Blood Loss. Alex Barclay

      ‘Some of our friends, I guess. Erica probably mentioned it to some of hers. It’s … it’s our wedding anniversary this Tuesday; that’s why she pressed for going to dinner I think, even though we had Laurie. I wasn’t thinking that way, but she was.’

      ‘Mr Whaley, several witnesses have said that you and your wife had a heated discussion over dinner …’

      He blinked. ‘I wouldn’t have called it heated …’

      Ren waited. He didn’t fill the silence.

      ‘Can you tell me what the discussion was about?’ said Ren.

      ‘Couple stuff. It wasn’t about Laurie.’

      ‘It doesn’t have to be about Laurie to be relevant to the investigation,’ said Ren.

      ‘I know … it’s just … it was a private conversation that I didn’t think I’d have to share with anyone. Especially the FBI. My head is … please. Let me get my head around this. I’m thrown.’ He took a breath. ‘Erica thinks I’ve been distant. I disagree.’

      Ren waited.

      ‘That was the crux of it.’

      ‘Your wife thinks you’ve been distant – is there any reason for that?’ said Ren.

      ‘I work hard,’ said Mark. ‘Long hours. And I take work home. If that makes me distant …’ He shrugged. ‘I’m doing it for my family. So, I guess, yes, it makes me mad … not mad … just … frustrated when she accuses me of being distant.’

      ‘She’s accused you of this before,’ said Ren.

      ‘No, not like that … just she asks me if I’m OK a lot.’

      ‘And are you?’ said Ren. ‘How are things going for you?’

      He frowned. ‘They’re going well. Why do you ask?’

      ‘I’m trying to get a handle on everything,’ said Ren. ‘That’s all. Is everything going OK in your work?’

      ‘Absolutely.’

      ‘You work for,’ she checked her notes, ‘MeesterBrandt Pharmaceuticals.’

      ‘Yes,’ said Mark. ‘I’m the CFO.’

      A flicker of something crossed his face.

       Annoyance?

      ‘How long have you worked with them?’

      ‘Since 1989.’

      ‘And what do you do there exactly?’ said Ren.

      ‘I’m head of the Finance and Administration Department.’

      ‘And how are the finances of MeesterBrandt?’

      Mark Whaley gave a wry smile. ‘Well, have you heard of the drug Ellerol?’

      ‘It’s new, isn’t it?’ said Ren. ‘I’ve seen the TV commercials.’

       Eighteen seconds of dazzlingly positive effects, and twenty-two seconds of rapid-fire side-effect warnings. Guarantee: no guarantees.

      ‘It’s been on the market one year,’ said Mark. ‘And it’s already one of the top five revenue-producing drugs in the country.’

      ‘But … it’s an antipsychotic,’ said Ren. ‘In the top five?’

      ‘All of the top five are antipsychotics,’ said Mark.

       Oh. My. God.

      He looked like he had shocked people before with this information.

      ‘So,’ said Mark. ‘You can understand that success on that scale would create a lot of work.’

       And misery, clearly.

      ‘And, obviously, it’s not our only drug,’ said Mark.

      Ren nodded. ‘Are you happy at MeesterBrandt?’

      ‘Yes,’ said Mark. ‘Why are you asking these things?’

      Ren didn’t reply. She stared.

      ‘I’m sorry if I’m sounding a little short,’ said Mark. ‘I just don’t see how this is relevant.’

      ‘I understand that,’ said Ren. ‘You want to get out there, you want to find your daughter. But I’m not wasting your time. Like I said, the more we know—’

      There was a knock on the door, and Bob Gage leaned his head in. Ren followed him outside.

      ‘Beating a confession out of him?’ said Bob.

      ‘Only a matter of time,’ said Ren.

      ‘The ex-wife is outside,’ said Bob. ‘Laurie’s mother – Cathy Merritt. She was going crazy at security. I told them to let her through.’

      ‘We’ll take him out to meet her,’ said Ren. ‘Let the magic happen.’

      ‘You’re a twisted one,’ said Bob.

      ‘This could be a ransom situation,’ said Ren. ‘MeesterBrandt’s worth big bucks. Then – would they choose the CFO’s kid over the CEO’s?’

      ‘Does the CEO have kids?’ said Bob.

      ‘We shall find out,’ said Ren. ‘Did you know that the top five drugs in our fair land are antipsychotics?’

      ‘What?’ said Bob. ‘There are that many psychos out there?’

      ‘Keeping us in a job,’ said Ren.

      ‘We just need them to stop taking their meds,’ said Bob.

      10

      As Bob and Ren walked with Mark Whaley into the reception area, Cathy Merritt burst through the door from the foyer. She was a round, heavy-set woman with thick black hair that was still dotted with snowflakes. She had a full face and cheeks that were beaming their high color through a thick layer of foundation. She was dressed in a low-cut green velvet dress that had shunted her large breasts down to her waist and left a pale, flat expanse of chest behind. Her legs were plump, and covered in black panty-hose. Her feet were squeezed into a pair of black shiny Mary Janes.

      Bob and Ren exchanged ‘nutjob’ glances.

      Cathy Merritt lunged for Mark, slapping him hard on the chest and pushing against him. Despite her bulk, he didn’t move.

      ‘I knew it,’ she screamed. ‘I knew it. What have you done? That judge! What have you done to Laurie? I heard this from a hotel receptionist!’ she said. ‘That’s how I heard my daughter had gone missing. I tried your cell, I tried Laurie’s, I got nothing, I called the hotel, and they told me all hell has broken loose, a child has gone missing. My child! That’s how I hear it! What have you done to her?’

      ‘What have I done to her?’ said Mark. ‘Are you insane? Nothing! We came back from dinner … she was gone. I had checked on her!’

      ‘You went for dinner?’ said Cathy. ‘You left her in the room alone?’

      ‘Don’t be ridiculous,’ said Mark. ‘She was not alone. Leo was there. And we had a sitter.’

      ‘Oh, you left her with a three-year-old and a stranger!’ said Cathy. ‘Well, then!’

      ‘As if you’ve never left her with a sitter,’ said Mark.

      ‘Sitters I know!’ said Cathy. ‘Not strangers. Who was this person?’

      ‘She works for the hotel. She’s a high school student …’

      ‘Why were you even getting a sitter?’ said Cathy. ‘You were taking Laurie away for the first time in years!’