Chapter 31
Chief of Police Zoey Jensen is right. Clay tails Ash directly to his hundred-acre parcel of land with its horses and llamas, its grand old house and metal pole barn, all of which sits adjacent to Deb and Teddy’s place.
When Ash starts down his long gravel driveway, Zoey is already there, sitting in her squad car with the headlights on and the cherries off.
“Oh hey, Chief,” says Ash. “What’s going on?
” He’s out of his car and walking toward Zoey, who sits behind the wheel with her window down.
Ash wears a deep V-necked cable-knit sweater in white over a red polo shirt, Nantucket red shorts, which are not red but pink, no socks, and Tretorn tennis shoes.
Ash turns back to Clay, who’s stepping out of his truck.
“What the hell, Clay? Why are you following me?”
Zoey says, “This won’t go well for you, Ash, if you keep saying things like that.”
“Saying things like what? What did I do? I was just out running the MG because I haven’t driven it in a while. Then this truck pulls behind me and—”
“Don’t,” says Clay.
“Don’t what?” says Ash.
“I have a dash cam and a rearview cam. The whole thing is on video.” This is a lie, but it’s one of Clay’s favorites.
He used it all the time when confronting Russian assets.
Not spies, but the stooges they hired as couriers and lookouts.
No amateur wants to be confronted with video evidence.
It’s easier to just assume that the video exists and play ball rather than deny it and face the irrefutable truth.
Ash’s shoulders slump forward like a child’s who’s just been sent to his room. Then he swings his eyes toward Zoey and says, “I was acting out of self-defense.”
“When?” says Zoey. “And with whom? Teddy?”
“What?” says Ash. “No. With Clay. He has a very threatening presence and I don’t like the way he’s been looking at me lately.”
“Clay is threatening,” says Zoey. “That Clay? The skinny little fellow with long flowing locks?”
“He’s not that skinny,” says Ash. “So I followed him to see what he’s up to.” Ash’s posture straightens the more he likes the smell of his excuse. “You know, to protect myself. Living outside of city limits. A guy has to take security into his own hands.”
“Really?” says Zoey. “Did you decide that before or after someone stole the sawzall from your pole barn?”
Ash opens his mouth but no words come out.
“Why did you give the saw to Teddy?” says Clay. “What are you two up to?”
Ash says nothing.
“Maybe,” says Zoey, “we should go down to the station and have a chat.”
“Am I under arrest?” says Ash.
“You will be if you don’t cooperate. Come on. Let’s go. I’ll drive you home after.”
“No,” says Ash with panic in his voice. “Not the station. Let’s talk here. Please…”
Ash hasn’t updated the house since he inherited it from his grandmother. There’s a lot of honey-colored oak and floral print on everything that can have floral print. The wallpaper, the upholstery, rugs, and, in some rooms, the ceilings.
“Teddy needed money,” says Ash. “He came to me and asked for a loan.”
“How much money?” says Zoey.
“Ten grand. He told me he’d gotten himself in over his head on something and was in a real jam.”
They sit around a kitchen table that looks like it might have been in a Cracker Barrel at one time. It features intricate chisel work and spindly legs.
“Did you lend him the money?” says Clay.
“Yes,” Ash says. “Because he’s family … and he promised he’d pay it back in a month.”
“You’ve known Teddy your entire life and you lent him money based on a promise to pay it back?”
“Yeah…” says Ash, his voice rising and fading in a lack of confidence.
“When did you lend Teddy the ten grand?” says Zoey.
“A little less than a year ago, I think.”
“Did Teddy ever pay back the loan?”
“No,” says Ash. “He keeps saying he’ll pay me back, but whenever I see him, he has an excuse. You know Teddy.”
“Yeah,” says Clay. “I do. Just like you do. Which brings us back to why would you lend him money.”
“He’s family,” says Ash. “And a neighbor. What else could I do?”
“Say no,” says Clay.
“What kind of interest are you charging him?” says Zoey.
“Excuse me?” says Ash.
“How much interest are you charging Teddy on the loan?” says Clay. “You know, the loan you agreed to because Teddy is family?”
Ash looks up at a cuckoo clock hanging on the wall next to a framed needlepoint that reads: PEARLS GO WITH EVERYTHING.
