by Alex Barclay
‘Karl – that’s my son – said that he looked through Jesse’s things during the sleepover when everyone was still downstairs, and he found a bunch of sermons – written by Jesse and dated from around that time … even though Jesse had come to the school telling everyone he was done with all that. Some of the sermons were about love and forgiveness. Others were ordering Satan to repent and to renounce his wicked ways – Bible quotes, the works. So all along, it seems Jesse was acting publicly like the whole evangelism thing was behind him, but clearly it wasn’t. Then Karl found a journal and, inside, the title page says The Rubyman. It seems clear that The Rubyman represents the devil … until Karl realizes, because of some of the stories, that The Rubyman is actually Dominic Fisher. Jesse has written that The Rubyman is tempting him, and wants to destroy him, but it’s real clear that, at the same time, Jesse loves this Rubyman. Karl was freaked out, but he kept snooping. He was real embarrassed telling me all this. That’s not what my husband and I taught him … to snoop like that.’
‘Of course not,’ said Ren. It never is.
‘Karl found photos of Dominic Fisher. Lots of them. A bunch tied up in red ribbon. Just regular photos. But, then he finds a few more that look like maybe Dominic didn’t know they were being taken. Like Dominic asleep or a long shot of him cutting someone’s lawn with his shirt off, that kind of thing. Then Karl found a cell phone … with an inbox that had a lot more photos, even more recent, sent from Dominic Fisher’s number – photos of a more personal nature. Karl looked in the sent items and realized that Dominic Fisher thought he was sending these photos to a girl. There were even photos sent back from this imaginary girl … except she wasn’t imaginary … Karl recognized her from YouTube. It was from one of Jesse Coombes’ preaching things, whatever they call them. I don’t know if you ever saw it. Austin: Pink Dress Girl. She had kept in touch with him over the years in a fangirl kind of way.’
Oh. My. God.
‘This poor young girl was sending Jesse Coombes photos and he was using a throwaway phone to send them to Dominic Fisher and get naked ones of him back,’ said Terry.
Holy. Shit. Unholy shit.
‘That’s when Jesse walked in,’ said Terry. ‘He found Karl going through his things and he went ballistic. He beat the crap out of him, took that photo of him, tied him to the radiator. The rest of the kids were out front at this time. Jesse gathered up the journal, the sermons, the letters, the phone, everything – went down to the barbecue and threw them all on. He doused them with lighter fluid and up they went. Then he came back in to Karl, told him if he breathed a word to anyone, he’d send the photo to the whole school first, then come back and “torch” him too. Karl had already mentioned to me that there’d been two fires in the school since Jesse started there, and he was definitely seen close to one and with a burn on his hand after the other one. So, Karl believed the threats.’
‘I’m not surprised.’
‘I don’t know whether Karl said anything to anyone about what happened at the party, I know he begged me not to, but rumors started to circulate around the school. Two weeks later, Dominic Fisher’s family moved away. And by the end of the summer, the Coombes had also moved and Jesse started high school with a clean slate.’
‘And do you know where Dominic Fisher is now?’ said Ren.
‘I heard the poor kid died last year,’ said Terry, ‘leukemia.’
‘Did you ever tell the Coombes what Jesse did to Karl?’ said Ren.
‘No,’ said Terry. ‘I had promised Karl I wouldn’t.’
‘How’s your son doing now?’ said Ren.
‘Oh, he’s great,’ said Terry. ‘He’s doing great. Straight As. Doesn’t give his mama an ounce of trouble.’
Seems like he fared a whole lot better than Jesse Coombes.
Ren thanked her for her help and went back upstairs, sliding in beside Ben Rader, careful to wake him up and send him off on a high.
Ren lay there afterwards with a heavy feeling in her stomach.
The terrible affliction of caring about someone who has to go.
‘How am I expected to get up?’ said Ren.
‘Well, I certainly don’t expect it,’ said Ben.
Ren let out a breath.
‘This is it …’ said Ben. He kissed her shoulder.
‘The. End,’ said Ren.
‘Tune in next time!’ said Ben.
‘You’d be mad not to!’
‘I’m so proud of you,’ he said, squeezing her tight.
‘Speaking of madness …?’ said Ren.
