Chapter 27
Braedon texted Clay to ask if he could spend the whole day with Carol.
Apparently they’re working on some kind of special project and won’t be done until evening.
Normally Clay wouldn’t want to put that responsibility on Carol and Sue—spending an entire night and day with Braedon—but he seems to be having a good time.
And Carol chimed in with a text of her own saying she had big plans for Braedon that day.
Clay gives his permission—he can definitely use some quiet time to catch up on sleep.
But first Clay, Judd, and Zoey eat breakfast at Nick’s Bar & Grill, known for their everything-is-fried-in-bacon-grease breakfast, which doesn’t disappoint.
They recap the last twelve hours to see if any of them missed anything, make a plan to go update Deb, and then head to their respective homes for naptime.
Deb welcomes them into the doublewide with no news. She hasn’t heard from Teddy. Nor has she heard from the dozens of people she’s asked to keep a lookout for him. Friends in town. Friends up in Rochester. Friends in the Twin Cities.
They gather around the kitchen table. A platter of fresh-baked-from-frozen cinnamon rolls proves too tempting along with the fresh pot of coffee Deb brewed.
They haven’t missed a meal in the last twenty-four hours, but pulling an all-nighter makes them feel like they have, and Deb’s offerings are a welcome second breakfast.
“Do you know if Teddy likes to hike Miller’s Bluff?” says Judd. “Because he’s never mentioned it.”
“No,” says Deb. “Teddy didn’t hike for the sake of hiking. He hiked to get to his favorite fishing spots, and as far as I know, there’s no water up on Miller’s Bluff.”
Zoey picks a layer off her cinnamon roll and puts it in her mouth.
No need to chew—it just melts. “Do you know if he’s had any health problems that either Clay or Judd might not know about?
” says Zoey. “Any light-headedness? Fainting? Is it possible he’s had heart trouble or suffered any small strokes? ”
“No,” says Deb. “Why do you ask?”
“I think Zoey’s wondering if a health issue could cause Teddy to lose consciousness,” says Clay, who sips his coffee. “Has he ever complained of dizziness after standing up too fast?”
“No,” says Deb. “But I suppose anything’s possible.
He’s sixty-three years old. Things start happening.
Billy Hoffmann graduated with us and he dropped dead of a heart attack over the holidays.
He was thin and ran every day. And fainting doesn’t explain why Teddy might have left his things where those boys found them.
Especially the earring. He never took off that earring. ”
“About the saw,” says Zoey, holding out her phone to show Deb a photograph. “Does this look familiar?” In the hardware store, Graham identified the sawzall that looked exactly like the one they’d found on the ground. “Is it one of yours?”
Deb shakes her head. “We have a mower and a Weedwacker for the lawn and that’s it. Teddy and I both prefer nature to do its thing on the rest of the property.”
“Ever see a tool like this before? Could Teddy have maybe borrowed it from a friend?”
Deb studies the picture for a while and says, “You know, I think Ash has tools that look like that. My cousin loves things that match. It’s all about appearances.
He has a pretty big shop in his pole barn.
Sometimes Teddy will borrow tools from Ash.
You could ask him if anything’s missing.
I think he’s home. He got that new truck he’s been talking about and honks every time he leaves or gets back as if he thinks I’m dying to see it one more time. ”
“All right,” says Zoey. “One more person to talk to. Our beds can wait.”
“Thank you,” says Deb. “Thanks for all you’re doing to find Teddy. I’m sorry that he does things like this.”
“Like what?” says Zoey.
“Like disappearing for a few days. Like getting himself into trouble. He’s a sweet man, my Teddy. He really is. But sometimes he just can’t help himself.”
Ash answers the door wearing khaki pants with the cuffs rolled up, revealing a blue-and-pink-striped lining.
Red Wing work boots are on his feet, although they’ve never seen a day of work.
They look new or maybe just well-kept and cared for.
Ash wears a sky-blue cable-knit sweater over a pink polo shirt to match the lining of his pants.
“Oh, no” are the first words out of his mouth. He looks at Clay and Judd and says, “I’m so sorry.”
