Page 24 of Den of Iniquity

Once off the phone with Patrice, I worked my way through the list of friends Matilda had given me and came up empty. Most of the numbers were out of date. Some were simply disconnected orhad been reassigned to someone else. Unfortunately, gone are the days when I could have picked up my phone, dialed information, and simply asked for assistance.

Finally, before Kyle came home from school but hopefully late enough not to awaken someone who had to work nights, I dialed Gina Riding’s number. A woman answered after the second ring. “Hello.”

I started to introduce myself but was interrupted by some kind of a ruckus on the other end of the line.

“Boys, settle down!” she ordered. “I’m on the phone.” The background racket fell silent. “Sorry about that,” she resumed. “What were you saying?”

“My name is J.P. Beaumont...” I began.

“Right,” she said, before I could go any further. “You’re the private investigator. Matilda left me a message that you’d most likely be calling. I hope you’ll be able to do something about Darius.”

“I hope so, too, and I’m so sorry for your loss,” I agreed. “I understand you two were in a serious relationship.”

“Thank you,” she said, “and yes, it was a serious relationship. I would have married the man in a heartbeat, and my boys were crazy about him. I didn’t know it at the time, but he was planning to give me an engagement ring at Christmas. He still did, in a way. He was making payments on it. His boss from work found out where he was buying it. She paid it off and gave it to me after the funeral.”

I was touched.Score another point for Patrice Moser!I thought.

“It didn’t seem right to wear it on my finger,” Gina continued, “so I wear it on a chain around my neck. I think about him every day. At the time he died, I didn’t believe for a minute that he had died of an accidental overdose. I work in the ER. I know aboutfentanyl overdoses and how common they are. But I knew in my heart Darius wouldn’t have done that. I tried to talk to the cops about it, but I was only the girlfriend. No one was interested in my opinion. Matilda might have been able to get more traction, but after that stroke, she wasn’t able to do much of anything.”

“You saw the autopsy report?”

“I did but only because Matilda showed it to me. There was some blunt force trauma to the left side of his head—consistent with a fall—and that single needle mark on the inside of his right wrist. You’re aware that Darius was right-handed?”

“Matilda told me. But I’m interested to learn if you know about anyone who might have wished to harm him—a friend or acquaintance with whom he’d had a falling-out.”

“I can’t think of anyone,” Gina said. “He had broken off all connections with the people he used to know back when he was with Gypsy. He went to work, he went to church, and he went to NA meetings. That’s it. The rest of his spare time was spent with me and the boys.”

“But what about some other individual from back in the bad old days, someone besides Gypsy and her boyfriend? Did he ever mention having problems with anybody else?”

“I can’t think of anyone at all,” Gina replied.

“This is a cell phone, isn’t it?” I asked.

“Yes.”

“So now you have my number. If you think of anything that might be helpful, please give me a call.”

“Before you go, Mr. Beaumont, do you mind if I ask you a question?”

“Fire away.”

“I don’t know how much you charge for your services. If Matilda is paying for this, I know she’s not made of money. I can’t chip in much, but I’d like to help.”

“Don’t give that another thought,” I assured her. “My fees are being handled by someone who wishes to remain anonymous.”

When the phone call ended, I sat there for several minutes in silence thinking about why I was doing this—for Matilda and for Gina and her boys, yes, but also for that other little boy. I can still see Ben’s tear-soaked face clear as day, staring up at me, trying to make sense of what had just happened, all the while clutching the only thing he owned—that single teddy bear.

Eventually I had found the people responsible for the murder of Ben Weston’s family and had brought them to justice, but that hadn’t been enough, not nearly. Helping Matilda Jackson and Gina Riding navigate their loved one’s death was something I could do right now that might help wipe out some of that deficit.

Chapter 10

Bellingham, Washington

Saturday, February 22, 2020

In the old days, Kelly and Scotty always took their Saturday morning Frosted Flakes with a side of Scooby-Doo. Maybe that was true for Naomi, too, although I didn’t know her back then. For Mel’s and my second Saturday morning with Kyle in residence, cartoons were nowhere in evidence.

Mel and I both grew up during an age when Saturdays were designated for housecleaning. That tradition holds true in our house to this day, but with us, it’s usually every Saturday. On Kyle’s first day, she had called in sick. With only two of us, we keep things reasonably neat, but we’re not offended by a dust bunny or two. And since neither of us is exactly skilled in the art of domestic science, we have help.

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