‘I’m serious,’ said Ben.
‘There’s no need to be proud,’ said Ren. ‘But, thank you.’ She curled away from him, onto her side, tucked her back against his chest.
I want to stay here.
‘You know what,’ she said, ‘this is the first time I’ve told a boyfriend about the bipolar thing before everything went to shit.’
‘So that’s a good sign,’ said Ben. He put his arm around her, rolled her back so she was facing him. He looked her in the eye. ‘Now, relax, OK? Everything is fine.’ He held her cheeks and kissed her lips. ‘I love you.’
He pulled back and smiled. She was caught, but she stayed. She allowed herself to breathe.
‘I love you too,’ she said.
Dun. Dun. DUN.
42
Ren arrived into Safe Streets, beaming.
‘Hasn’t your boyfriend gone home this morning?’ said Cliff.
‘Yes,’ said Ren, ‘he has.’ She leaned in to Cliff and whispered, ‘But not before I told him that I loved him …’
‘And how much Valium have you taken as a direct result?’ said Cliff.
‘Collapsing in five, four, three …’
‘Well, good for you,’ said Cliff, patting her arm. His lip started to quiver.
‘OK, I know that’s not about me,’ said Ren. She tilted her head. ‘Did you have a fight with Brenda?’
He laughed. ‘I did not,’ he said. ‘But I am very happy for you. Ben is a good guy.’
‘With poor judgment.’ Ren fired up her computer. ‘Speaking of good guys, here comes Everett King!’
‘Well, what a welcome,’ said Everett. ‘I might need to hear that every morning.’
‘Do not expect consistency from Ren Bryce,’ said Cliff.
Ren nodded. ‘And that’s one of my lines.’ She looked around. ‘Who’s here?’
‘Everyone,’ said Cliff.
Ren waited until the team had gathered and Gary had arrived. She called Janine, put her on speaker and told them all Terry Ragland’s story.
‘So, Jesse Coombes is a violent evangelical car-torcher?’ said Janine.
‘Firestone and brimstone …’ said Cliff. ‘So, we’ve got one kid in there who has a history of carjacking, hotwiring and beating the shit out of people … and we’ve got Conor Gorman, a kid with a history of beating the shit out of people …’
‘Oh, and he crashed a Lotus, didn’t he?’ said Ren.
‘And they’re just the kids we know about,’ said Janine.
‘But there’s a big difference between messing around with cars, beating kids up and shooting dead a pregnant woman …’ said Ren. ‘I mean, it doesn’t sound good for Jesse Coombes, but it could be just that he wanted to run away from the ranch, took Kendall’s car, is driving down Stoney Pass Road, comes across Laura Flynn being shot at, panics, returns to the ranch with the car, lights it on fire, tells the Faules, they handle it, believing that he wasn’t responsible for the murder and not wanting the murder to be in any way associated with the ranch – whether that’s just the publicity in general or the fact that it’s revealed that one of their teens was in a position to escape in the first place … or set a car on fire.’ Pheeew.
‘Option two,’ said Cliff, ‘is Jesse Coombes comes across Laura Flynn, tries to carjack her, kills her, panics—’
‘Where does he get the gun, though?’ said Ren.
‘Maybe it was her gun,’ said Cliff.
> ‘If she had a gun, a young Irish girl like that … she must have really felt that her life was in danger,’ said Ren. She paused. ‘That’s why she drove back from Chicago! She had a gun. She wouldn’t have gotten through security at the airport …’
‘You think she went all the way to Chicago for a gun?’ said Gary.
‘No,’ said Ren, ‘but it was part of the plan. Who else do we know she had contact with there?’
‘I can check that here,’ said Janine.
Ren sat forward. ‘Hold on. Didn’t Laura Flynn stay in the Ramada Bolingbrook during her trip there?’
‘Yes,’ said Janine.
Ren Googled it. ‘That Ramada is not far from Stateville prison. Seven miles. I’ve even got hits here from a forum recommending it as a good place to stay if you’re visiting someone there. Holy shit.’ She stood up. ‘Derrick Charles – the NFL buddy of Kenneth Faule who’s supposed to have strangled his wife. Isn’t he in Stateville? Could there be a connection that way?’