“Sorry for what?” says Judd.
“Teddy. Isn’t that why you’re here with a police officer?”
“No,” says Clay. “We’re just here to ask a question.”
“Thank God.” Ash half laughs. “Guess I’ve been listening to too many true-crime podcasts.”
“Guess you have,” says Zoey. She holds out her phone and shows Ash the photograph of the sawzall. “By any chance do you have a tool that looks like this?”
Ash looks at Zoey’s phone. He stares a long time. Too long as far as Clay’s concerned.
“Hmm…” says Ash. “I might. I don’t do as much work around here as I used to. Could have something like that out in the pole barn.”
“Mind if we take a look?” says Judd.
Ash twists his face into something unnatural. “Not at all. Hold on. I’ll get the key.” He turns and disappears into the house.
Zoey watches him go, then says in a hushed tone, “Is he always this weird?”
“Yep,” says Judd. “The guy fell ass-backward into money and acts like he earned it. I don’t know where the hell he buys his clothes.”
“I do,” says Zoey. “1980.”
Clay laughs but stops when he hears a woman’s voice. She sounds like she’s complaining. Ash scolds her and she snaps back at him.
“Sounds like Ash has a lady friend,” says Judd.
They hear footsteps and all take a step back from the screen door.
“Got the keys,” says Ash. He steps outside and closes the door behind him. He descends the porch steps and heads for the pole barn. Ash looks flushed, and Zoey makes out a handprint on his left cheek.
“We catch you at a bad time?” says Zoey.
“Not at all,” says Ash. “Was just giving a few directions to my new maid. I’m a stickler for cleanliness. Always have been. Want to make sure she does things right.”
Judd and Clay share a glance but say nothing.
Their feet crunch on the gravel path until they reach the pole barn, a metal garage–looking building with one large door for vehicles and a regular-sized door for people.
That’s the one Ash unlocks and in they go.
He flicks on the fluorescents that blink to life.
There are three vehicles. A brand-new Ford F-150, atlas blue with an extended cab.
The other two are covered in tarps, but Clay knows one is an old 2002 BMW and the other is an MG Roadster.
There’s also a speedboat on a trailer, an ATV, and a John Deere Gator utility vehicle.
“Tools are over by the workbench,” says Ash.
They walk to the far end of the pole barn.
A ten-foot-long workbench sits against one wall under eight-foot fluorescent tubes in a fixture that hangs by a chain from the ceiling.
Above the bench and against the wall is a pegboard where tools hang on hooks.
They all match each other as if they were purchased as a set.
Some are power tools and some are hand tools but they’re color coordinated with lime-green-and-blue handles, just like the tool Graham identified at the hardware store.
Someone drew Magic Marker outlines around the hanging tools so there’s no doubt where each tool goes.
One outline looks like a sawzall, but the tool is missing.
“I think we’ve found what we’re looking for,” says Zoey. “Or at least where it came from.”
“Did Teddy borrow your sawzall?” says Judd. There’s an irritation in his voice because this is something Ash should have shared when he learned Teddy was missing.
Ash hesitates, then says, “No. I mean, sometimes he’s asked to borrow tools and I always say yes, but he never asked to borrow that saw. Teddy or someone else must have just taken it.”
“Why do you have these tools?” says Clay.
“What do you mean?”
“You’re not exactly the handy type. You don’t seem like the kind of guy who would have a well-supplied workshop, so neat and organized.”
“It’s…” starts Ash, then trails off. He starts again. “My grandmother bought all these tools for her groundskeeper. She loved living on this piece of property, but she was too busy driving around in her pink Cadillac selling cosmetics to take care of it.”
“You’re saying these tools came with the place when you inherited it?” says Judd.
“That’s right,” says Ash. “I can’t remember her groundskeeper’s name, but he must have organized everything like this.”
“Who uses the tools now?” says Zoey.
“Alejandro,” says Ash.
“Who’s Alejandro?”
“He’s the man I hire to take care of things now.”
“What’s his last name?”
