Chapter 29
“Can I help you?” he says to the door.
“Judd. It’s me.”
Judd unlocks and opens the door to see Mei standing in her scrubs. The look on her face walks the line between pissed off and relieved.
Mei says, “Why haven’t you responded to my calls or texts?”
“Lost my phone. Why didn’t you call me on my landline?”
“I didn’t know you had a landline,” says Mei. “Where do you keep it? Next to your steam engine and washboard?” She sighs something sad. “I’m sorry. You’re going through hell right now. I just … I was worried. I am worried. Why do you look like you just woke up?”
“Because I just woke up,” says Judd. “Come on in. I have a lot to tell you.”
The invitation to Clay has to be delivered in person. Deb reaches Judd on his landline. Deb reaches Zoey through Sue. And Zoey stops at Clay’s house and rings the doorbell. He answers it wearing joggers and a sweatshirt and hair pointing in all directions.
“Rise and shine,” says Zoey. “Deb wants us over there for pizza and to share some new information.”
“What kind of information?” says Clay.
“She figured out Teddy’s password on his cell phone. She’s in. Now come on. Go pretty yourself up. I can’t be seen with someone looking the way you do. I have a reputation in this town. And brush your teeth. I don’t want any bad breath fogging up my windshield.”
When Clay walks into the doublewide, he notices something missing—it’s the hope in Deb’s eyes.
He and Zoey enter the living room and sit on the couch.
Deb has brought in a chair from the kitchen for herself.
She holds Teddy’s cell phone. Judd and Mei have squeezed into Teddy’s old recliner but keep it un-reclined with their feet on the floor.
“Thanks for coming,” says Deb. “I’ve found some disturbing emails and texts in Teddy’s phone.”
“If you don’t mind sharing,” says Zoey, “what was the password? It may give us some insight into Teddy’s state of mind.”
Deb looks down at Teddy’s phone, then lifts her eyes to Zoey. “91279.”
“Any significance?” says Zoey.
Deb nods. “It’s the day Teddy and I drove up to St. Paul and he talked his way into backstage passes at the Clash concert.
That’s when Joe Strummer gave Teddy the earring.
After the concert, we walked down by the river, and Teddy proposed to me.
We were seniors in high school so we kept it secret until we graduated.
” Deb manages a sad smile. “I don’t know why I didn’t think of it before.
We celebrate the anniversary of our first date.
We celebrate our wedding anniversary. But we never celebrate the anniversary of Teddy’s proposal.
” She wipes away a silent tear. “Apparently, the date was still important to Teddy.”
Clay glances at his father, looking for the same despair that he sees in Deb’s eyes, but what Clay sees in his father is curiosity. Judd doesn’t know what’s in Teddy’s phone. Deb has waited to tell them together.
“Teddy’s been gambling,” says Deb. “One of those sports gambling sites. He downloaded the app—I can see all his winnings and losses—and the losses far outweigh the winnings.”
“Oh, boy,” says Judd. “Why do people fall for that? Just because they advertise on TV every ten seconds? It’s like Vegas. Think they build those big hotels and give you free drinks because they’re losing money?” And then, almost to himself, he adds, “Come on, Teddy. You know better than that.”
“Where’s the money coming from?” says Clay.
“It appears,” says Deb, “that Teddy opened a checking account I didn’t know about.
It also appears that Teddy uses the same password for our regular bank account.
I’ve logged into his secret account. All expenditures are for the gambling website.
And all deposits are cash. They range from twenty dollars up to a thousand dollars.
” Deb looks from her phone to Judd. “Has any of that cash come from you?”
“No,” says Judd. “Teddy hasn’t asked for money in a few years. And that was for getting his car fixed, which he did. I paid the mechanic directly.”
“Clay?” says Deb.
Clay shakes his head. “Teddy doesn’t ask me for money, and I’ve never offered it.”
“Is it possible Braedon has given Teddy money? I hate to even mention it, but he’s a sweet kid, and he adores Teddy. If Teddy asked—”
“No,” says Clay. “Braedon has a savings account, but I have access to it. The only thing he’s withdrawn money for is to buy a fishing rod and reel and some tackle.” Clay shifts positions on the couch to face Judd. “So he can impress his grandfather up north.”