‘Cue: me,’ said Everett. ‘Robert Prince donated fifty thousand dollars to Derrick Charles’ appeal fund back in September.’
‘No fucking way,’ said Ren.
‘All the fucking way,’ said Everett.
Gary looked like he was regretting the union of Ren Bryce and Everett King.
‘When did you find that out?’ said Ren.
‘First thing this morning, I just didn’t get a chance to say it,’ said Everett.
‘Robert Prince is like some kind of stealth donor,’ said Ren. ‘If this didn’t all happen before the murder, I would think he was paying everyone off …’
‘Go talk to the Faules,’ said Gary.
Woo-hoo!
Kristen Faule was in the stables when Janine and Ren arrived at The Darned Heart. She kept them waiting in reception, before taking them to her office when she arrived, her hair wet from the shower.
‘Mrs Faule,’ said Ren, ‘did you know that Robert Prince had made a donation to Derrick Charles’ appeal fund?’
Kristen Faule’s eyes went wide.
Ooh. You did not know. You are shocked by this.
‘No,’ said Kristen. ‘Kenneth deals with the appeal fund.’
‘Were you aware of a connection between Robert Prince and Derrick Charles?’ said Ren.
‘No,’ said Kristen. ‘Let me call Kenneth in here.’
She pushed each button of her husband’s extension number with ill-contained anger. ‘Kenneth, can you come in here, please? The detectives are here again.’
Again.
Kenneth came in and sat down. ‘How can I help you?’ he said.
‘Do you know why Robert Prince was donating to Derrick Charles’ appeal fund?’ said Ren.
There was an irritating tapping sound.
He paused. ‘How did you know about that?’
I choose the meaningful stare in response to your bold question. No words.
‘Well, like anyone else,’ said Kenneth, ‘because he believes in his innocence.’
‘Did he know Charles before the case that you’re aware of?’ said Ren.
‘Not that I know,’ said Kenneth. ‘From what Mr Prince told me, he read about Charles’ case in the newspaper, thought that it didn’t ring true, and he decided to put some money toward the campaign to have him released.’
‘So you spoke to Mr Prince personally?’ said Ren.
‘Yes,’ said Kenneth.
I wonder why Robert Prince didn’t donate totally anonymously?
‘He wanted to keep this absolutely private,’ said Kenneth. ‘He was insistent, because of his position, that it may not look good to some people.’
Like the OCBLA.
He turned to his wife. ‘I signed a confidentiality agreement,’ he said. ‘Sorry, but I couldn’t say anything, even to you.’
‘It’s just that there are many people in the spotlight who’ve been found guilty of crimes, while protesting their innocence,’ said Ren. ‘Why do you think Derrick Charles’ case caught Robert Prince’s attention?’
‘Maybe he was a Broncos fan?’ said Kenneth. ‘Maybe Derrick Charles had carried out charity work for one of the Princes’ favorite charities? I really don’t know. You should maybe ask him.’
He said it politely, but there was a tone.
Ren realized the irritating sound was Kristen Faule’s fingers tapping on the table. She noticed Ren noticing and she stopped.
‘Has Robert Prince gone to Stateville to meet with Derrick Charles?’ said Ren.
‘Not that I’m aware of,’ said Kenneth. He turned to Kristen. ‘You?’
‘No,’ said Kristen.
‘Does that strike you as odd?’ said Ren to Kenneth. ‘That he donates money, but he hasn’t even met the man?’
‘No,’ said Kenneth, ‘should it?’
‘It’s just …’ said Ren, ‘if I was handing over a large donation, because I believed in someone, I’d want to meet them, because … well, I would venture that, although the money is of a huge help to the accused, the fact that a stranger is standing before them, looking them in the eye and telling them that they believe in them would be what mattered.’
Kristen shrugged. ‘I guess so.’
‘Robert Prince is a busy man,’ said Kenneth.
‘Do you know anything about Laura Flynn and a visit to Stateville?’ said Ren. Could Robert Prince have sent her there?
‘Laura Flynn?’ said Kristen. ‘The murder victim? No.’ She frowned. ‘Kenneth?’
He shook his head. ‘No. Certainly, Robert Prince never mentioned her.’
43
Ren and Janine walked down the steps into the parking lot.
