Blood Loss

‘Had you tried anything else to help him with his anger before what happened at the Ronson place?’ said Ren.

‘Other antidepressants and antipsychotics …’ said Cathy.

Holy shit. A junk-food-eating, video-game-obsessed kid and you don’t think there’s a better solution than drugs?

‘I was furious at Jonathan when we got the call from Joshua in Breck,’ said Cathy. ‘Jonathan had assured me that the drug combination was safe …’

‘And Joshua had never been violent toward anyone before …’ said Ren.

‘He would get angry, just over the last year or so,’ said Cathy. ‘But, he was a good kid … he’d get a little unruly, talk back … but, no … he was never violent.’

‘Was he suffering from delusions?’ said Ren.

‘No.’

‘Hallucinations?’ said Ren.

‘No.’

And the ambiguity in the name antipsychotic is …?

‘Jonathan was trying to help us,’ said Cathy.

You just don’t get it. You just do not get that Joshua was slotted into a trial for money and for favorable statistics.

‘Jonathan Meester was trying to save his own ass,’ said Ren.

‘That’s not true,’ said Cathy. ‘Jonathan’s like family to us.’

‘Do you remember standing in the hospital hallway, wondering out loud why your ex-husband wanted the overnight visit with Laurie, asking me was that how twisted and sick he was?’

‘That still stands,’ said Cathy. ‘Look what happened with the sitter!’

You have no clue. ‘Cathy, do you really think Mark raped and murdered Shelby Royce? Really?’

‘Yes!’ said Cathy. ‘Yes. Don’t you? Aren’t you the people who solved the case?’

‘Didn’t you know what was going on with Mark? With MeesterBrandt, with Nolan Carr?’

Cathy looked shocked. ‘What do you mean?’

‘Mark was about to blow the whistle on Nolan Carr, MeesterBrandt and Lang Pharmaceuticals,’ said Ren. ‘He had been working on it all year. That’s what he was doing and they knew it. They had already taken Shep Collier down. Mark was next. Nolan Carr tried setting Mark up in Boston — they tried to do what they’d done to Shep Collier.’

Cathy looked confused. ‘But … Jonathan would never have let that happen … Jonathan would never-’

‘Jonathan knew,’ said Ren. ‘He knew damn well what was going on. He was part of the whole thing. And you and your husband gave Jonathan Meester and Nolan Carr the perfect opportunity to cover up the side effects of their drug, as well as taking Mark out of the picture.’ She took out a piece of paper and handed it to Cathy. ‘This is a print-out of your home phone bill that I just received. We had never checked it, because it had never needed to be. And Jonathan Meester knew that. Look at that number circled. The call was placed from the house at five after ten on Saturday night, November 14. The call was made to Nolan Carr. He was tipping him off about Joshua, and the opportunity that had opened up to frame Mark.’

Cathy stared at the page.

‘And here,’ said Ren, handing her photos. ‘These are from traffic cams in Breckenridge. This is Jonathan Meester’s car in Breckenridge on Monday, November 16. The day Mark went missing. Mark called Jonathan, asked for his help, and of course, Jonathan was happy to oblige …’

Cathy was crying quietly.

‘Nolan Carr had already brought in the same firm who arranged the Shep Collier set-up. Their scumbag investigators followed Jared Labati and found Shelby Royce in the house where Jared had allowed her to hide.

‘Jonathan arranged to meet Mark, but, while he waited, as insurance, Mark had mailed all the evidence he had on Nolan Carr to Taber Grace. His only mistake was thinking that Jonathan Meester was innocent. Instead of Jonathan, this dirtbag hired by Nolan Carr turned up to meet Mark, and told Mark that he had Laurie — and he had a photo to prove that she was alive. Of course, this photo had been taken by Meester before he left Denver. And Mark was allowed to speak with Laurie on the phone, a call easily set up, again, by Meester. This man forced Mark to shoot Shelby Royce. And to kill himself. Or Laurie wouldn’t be released.’

‘But … I thought …’ Cathy broke down. ‘Oh, dear God. Oh, dear God.’

‘Do you know why Laurie was found at Kennington?’ said Ren.

‘No,’ said Cathy. ‘I … Jonathan said he would drop her somewhere nearby, I didn’t think it would be there. I would never have done that. He watched her from the car until she flagged someone down, I know that much.’

Well, good for him. ‘Erica told me that you had warned Laurie about the rapist that was out there,’ said Ren. ‘I’m guessing Jonathan was aware you had too.’

Cathy stared at the ground. She could barely nod.

‘So,’ said Ren, ‘he wasn’t just trying to give the cops something to think about, trying to make them waste time looking for a link between the abduction and the rapes that were happening in Denver. He knew that what he was doing would scare the crap out of Laurie. He was showing her how much control he had over her. I know it would have scared the hell out of me when I was eleven. I’d pretty much go along with anything anyone said to me after that.’

How could you let this happen to your child?

‘What did you think happened?’ said Ren.

‘I thought … I thought … Jonathan was on our side. Oh my God. What have we done? I thought Jonathan was on our side.’

‘No,’ said Ren. ‘Mark was set up by Nolan Carr and Jonathan Meester, Cathy. Not only that, but they knew that the side effects of Ellerol and Cerxus taken together had likely caused Joshua Merritt to attack his sister, and Cameron Temple to have violent, psychotic episodes, that led to three rapes. Jonathan Meester was involved every step of the way. That’s what a wonderful godfather he was. That’s the man you thought loved your daughter. And the man who really did love her, killed for her, and died for her.’

66

Ren arrived into the office — an email had come in from Taber Grace. The subject was ‘Nolan Carr talking to Sales rep’.

It had an audio file attached. Ren played it. Nolan Carr was speaking.

‘… the missing link for us is not having an ADD drug. But obviously, we can at least step in after that. So, a kid’s diagnosed with ADD/ADHD, given whatever stimulant, which brings on manic symptoms, which more than likely is going to lead to a bipolar diagnosis next time he visits the doctor — he’s bouncing off the walls.’

Laughter.

‘Now,’ said Carr, ‘we’re talking — with bipolar on the table — down the road, the kid’s in line for an antidepressant, for an antipsychotic … so they’re coming our way. Cerxus and Ellerol. If you could see Cerxus and Ellerol as, you know, a duo, a Laurel amp; Hardy, a Ben amp; Jerry …’

Laughter.

‘Every child diagnosed with bipolar disorder,’ said Carr, ‘that’s $5,000 per annum. Multiply that …’

The pre-cursor to the combined pill.

Ren’s phone rang.

‘Thank you for giving me the great pleasure of watching Nolan Carr in handcuffs. Congratulations, Agent Bryce.’

‘Thank you very much,’ said Ren. ‘Thank you for everything you did.’