“So,” says Zoey. “Teddy has a secret source of cash. Someone’s been paying him under the table to do something we don’t know about.”
“It looks that way,” says Deb. “I have no idea who that person is, but I’m pretty sure I know their phone number. There’s a text chain in here … The contact is just a phone number, no name or anything.”
“Probably a burner,” says Clay.
“And each text just contains a date and time,” says Deb. “The response is either a thumbs-up or thumbs-down. Sometimes initiated by Teddy. Sometimes initiated by whoever the number belongs to.”
“When is the most recent text?” says Zoey.
“Saturday,” says Deb.
“A day after Teddy disappeared,” says Judd.
Mei takes Judd’s hand in hers and gives it a squeeze.
“Yes,” says Deb. “It’s from the same number. Teddy’s last text is at one AM on Friday. It just reads 2:30. And the response came two minutes later: a thumbs-up. Teddy must have left the house shortly after.”
“If we knew their meetup location,” says Clay, “we could send a time and date and show up to find out who it is. But we have no idea where they’ve been meeting.
Zoey, can you start the process of getting records for that phone number?
Maybe location stamps for the texts? Find out what other apps the person is running that may reveal personal information? ”
Zoey looks hard at Clay with her mouth half open.
“What?” says Clay. “You think it’s a bad idea?”
“No…” says Zoey. “I think it’s a good idea. I’m just wondering how you thought of it.”
“It’s a phone,” says Clay. “Isn’t it common sense?”
“Yeah…” says Zoey. She eyes Clay with suspicion and doubt. “Sure…” she says. But her expression does not change.
Judd takes this in, and Mei watches Judd. Deb is too preoccupied with Teddy’s phone to pick up on anything else.
“Anyway,” adds Zoey. “If that phone number does belong to a burner, it was probably paid for with cash. We can subpoena the company for locations and additional information on that phone, but the process takes time. And we don’t have time.”
“What we do have,” says Judd, “is a time stamp for Teddy’s last text and a time for whenever Teddy and whoever were supposed to meet.
Teddy left his phone and wallet and car here, so either he walked to the meetup place, got picked up in a vehicle, or had a bike stashed on the property that we didn’t know about.
The dogs tracking Teddy down to the creek doesn’t mean much.
That could have been from a day or two before he disappeared.
The time difference between the text and the meetup is ninety minutes.
If Teddy walked, we can figure out the radius of where he could get to on foot in that amount of time.
Same if he biked. If he was picked up in a car, that could get him almost to the Twin Cities. Or to Wisconsin or well into Iowa.”
Zoey takes out her cell phone. Clay asks what she’s doing, but Zoey doesn’t respond. She thumb-types, waits, and thumb-types some more. After about ten seconds, she says, “My map program says it takes one hour and fifteen minutes to walk to Miller’s Bluff. Think that could be the meetup place?”
“If it is,” says Clay, “we could use a Stingray device to emulate Teddy’s phone to set another meeting.”
Zoey stares at Clay.
“What?” says Clay. “You think that’s a bad idea?”
Zoey says nothing.
“What? We used IMSI devices all the time when I was in the army. That technology goes back to the early nineties.”
Zoey keeps her eyes on Clay. Dubious eyes. Dubious with a hint of playfulness. She smiles and shakes her head.
“We don’t need to emulate Teddy’s phone,” says Judd.
“We have it right here. And speaking of phones, Clay and I need to replace ours.” He looks at his watch.
“Let’s head up to Rochester now so we’re all back in communication with each other.
And thanks, Deb. Thanks for getting inside Teddy’s phone and sharing what you’ve found. ”
Deb shrugs. “I wish I could do more. I feel frozen. Like I have to stay here in case … for when Teddy comes home. Thanks to all of you for being out there looking for him.”
The pizza arrives. They eat and discuss more theories about where Teddy might be.
Then Clay heads up to Rochester in his truck.
Judd wants to drive separately so he can spend more time with Mei, which Clay interprets as spend the night.
Deb is the most upset she’s been since Teddy disappeared.
Part of that is from more time having passed.
The longer Teddy is gone, the more likely he got himself into some real trouble.
And gaining access to Teddy’s cell phone isn’t helping Deb’s mental state.
The man has an addictive personality. Sometimes that means substituting one drug with another.