“Is that a hard question to answer?” says Zoey.
Ash sighs. “He’s supposed to pay me back fifteen.”
“Fifteen percent or fifteen thousand dollars?” says Clay.
Ash reddens. “Fifteen thousand dollars.”
“You charged Teddy fifty percent interest?” says Zoey. “Not exactly the family and neighbors rate. Not to mention Minnesota usury laws.”
Ash turns back to ashen. “What do you mean?”
“You broke the law, Ash,” says Clay. “You can’t charge that much interest. You could be in serious trouble.”
“Real serious,” adds Zoey.
“I didn’t collect!” says Ash. “There’s no deal. Teddy and me, we don’t have a deal anymore. It didn’t happen.”
“But you lent him the money,” says Clay.
“Yes,” says Ash. “But then—” Ash stops himself as if he’s forgotten the English language.
“But then what?” says Zoey.
Ash gets up from the table and walks to the pantry.
He returns with a package of Oreos, slides out the plastic tray, and sets them before Zoey and Clay.
Ash removes one, takes a bite, and says, with his mouth full, “I made a deal with Teddy. If he took care of something for me, I’d forgive the interest on the loan. ”
“Just the interest?” says Clay.
“Yes.”
“And what was Teddy’s quest, pray tell?” says Zoey.
Ash looks confused, as if he doesn’t quite understand Zoey’s question, then says, “I was in Lanesboro at the Root River Saloon. And there’s this girl at the bar.” It’s like Ash can feel Zoey’s eyes on him and says, “Woman. This young woman.”
“How young?” says Zoey.
“Twenties. Maybe thirty. We get to talking. I ask if I can buy her a drink and she says yes, so I do.”
“What did she order?” says Zoey.
“A Long Island iced tea.”
“Twenties,” says Zoey with an I figured expression aimed more at Clay than Ash.
“Probably,” says Ash. “But over twenty-one—she was in a bar.”
“Naturally,” says Clay. “No one under twenty-one has ever set foot in a bar.”
“Do you want me to tell you the rest or not?” says Ash. “Because if you just want to make fun of me, I’ll be quiet and you can have at it.”
Clay and Zoey share a look. They’re tag-teaming poor Ash. But the look is more about their tag-teaming than it is Ash. Their teamwork feels natural, the two of them, and they both know it. Something transpires in this shared glance. Something bigger than Ash. Maybe even bigger than Teddy.
Zoey breaks eye contact first and says, “We apologize. Please continue.”
“Anyway, we’re talking—”
“Do you remember her name?” says Clay.
“Skye,” says Ash. “Skye and I are talking and after a couple of drinks I ask her if she wants to come to the house to see the horses and llamas. And she gets this kind of sad look on her face. Really sad and like, kind of lonely or something like that. I expect she’s going to tell me to take a hike, but no.
She says she would like to see the horses and llamas.
But not like in an excited way. Almost like it was something she had to do. ”
“And did she go back to the house with you?” says Zoey. “To see the horses and llamas?”
Ash nods.
“Did she spend the night?” says Clay.
“Technically no.”
“Which means,” says Zoey, “that you slept with her and then she left. So how was the sex?”
Ash’s eyebrows rise almost all the way to his hairline. “Excuse me?”
“How was the sex? Was it tame? Was it wild? Was she into it? What did she say? You’re the greatest lover I’ve ever had? Nobody has ever done it for me the way you do? You sure do know how to satisfy a woman?”
Ash looks at Clay with an expression that says, Do I have to answer that question? Clay responds with a nod.
“Yeah,” says Ash. “She said some stuff like that.”
“And afterward,” says Zoey, “how much money did she say you owed her?”
Ash reddens again. “Five hundred.” He swallows hard. “Plus a tip.”
“Did you pay her?” says Clay.
“I told her I didn’t know she was going to ask for money.
She never said she was a … you know … professional.
” And with downturned eyes, he adds, “I’ve picked up women before.
Many times. None of them have ever asked for money after.
Well, almost none of them. At least in the United States.
And then she said it should have been obvious because look at her and look at me and I’m old enough to be her father.
And why on earth would she choose me if it wasn’t for five hundred dollars and a tip? ”
Clay turns to Zoey and says, “Is five hundred the going rate around here? Sounds kind of steep.”
