Caroline immediately.
‘Never seen him before?’
‘Should I have?’
‘Well, no. But …’
‘No,’ said Caroline again. ‘Why?’
‘I’m just asking around,’ said Ren. ‘Anyone who has cropped up in the investigation.’ She stood up. ‘Thank you for your time.’
‘No problem. But I really can’t see why –’
‘Look,’ said Ren. ‘I’m doing my job, OK? It’s for me to know why I’m asking what I’m asking. And why I’m calling to your door, OK? Is it killing you to give me five minutes of your time?’ She glanced toward the television, where Desperate Housewives was playing. ‘Or are you too busy watching fake people’s lives to give a damn about a real person’s death?’
At some point, Ren realized, Caroline had taken a step back from her.
‘I’m sorry,’ said Ren. ‘I just …’ Stop talking.
‘Really, I do wish I could help,’ said Caroline, but I just don’t know that guy.’
At least you’re not lying this time. I think.
A text came in from Vincent when she got back to her office. She checked the time and sent him back a Yes. She drove down to Main Street and parked outside the Crown. She had been having more success with parking in Breckenridge than Bob had led her to believe.
The Crown was quiet inside, a few couples, a few readers, no one playing board games. Vincent was sitting on the sofa facing her. He stood up, smiling.
‘Hey,’ he said. They kissed on the cheek.
‘Hi,’ said Ren. She took off her jacket and hung it on the coat stand beside them. ‘It’s cold out there.’
‘Tonight’s going to be worse,’ said Vincent. ‘Fifteen below.’
‘Ugh.’
‘Do you have to be anywhere?’
‘Inside working, so it could be worse.’
‘Crank that heating up.’
‘Wow,’ said Ren – the waitress arrived with two coffees and a Cinnamonster.
Ren gave him a warm, sad smile. ‘Thank you.’ She stared at him a little too long.
‘What?’ he said.
‘It’s just … it’s lovely to be known that well. You knew I’d be on time, so you could order. And you knew what to order …’
‘Noo,’ said Vincent. ‘I just thought it was appropriate ordering you something with “monster” in the title …’
Ren laughed. ‘Is that better or worse than Ren Noir?’
‘Better.’
They sat in silence for a while, then they talked about work.
‘You are the only person in the world I can be totally honest with,’ said Ren.
‘And you are the only person in the world who I can tell straightaway is lying to me.’
Ren frowned.
‘Yes, Ren, you are honest. Most of what you say to me is the truth. But you are selective in what you say to me.’
Ren opened her mouth and closed it again without speaking.
‘When you have looked me in the eye today, it’s been nervously,’ said Vincent. ‘But most of the time, you haven’t been able to.’
‘That’s not true,’ said Ren.
‘Bing! Lie!’ His tone was not unkind.
‘Look, stop,’ said Ren. ‘Come on.’
‘Something is making you uncomfortable with me,’ said Vincent, ‘and because I know that you can’t lie – really – I’m not going to ask you what it is. Because I’m not really sure I want to know.’
Ren looked down. Ugh. ‘I am a loser.’
‘Well, I just hope you’re a loser who is not doing too much damage to herself.’
Oh, you have no idea.
Ren turned on one light in her suite that night when she got back to the inn. Everyone was flooding her brain without really telling her anything. Checking Billy’s phone had resolved nothing. And he could have a hundred other phones. Yet there was something about him she inherently trusted. But can I trust my trust?
Later she lay in the dark, filled with hope for the morning. Hope that didn’t last. Fear started to dissolve it, like the black, liquid edges of burning plastic. And as she drifted into a world where the worst possible outcomes lived, her mind took her deeper again … and the dream came back. This time, it ended with locked door after locked door. This time she didn’t make it out alive.
She woke howling, desperately trying to catch her breath. She dragged herself upright to the edge of the bed. Her head felt ice cold inside. She held a hand over her mouth and ran for the bathroom. She retched, but nothing came up. Her face was red, her eyes streamed. And her heart rate was soaring. She brushed her teeth and put a freezing cloth to her face before she went back to bed. She took her purse with her, shook everything out, couldn’t find anything she could take to calm her down. Which made her worse.
I need to sleep. I cannot do this. I cannot do this. I cannot do this alone.
She looked at the clock. It was 1.30 a.m. He would be finishing up about now, he could be here in thirty minutes. She reached for her phone and dialed Billy Waites.
Ren had four hours of uninterrupted sleep – the most she’d had in weeks. Billy left her in the shower at eight o’clock. She made it into the office early. The map she had gotten from Mike was on top of her desk. She studied it again. And wondered how Salem would feel if Misty went for another walk.
The Barger Brewery was on an acre of ground a twenty-minute walk from the Brockton Filly. A faded sign lay half-buried in the undergrowth as she pulled off the road. There was barely enough space to park the Jeep. A wide, straight path led under a canopy of trees that had shielded the ground from the snow fall.
Ren had wrapped the leash tight around her gloved hand, but Misty was doing her best to break free. They kept walking, Ren looking left and right along the path. It eventually led to the more open ground that surrounded the brewery. She took a right and they walked a winding path until the brewery was a distant shape behind them.
‘I don’t want to be negative, here, Misty, but I’m kind of hoping you find nothing,’