‘It’s all so strange,’ said Janine. ‘I’ll call Stateville when I get back to the office, see if they have a record of Laura Flynn visiting Derrick Charles.’
‘And I will call my dear friend, the wildly generous Robert Prince,’ said Ren.
‘Hold off until we know more about whether she actually visited Stateville.’
‘Well, I can ask about his donation,’ said Ren, ‘without getting in to anything about Laura.’
Ren was driving behind Janine, not far from Conifer, when she called.
Ren picked up. ‘I miss you too … these past ten minutes have been killing me.’
Janine laughed. ‘I just got a call from Kohler … we got a breakthrough on our Copier Bandits. A couple of kids playing in Pine Gulch Cemetery found a little black “toy”. One of them brought it home, showed it to his mom, but it wasn’t a toy – it was a GPS signal jammer, perfect if the bait money at the bank had a GPS tracker. And, we have traced it to local fool, Morgan Greene. A real idiot; you know, the kind of guy goes into a bar, shoots his mouth off, brags about whatever he can. Smart enough not to mention a robbery, dumb enough to mention GPS signal jammers. He’s twenty-nine, lives with his stoner buddies not far from here. He works for Burt Kendall or used to work for him; he lost his job last week because of the bankruptcy. Apparently the last pay check any Kendall employee got was at the end of March. We’re going to bring him in this afternoon. Kohler and I are going to take him on.’
‘Pincer movement,’ said Ren.
‘It’ll be fun,’ said Janine.
Ren hung up and dialed Robert Prince’s number.
‘Mr Prince, it’s Ren Bryce here – do you have a minute?’
‘I do,’ said Robert. ‘What can I help you with?’
‘I was wondering about your donation to Derrick Charles’ appeal fund …’
‘Yes?’ said Robert Prince.
‘What led you to donate?’ said Ren.
‘I read a piece on him in the Denver Post, during one of my visits,’ said Robert. ‘I believed his defense’s story of an intruder. Derrick had been in debt to many people. He had a lot of enemies. I just couldn’t see that there was evidence that he killed his wife and children. He looked like a very happy family man.’
‘Did you know him personally?’ said Ren.
‘No,’ said
Robert.
‘Had you met him?’ said Ren.
‘No, never,’ said Robert. ‘I called Kenneth Faule because of what I read and I was very impressed with him. That was why I chose The Darned Heart for Conor. I believed it was a place that would straighten him out.’
‘Did any of your contacts – friend, family, otherwise – know Derrick Charles or his family personally?’ said Ren.
‘No,’ said Robert. ‘You have to understand, Agent Bryce, I’m a man of means and it’s – I don’t want to say “easy” – but it is possible for me to see a cause I believe in and donate to that cause, without knowing more than I read in the article or the letter or whatever medium I come across a story of someone in need. It’s why you hear all the time, an anonymous benefactor paid for the surgery of some poor two-year-old cancer victim that was featured in the newspaper, etc., etc. That’s because of people like me.’
Oh, gooood for youuuu. In the tone of Christian Bale.
‘Don’t you ever question things any deeper?’ said Ren. ‘You’re putting a lot of faith in journalists.’
‘I trust that they have fact-checked, at the very least, on such important cases, and anything I’m not sure of, I follow up on.’
Could he be a little naïve? Or am I?
‘Agent Bryce, is this relevant to what happened to Laura?’
‘I need to make more inquiries,’ said Ren.
‘Do you think I have put her in danger in any way by making this donation?’ said Robert.
I don’t fucking know! ‘I’ll keep you informed,’ said Ren. ‘Thank you for your time.’
Ren arrived back in Safe Streets. Robbie was on a call. Everett got up and came over to her desk.
‘You look overly excited,’ said Ren. ‘I see financials dancing in your eyes.’
‘Well,’ said Everett, ‘I may have found our answer as to why Robert Prince set up the energy company. It turns out that, back in 1953, Walter Prince bought a second tract of land in Williston, North Dakota: a three-thousand-acre cattle ranch. For some reason, though, in January 1958, that land was transferred to a trust fund, managed by the Prince family’s law firm in Butte, Montana. This land was not inherited by either Acora or Robert Prince. It’s likely that they didn’t even know it existed.’