“You’re right,” says Zoey. “It is steep. But look at the way he dresses.” She rolls her eyes over to Ash. “He’s screaming that he has money. Then she sees this big house with a petting zoo … She probably thought five hundred was about right.” Zoey looks at Ash. “Did you pay her?”
“No,” says Ash with a firmness in his voice.
“Well, not right away. I said I didn’t have five hundred dollars laying around the house.
She said we could go to a cash machine in town.
So I said I lost my debit card because, you know, I shouldn’t have to pay for it.
I don’t need to pay for it. Women like me … Some women like me. They do.”
“Are any of them in their twenties?” says Zoey.
Ash pretends to think about this as if the answer is difficult, then says, “No.”
“Did she buy the lost debit card excuse?” says Clay. “Or do you think it’s possible she’d heard that one before?”
“She said,” starts Ash, “that if I didn’t pay her, I would have to answer to her boyfriend.”
“Meaning her pimp,” says Clay.
“I don’t know … That was the first time I ever … I…” Ash deflates even further. “I don’t know … Unless…”
Clay and Zoey share another look. Zoey helps herself to an Oreo, pops the whole thing in her mouth, and says, “Unless what?”
“You promise you won’t tell anyone if I tell you?”
“I’m the police, Ash. Who are you worried about us telling?”
“Just, you have to promise.” Ash sits up straighter to show them he means business.
“I can promise you this, Ash,” says Zoey. “If what you’re about to tell us does not involve criminal activity, we won’t tell anyone. If it does involve criminal activity, and you’re not involved, we won’t mention your name.”
“That works,” says Ash.
“But I can’t promise some lawyer won’t subpoena you.”
“Of course,” adds Clay, “if it comes to that, you’ll probably be in a lot more trouble then than if you just tell us now.” Clay’s hoping Ash doesn’t think this through because it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. Again, trick of the trade.
Ash nods. It makes sense to him. “Okay. I’ll tell you.” He takes another Oreo, unscrews it, scrapes off the filling with his front teeth, and says, “I told Skye—I doubt that’s her real name…”
“Really?” says Zoey in a flat, dull tone. “I hadn’t considered that possibility.”
Ash nods as if to say, I’m almost sure of it. “I told her that I would try to find my debit card and we could go get her five hundred dollars.”
“Plus tip,” says Clay.
“Yes, plus tip. If she promised that she would never tell anyone about our time together.”
“Let me guess,” says Zoey. “She promised.”
“Yes. She did. Then I ‘found’ my debit card. We drove to a bank machine. I paid her. I dropped her back at the bar where I met her. Then never saw her again. But she broke the promise because a few days later—and this is the part you can never tell anyone—Andy Kimmich came to the house and told me if I ever told anyone about that night, he’d kill me. ”
“Andy Kimmich of Riverwood PD?” says Zoey.
“That’s the only one I know.”
“And he actually said he’d kill you?” says Clay.
“Kill me,” says Ash. “His exact words.”
“Okay,” says Zoey. “So how is Teddy involved in all this?”
“Right,” says Ash. “Okay. I told Teddy that if he did me a favor in relation to Andy Kimmich, I would forgive the interest on the ten grand.”
“What was the favor?” says Clay.
“I told Teddy to tell Andy Kimmich that he saw an MC at my house. This house. My house. You know, because Teddy and Deb’s property is right next to this one.
Teddy was supposed to say it in kind of an awestruck way, like I was in business with an MC.
Just to let Andy know I wasn’t somebody to mess with. ”
“An MC?” says Zoey.
“Motorcycle club,” says Ash.
“You mean a biker gang? Guys with leather vests and loud Harleys and big handlebars?”
Ash nods.
“Holy shit, you have to be kidding,” says Clay.
Ash shakes his head with dead-serious eyes.
“And you think,” says Zoey, “that Teddy went to tell Andy Kimmich this, and that’s why Teddy is missing.”
Ash nods, and his lower lip begins to tremble. He wipes away a tear before it can start down his cheek. As he does, Clay and Zoey share a look of disappointment.
Zoey takes a deep breath and says, “All right. I’ll have a talk with Andy.”
“You promise you won’t mention me, right? I mean, you promised.”
“We promise,” says Zoey.