Or one activity with another. It’s all about chasing the same high, whether that high comes from alcohol or gambling or whatever.
Judd kisses Mei goodbye at her car and makes a plan to meet at her place. Zoey is about to get in her squad car when Judd calls out to her.
She stops, one leg in the car, the door open. “Yeah?”
Judd walks over and says, “Why are you keeping Mike and Andy out of this?”
“I’m not,” says Zoey. “Finding Teddy is their number one job at the moment.”
“Yeah, but how come you’re working primarily with Clay and me and not them?”
Zoey swings her other leg into the car, shuts the door, rolls down the window, and says, “I don’t trust Mike and Andy.”
“What does that mean?” says Judd. “You think they’re involved in Teddy going missing?”
“Not necessarily,” says Zoey. “But they’re up to something. Their communication with me is dodgy. They come and go at odd hours and in strange ways. For example, why did Wahlquist choose to drive home on such an obscure route the night he found you and Clay walking home after the bridge incident?”
“Yeah,” says Judd. “I’ve been wondering the same thing.”
“I saw him earlier that night at Knut’s,” says Zoey. “Then he left to go on patrol but he made some lame excuse about being down in a river valley and out of service.”
“It can happen,” says Judd.
“I know. But Sue tried radio contact for over an hour. Those out-of-contact spots are small. Just at the lowest elevations. What was Wahlquist doing in one for over an hour?”
“Wahlquist and Kimmich are good cops,” says Judd.
“They can be,” says Zoey. “But they’re not always good cops. I’ve seen that firsthand. And my guess is you have, too.”
Judd doesn’t respond directly. He’s never held his friends Mike Wahlquist and Andy Kimmich to the standards he sets for himself.
Maybe that’s part of being Teddy Hawkins’s twin brother.
Always expecting less from others. Making excuses for them.
Bailing them out of whatever trouble they might get into because, hey, they did not fall short of expectations.
At least Judd’s expectations. Maybe the only person he’s ever had high expectations for is Clay.
And Clay met Judd’s expectations and then some.
Not exactly in the way Judd would have preferred, but Clay is one capable human being.
He can’t help but wonder if all that animosity toward Clay stemmed from a fear of losing the boy.
Losing him like he lost Pam. Maybe Judd kept his son at arm’s length so Clay couldn’t hurt him the way Pam did.
The idea is just hitting him now in the moment, and it’s making his stomach churn.
He’s got to put that to bed. Accept Clay for who he is.
Because Clay is pretty damn amazing. His violin playing.
Going to Dorset-Cornwall. Working for his country using pro soccer as a cover.
And Clay’s raising one hell of a boy. Gave Judd his most treasured gift.
And it was Clay who noticed Zoey’s skilled police work.
Maybe, if Judd is honest with himself, he saw it, too.
But he didn’t want to, and Clay opened Judd’s eyes.
Because Zoey Jensen is a hell of a cop. Her investigation of Teddy’s disappearance is top rate.
Hell, she’s even sniffed out Clay’s secret agent work while he played professional soccer in Europe. Or she’s damn close to doing so.
Judd doesn’t much like himself at the moment. But he swallows it all down and says, “So what do you think Wahlquist and Kimmich are up to?”
“Not sure,” says Zoey. “Clay said Wahlquist is going to run for mayor. Maybe it has something to do with that. Or it might just be that they’re trying to find Teddy on their own to show me up.
I hope that’s what they’re doing. I know they feel slighted that one of them wasn’t promoted to chief.
They’re not outright hostile toward me. But there’s an undercurrent of tension at the station. Ask Sue. She’s noticed it, too.
“The most important thing right now,” adds Zoey, “is that whatever they’re up to, I don’t want it distracting from the work you and Clay and I are doing.”
“All right,” says Judd. “Fair enough. I’ll talk to them.
See if I can sniff out anything. And hopefully you’re right.
They’re just trying to be the heroes so they can embarrass their boss.
” Judd looks down, as if he has to muster up the courage to say what he’s about to say.
“But don’t worry about them. You’re a good cop, Zoey. Riverwood is lucky to have you.”
Zoey feels Judd’s compliment in her throat and behind her eyes. And it takes all her strength to keep that feeling from spreading. “Of course you’d say that,” she says. “You trained me.” Zoey manages a hint of a smile, then rolls up her window and drives away.