Time of Death

She picked up.

‘Jay told me that you phoned Ricky Parry,’ said her mother.

You have to be kidding me. What is wrong with him?

‘Why didn’t you tell me?’

‘God, Mom, I didn’t want you to worry. I didn’t know what his reaction would be. I wanted to talk to him, I have – or thought I had – some connection with him. As it transpired, I was wrong. But I wanted to give it a shot.’

‘Well, you should have told me, Ren. Your father and I live here, for God’s sake. What kind of fool would I have looked if we had run into him on the street and he had mentioned it? Or someone else had?’

‘I’m sorry, Mom. I did what I thought was right.’

‘I know, sweetheart, but…I don’t like to be kept in the dark. You don’t have to protect me.’

‘I’m sorry. I can’t help it.’

‘And how come I didn’t hear about this cowboy boyfriend you had?’

Boyfriend…the fling with the extreme rider at the Western Stock Show. You have to be kidding me.

‘What?’ said Ren. ‘He wasn’t a boyfriend.’

‘Well, what was he then?’

Hmm. ‘We went on a few…dates.’

‘Why wouldn’t you even tell me that the man exists?’

To limit my official numbers. ‘Well, maybe because I didn’t think he was special enough to meet my mommy.’

‘If you felt he wasn’t important enough to mention him to your father and I, then why would you want to date him?’

Sweet Jesus. ‘Because not everyone I meet is someone who I will walk up the aisle with. Let’s face it. Mom, I’m incredibly busy right now. This conversation is not helpful.’

Ren could sense one of her mother’s weighty pauses.

‘I just wonder…’

Here it comes.

‘…have you been trying to replace Beau in your life?’

Beau? What? ‘Well, please stop wondering,’ said Ren. ‘About anything. Ever. And stop watching daytime psych shows. You blend the advice from hundreds of different topics.’

‘Hundreds? I don’t watch hundreds.’

‘And I don’t try to find guys who remind me of my dead brother,’ said Ren. ‘That’s just creepsville.’

‘It’s not “creepsville”. I’m talking about there being a hole in your life ever since Beau died. I explained myself badly – it’s not Beau you’re trying to replace – I meant that maybe you are trying to fill the void that he left.’

‘Well, that sounds a bit more normal,’ said Ren. ‘But you’re still wrong. I’m fine. I’m not looking for any man.’ A historic moment.

‘Are you…sleeping with men?’

‘Oh my God,’ said Ren.

‘I read that people like you sleep with men.’

‘Women, you mean?’

‘I meant people with your…condition.’

‘Mom? I’ve got to go,’ said Ren, ‘a comfortable conversation has just come up somewhere.’

‘Well, just remember that a lot of men just want to sleep with you and once they get what they want, they’ll leave.’

And hopefully not let the door hit them on the way out.

Ren sat at Annie’s giant mahogany dining-room table with the stolen contents of Trudie Hammond’s file. She wondered how she could get Janine Hooks’…hooks out of her.

Did she re-open the case to spite me? Or to alert me to the fact that she knew I had stolen the file? Or because Hooks, too, felt that there was a link between the two deaths? Are we going to end up racing each other to a finish line on this?

Ren looked down at the pages and photos she had spread in front of her on the table.

Somewhere in here, there will be something that I will find without having to speak to a single person who was involved in the previous investigation. Because Janine Hooks will kill me. And dump me in a river for effect.

Three letters floated around Ren’s head: OPR: the FBI’s Office of Professional Responsibility. The people whose heads would spin if they knew about breaking and entering without a warrant…carried out by a confidential informant who an FBI agent had a prior relationship with when he was a suspect in the murder of another FBI agent whose death she was investigating.

Ren let out a breath. Their heads would spin. My head would roll.

37

Ren spent the weekend going back and forth over what to do about Janine Hooks. It was Monday morning and she was acting on her most recent decision. She didn’t think Janine Hooks would accept her visit. But she was invited straight in when she showed up at the depressing brown office.

‘Hi,’ said Ren. ‘Thank you so much for seeing me. I’m mortified. I wanted to apologize for taking the file. But if you could let me explain, you’ll see why I did it.’

‘Your arrogance was unbeliev—’

‘I can see how it came across that way,’ said Ren, ‘but it really was not arrogance. Please hear me out. My accessing this file had to fly under the radar. I couldn’t let you know why I needed to look at that case again. I couldn’t draw your attention to it, because it is a mess. I don’t know how yet, but the Hammonds’ murders are—’

‘Hammonds? Plural? Murders?’ said Hooks.

‘Yes,’ said Ren. ‘Douglas Hammond’s death was not an accident. That is something that cannot get out. We know that, so does Denver PD, but we were trying to keep a lid on it. What I was about to say was that I think his murder and his wife’s are connected…and there are also links to a wider network of ongoing investigations that I need to work out. And I feel that part of working that out is to take another look at Trudie Hammond’s case. What I did to you was wrong, but I didn’t know anything about you and alerting anyone to my suspicions would have made me and them more vulnerable.’

Hooks sat back in her chair. ‘Ah, you did it to protect me…’ Her voice was flat.

‘I didn’t mean it that way,’ said Ren. ‘But I have to tell you, going public with reopening Trudie Hammond’s murder was a massive mistake. It was exactly what I was trying to avoid.’

‘Oh, I think I’ll survive.’

‘Maybe you will, but…’

‘What is the link?’ said Janine. ‘Why do you think there is one?’

‘Before I say anything, I want to ask you: will you work with me on this?’

Hooks looked at Ren like she was nuts.

‘I’ll be really honest, here,’ said Ren. ‘I cannot let my superiors know that I’m looking into this because, as you may have noticed, it has nothing to do with Safe Streets – it’s your cold case, it’s nearly thirty years old, and I can’t go to my boss for my permission to look at it when we have so much else going on.

‘And there are other, private, circumstances in connection with Douglas Hammond that put me in a difficult position. I know that I have done nothing wrong, but me knowing and everyone else knowing is a different story.’

‘Why would that concern me?’

‘It doesn’t,’ said Ren. ‘But I’m sure your budget does.’