
Shannon sat down, shock forcing her to draw her limbs close and making her look small as she perched on the Queen Anne chair. “Not my Tyler,” she murmured. Her eyes were downcast as she processed the conclusion. Then she looked up at Maria.
“But how could he have gotten my pills? I was in Eugene and he was here.”
“He could have found some elsewhere. But he knew about them and was aware the combination could be lethal.”
Taffy stepped forward. “We think he may have discovered some news that upset him. Do you have any idea what that might have been?”
“Todd mentioned that Jenny had been planning to break up with him. But that wouldn’t have been enough to make him…Would it?” She shook her head. “No. He wasn’t like that.”
“Sometimes the adolescent brain can see things out of proportion. There have been cases of teen suicides after breakups. When emotion builds up, it needs to be released. That’s how we get crimes of passion and forms of self-harm. Usually it’s a cry for help, but sometimes it’s more final than that.”
“Todd thinks Tyler might have been more depressed than anyone thought. He looked back at his latest emails and found some messages that seemed to indicate he was thinking about it.” Shannon nodded and looked down again. “Todd was who he confided in most, so he would know.”
“He suggested we search Tyler’s computer for a file called Pea Pod, which is where Tyler apparently stored his private journal and other personal things, including a partially composed suicide note.”
Shannon looked up. “A note?”
This was the first Taffy had heard of a suicide note.
“He’d already deleted his journal, and the letter found was incomplete, but it proves he’d been thinking about it. The events of that night seem to have been rather impulsive. Tyler might not have intended to take things quite that far. But we know he’d been agitated and upset that evening, according to Jenny, and she said he mentioned something about taking some pills.”
Shannon looked toward the window. Her tears were building again. “How is it that you find out more about the people you love after they die rather than while they’re living?” Her arms were crossed, and her hands gripped the opposite triceps so tightly she made white marks on her skin. “What did the note say? However much was there.”
“He was depressed. He writes about his anger and despair about Jenny breaking up with him. And about his suspicion that both his father and Cara were having affairs.”
Shannon raised an eyebrow. “He thought that?”
Taffy stepped forward. “You don’t need to hide the truth from us, Shannon. We know you and Noel have been sleeping together.”
Shannon looked frantic for a moment. She stood up. “It wasn’t supposed to…” She started pacing, wringing her hands. “Noel was planning to tell Cara—”
Taffy said, “By the way, she’s pregnant.”
Shannon wheeled around. “From Noel? That’s not possible.”
“So maybe Tyler was right and Cara was having an affair as well.”
Shannon turned to Taffy. “You’re friends with her, aren’t you? What did she tell you?”
>
“We haven’t been friends long. But she seems convinced the baby’s Noel’s.”
Shannon snorted.
Taffy said, “She’s always been jealous of your bond with Noel, and when Tyler came to live with her, the bond between father and son seemed to push her even more to the periphery. As odd as it sounds, I think she was trying to rescue her marriage. And I think she actually believes the baby’s Noel’s. He never told her about the vasectomy.”
“What a mess. Poor Cara.” Shannon lowered her head and shook it. “But this… I mean… What does any of this have to do with Tyler?”
“We think maybe he found out about the pregnancy the night he died.” Taffy had no intention of repeating Maria’s suggestion, and it didn’t look as if she was prepared to bring it up either.
“But how? And why would he have—”
Maria cut in. “With the note on the computer, one of the barbiturate compounds matching your sleeping pills, and the empty bottle of liquor we found at the cabin, it’s all looking like your son experienced an impulsive but successful suicide attempt.”
Shannon sank into a chair.
Maria offered her a tissue. “Teens aren’t the best at handling certain stressors, especially to do with the ambiguous areas of adult life. They like things to be understandable, black and white, right or wrong. Todd said Tyler was having a hard time coming to terms with all that he was dealing with.”
Shannon nodded through her tears. “Todd tried to tell me he was worried about Tyler. That’s why he wanted to come down to see him that weekend. He stopped by to see me on Saturday to ask if I wanted to send anything down with him—I gave him a book I’d just finished reading, a fantasy novel I thought he’d like—but then his stepmom, Rita, needed him home for some event she was hosting, so he didn’t go right away. Maybe things would have turned out differently if he’d come here that day… But we all got here too late.”
“I’m sorry we couldn’t do more.”
“You’ve done so much. I can’t thank you enough. But nothing is going to bring my son back.”
Maria handed her the tissue box. “Do you want us to stay?”
Shannon said no, said she’d prefer to be alone. She said Maria didn’t have to bother telling Noel the details. She’d tell him herself that evening.