Ash pops the collar on his polo as if feeling it on the back of his neck gives him comfort. “No idea. I just call him Alejandro. I never asked his last name.”
“So you pay him in cash, not electronically or with a check?” says Clay.
“That’s right,” says Ash. “I’m not even sure where he lives. He just shows up once a week. He has that old sage-green Chevy pickup. You’ve probably seen it parked up here.”
“I have,” says Judd, his eyes on the pegboard.
He can’t help but marvel at how well he and Clay and Zoey are working together.
They way they’re tag-teaming Ash with questions, it’s like they’re reading each other’s minds.
“And just so we’re clear, Alejandro didn’t have anything to do with acquiring and organizing these tools.
Your grandmother bought them and her old groundskeeper organized them. ”
“Right,” says Ash. He shoves his hands into the pockets of his khakis and rocks back on his heels.
“Does Alejandro have a key to the pole barn?” says Clay.
“He does,” says Ash. “That way he can come work whether or not I’m home.”
“Does anyone else have a key?” says Zoey. “Did Teddy? Or Deb?”
“No,” says Ash. “No one. I have one key. Alejandro has the other.”
“When is Alejandro scheduled to work here again?” says Zoey.
“Thursday,” says Ash. “He works on Thursdays.”
“The day before Teddy disappeared,” says Clay.
“I guess,” says Ash.
“Do you keep your key to the pole barn in the house?” says Judd.
Ash holds up his key ring. “I keep the key right here.” He smiles. “You just saw me use it to open the service door.”
“And you don’t have a spare in the house?” says Zoey.
Ash thinks about this. Thinks about it a little too hard and too demonstrably like a cartoon character before answering a question, looking up and twisting his lips. “Well, there might be a spare in the junk drawer. I haven’t cleaned that thing out in years.”
“And who has a key to the house other than you?” says Clay.
“No one.”
“Not even the maid?” says Zoey, pointedly looking in the direction of the house.
“No,” says Ash. “She’s new. I don’t trust her with a key yet.”
Clay says, “But you gave Alejandro a key to the pole barn even though you don’t know his last name or where he lives.”
Ash seems to realize the inconsistency if not flat-out ridiculousness of this. “Yes,” he says.
“What about Teddy and Deb?” says Judd.
“What about them?” says Ash.
“You didn’t give a spare house key to Teddy or Deb in case you’re on vacation and you wanted them to take in the mail or a package or let the maid in?”
Ash shakes his head. “I don’t like people in my house when I’m not home.”
“So to confirm,” says Zoey, “you didn’t lend your sawzall to Teddy. Either Alejandro used his key to take it, or Teddy somehow broke into this place and stole it.”
Ash rocks back on his heels again and says, “I guess. I don’t know what else could have happened.”
“He’s lying,” says Judd.
The three of them are standing outside Clay’s truck in front of Deb’s house.
“I agree,” says Zoey. “That Ash is a fidgety one. Just not sure what he’s lying about.”
“I can tell you one thing for sure,” says Judd. “His grandmother didn’t buy those tools. And her groundskeeper didn’t organize them.”
“You sound pretty certain of that,” says Clay.
“That’s because Ash and Deb inherited their respective pieces of property in 2001. I remember because I was helping Teddy tow that first trailer they used to live in onto the property when the first plane hit the tower in New York. We were glued to the truck radio. I’ll never forget it.”
“And?” says Zoey.
“And that brand of tools didn’t come out until probably 2010. I remember that because I bought a bunch of them when Clay was playing soccer in Europe. And I know that because I specifically remember wondering whether I should keep my old tools for him, but figured he wouldn’t be moving back.”
“Anything else that you’re certain Ash just lied about?” says Zoey.
“Not certain,” says Judd.
“Me either,” says Clay. “But I’d be damn surprised if the woman in Ash’s house is his maid. Not unless he’s paying her to scold him like a child.”
“Some men like that,” says Zoey. Both Clay and Judd stare at her. She seems to feel their eyes on her and adds, “That’s what I’ve been told.”