“I do understand. And I hope you understand that I’ll need the names of the colleagues you had dinner with, just to follow up. The faster we eliminate you, the sooner we can move on.”
Stone’s mouth was a hard line. “That’s what they said last time and yet here I am again, answering all the same questions.” But he rose, went to his desk, and jotted down the names on a notepad. He ripped off the paper and handed it to Reed. “I trust you can see yourself out.”
Reed left Stone’s office but didn’t head for the exit. He detoured past the main office, where Nancy Potts greeted him with a cheery wave. “Why, hello again. Did you and Professor Stone have a nice chat?”
“We did.”
“Isn’t he the sweetest man?”
“You mentioned earlier … something about him having an unfair burden of troubles.”
“Some people,” she said with a sympathetic sigh. “If it weren’t for bad luck, they’d have no luck at all. Don’t you think?”
“What sort of bad luck did Professor Stone have?”
“Oh, losing Trevor was the worst of it. No question there. But just last winter, he broke his arm skiing. The year before that, it was his ankle. Just plain stepped off the curb wrong—can you imagine?”
Reed nodded. This wasn’t the boon he’d hoped for when he circled back to talk to her. “That is unfortunate.”
“Yes, and then there was that awful student who accused him of groping her.”
“Oh?” Reed perked up. “When was that?”
“Mmm. Five, maybe six years ago? The university investigated and it turned out she made the whole thing up because he gave her a failing grade. The students these days, they are the most spoiled, entitled—”
“Do you remember this student’s name?”
“Kennedy,” she replied, her mouth drawn in a sour moue. “Kennedy Harris. I remember thinking what a dishonor it was for her to have the same name as one of our greatest presidents. The school expelled her, and good riddance, I say. Professor Stone is so popular, I don’t know why she ever thought she’d get away with it.”
“That is quite the run of unfortunate incidents,” Reed said.
“Tell me about it. There was also that one time someone set his car on fire.”
“I beg your pardon?”
“I know! Unbelievable. Right here on university property, too. Probably some other student who didn’t do the work but expected a four-point-oh average anyway.”
“When was this?”
“Oh, a long time ago now.” She tapped her chin, thinking back. “More than ten years for sure.”
“Before or after what happened to Trevor?”
She lit up as he helped her remember the timing. “That’s right. It was before Trevor.”
“Right before?” Reed couldn’t imagine so. He hadn’t read anything about it in the reports.
“No, a while back before that. A month, maybe? Could be longer. Professor Stone would remember, I’m sure. You could ask him.”
“Oh, I will. Thank you.” Reed smiled and wished her well. He would no doubt have more questions for Ethan Stone, but first he had to find some better answers.
16
They had been partners only three months, but Ellery knew if she showed up at Dorie’s condo before 7:00 A.M. then she had better bring coffee. She carried a Dunkin’s cup in one hand, its lettering as pink as the new morning sky. Ellery knocked, and Dorie appeared a few minutes later, sleepy eyed and dressed in gray sweats, with a trio of wagging dog tails following behind her. “Has there been a break?” she asked, instantly alert when she saw Ellery.
“Nothing concrete.” Ellery handed her the coffee and began greeting the dogs, who had lined up in turn to receive ear rubs. She explained about Ashley’s attempt to ferret out “Ty” by playing Chloe’s character in the video game. “He said he saw her at the Y.”
“You dragged your little sister into this mess?” Dorie put a hand on her hip. “I thought we had covered Boundaries 101 back at the start. Maybe you need a refresher course. Lesson one: Don’t bring civilian family members into active investigations. Especially if they’re minors.”
“She got us a real lead on this Ty kid, faster than the tech boys would’ve done it. I checked, and there’s only around a dozen YMCAs in the Boston area. I say we start with the ones closest to the Lockharts’ house and work outward.”
“Do the Lockharts look like Y people to you?”
Ellery blinked. “What do you mean?”
“I mean they probably swim at some fancy country club with yachts in the pool. Which of those centers is closest to Margery’s house? If Chloe’s spending time at a YMCA, it’s probably with the nanny. That’s your better bet.”
“I don’t know which Y is closest to the nanny.”
“Get your butt in here while we figure it out. Be quiet, though; Shelly’s still sleeping.”
Ellery had left Ashley still sleeping as well. She’d ended up giving her sister the bedroom while she camped out on the couch. Ashley had protested, but Ellery didn’t mind the sofa. She spent a lot of her nights dozing in front of the gray light of the television, its soft droning entertaining her brain long enough for it to find its way to sleep. Coben had kept an old metal bed at the farmhouse, where he had tied her to it when he didn’t have her shut in the closet. The mattress stunk from the blood and sweat of the girls who had suffered there before her, a fetid stench that haunted her dreams. She ran her body to the point of exhaustion some days but still couldn’t sleep. The doctors gave her pills. They asked her if she had nightmares. It was more that she could never again see bed as a welcoming place. How was she supposed to surrender herself each night in the space where she had nearly died? The only way to manage it was to pretend it wasn’t happening, which was what she did when she was on the couch.
Dorie reappeared dressed in a formfitting suit and sensible loafers. “I didn’t know you had a sister,” she said.
“Neither did I.” Dorie’s eyebrows rose, but she didn’t pester Ellery for details. This was why their partnership worked. “According to the almighty Google, the closest YMCA to Margery Brimwood is one in Roxbury.”
“Your call on whether we take Tremont or Warren,” Dorie said as she grabbed a protein bar and her coffee. “This hour, they’re equally jammed.” Boston filled up with cars by 6:00 A.M. and the crush did not abate until almost 10:00. Ellery wished it were practical to take the subway for her job. It sure would be faster half the time.
As they sat idling in commuter traffic, Dorie called up Margery to ask about her possible attendance there. She put the call on speaker so Ellery could hear, too. “Yes, my granddaughter takes swimming lessons there on Tuesday afternoons,” Margery said. “Sometimes when her mother has to work, I take Brianna for the lesson.”
“And Chloe comes with you?”
“Yes. She sits and does her homework.”
“Right next to you? The whole time?”
“Well, she’s outside the pool area sitting on one of the benches, but I can see her through the windows, sure.” She hesitated. “Except when I’m in the changing rooms with Brianna. She’s just five, you know, so she needs help getting in and out of her bathing suit. Why?”