‘I know what your father did to you, Joe,’ he said, his tone non-aggressive… friendly even.
The stunned silence that followed didn’t come only from Joe. Garcia and Captain Blake were both looking back at Hunter in disbelief.
Hunter’s decision to refer to Terry Wilford as ‘your father’ was risky. He knew that, but he had a very good understanding of how emotions and the human brain worked, and he had seen Terry Wilford’s family photo album – he’d seen the laughter that Terry had evoked in Joe and his mother with his silly face at Christmastime. He’d seen the smile on Joe’s lips when Terry had carried him on his shoulders when he was a little boy. Despite how much Joe seemed to hate Terry Wilford at present, that sacred ‘father/son’ relationship had existed, at least for a while, and those were the sorts of emotions that very rarely fully disappeared without leaving any kind of residue behind. If Hunter could tap into just one happy ‘father/son’ memory, then maybe he had a chance of enlisting Joe’s help.
‘I can understand why you would feel the way you do towardhim,’ Hunter continued. ‘But please believe me, Joe – none of what you were told was made up. That was the exact sequence in which those events played out. Your father did go missing without a trace around June 21st. You are immediate family, so of course you had to be contacted. We had no way of knowing what kind of relationship you and your father had at present, so a reasonable assumption would be that he could’ve decided to go visit his son and didn’t tell anyone.’
Another uneasy laugh from Joe.‘As if.’
‘Missing Persons did the best they could to try to track down your father,’ Hunter explained. ‘But unfortunately, they got nowhere… until just over a week ago – on July 1st – when your father’s body was found at the bottom of the 7th Street Bridge here in Los Angeles. All indicated to suicide.’
Hunter’s pause was deliberate, analytical – not too short, not too long – but this time he got nothing back from Joe. No nervous chuckle, no annoyed deep breath, no quick retort… just silence, and that was a good sign. No matter how much Joe disliked his father, the news of losing him in such a desperate way was always going to be shocking and emotional. Joe’s silence could mean that memories were being accessed, taking him back to happier days.
‘Again,’ Hunter carried on. ‘You being immediate family, you had to be informed of his passing. It was only during your father’s post-mortem examination, two days ago, that suicide was ruled out. He didn’t end his life, Joe. It was taken from him.’
The silence that followed before Joe said anything was tense… anxious. When he finally spoke, the anger in his voice seemed to have lost most of its momentum.
‘You said that you knew what my father had done to me. How could you possibly know any of that?’
This was the first time that Joe had referred to Terry Wilford as ‘my father’. Part of that safety wall was starting to come down.
The look that Captain Blake gave Hunter spoke for itself:You dug yourself into that hole. Now dig yourself out.
‘You’re right,’ Hunter accepted. ‘I can’t possibly know exactly how much hurt your father has brought into your life. And I apologize if what I said came across as patronizing. That wasn’t my intention. But I do understand that he has physically and psychologically hurt you. The signs of which you’ll carry for life, and I’m truly sorry for that.’ Another breathing pause. ‘But I’m going to be completely honest with you, Joe. The reason why I wanted to get in touch with you wasn’t just to inform you of what was discovered during your father’s post-mortem examination. I wanted to get in touch with you because we really need your help.’
The line cracked again.
‘Joe…?’ Hunter called. ‘Are you still there?’
Another flick of the lighter. Another long cigarette drag.
‘Yes, I’m still here. What kind of help are you talking about, Detective? I can’t get my ass to LA, if that’s what you mean. And I also don’t have the means to provide for a funeral, you know?’
As he said the word ‘funeral’, Hunter heard Joe’s voice slightly falter.
‘The state will do that for you, Joe,’ Hunter informed him. ‘You don’t have to worry. And no, that’s not the sort of help I need.’
‘So what, then?’
Hunter swiveled his chair to look at the picture board. ‘These kinds of conversations are better to have face to face, but I understand that you can’t make the trip to LA, so I propose that I either come to you in Chandler…’
Hunter saw a wide-eyed Captain Blake immediately lift her index finger at him and mouth the words: ‘One word – budget – no chance.’
‘Or we can just chat over the phone. It’s your choice, Joe.’
‘What exactly is it that you need from me, Detective?’
‘Information.’
Joe seemed to hesitate.‘Information about what? I told you that I haven’t seen or spoken to my father in five years. I know nothing about his life. Honestly, I didn’t even know that he was in LA.’
‘No,’ Hunter replied. ‘That’s not the sort of information I need. And I know that this is a very delicate subject, Joe, but what I need to know is a little more about the time that you were together as a family. I need to know how violent your father really was.’
The silence that followed was absolute, as if the line had gone dead. Hunter looked at Garcia and Captain Blake. Both of them shrugged back at him.
‘Very,’Joe finally replied.‘That’s your answer, Detective. He was very violent. Can I go now? Are we done here?’
Hunter grimaced at the phone. ‘I’m afraid I’m going to need you to be a little more specific, Joe.’
