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“Did he tell you why?”

“He said he’d had a fight with his stepdad. But that wasn’t so unusual. Todd and his stepdad didn’t get along very well.”

“They often fought?”

“Yeah, they did. Todd didn’t like it when his stepdad laid down the rules. He wouldn’t accept that from a man who wasn’t his dad.”

“What did they fight about?” asked Chase.

“The usual,” said Scott. “Todd wanted to go to a concert, and Tilton had told him he couldn’t go since his grades weren’t good enough. They had some kind of arrangement that when he was doing well in school, he could go out on the weekends, but not on a school night. But this concert was on a school night, so Todd had hoped to get special permission, just this once, but Tilton put his foot down, and said that he couldn’t go.”

“He wasn’t doing well in school?”

“No, lately his grades had slipped.”

“And why was that, do you know?”

“He seemed preoccupied.”

“About what?”

“He didn’t tell me. I asked, but he said it had something to do with his family.”

“But he wouldn’t say more?”

“No, he wouldn’t. I just figured it was his stepdad.”

“Those fights they had.”

“Yeah. I was surprised that he was allowed to stay out all weekend, though, especially since last weekend he’d been grounded.”

“What for?”

“Bad grades, I thought. Both Tilton and Rosa were very strict about that kind of stuff.”

“How did Todd end up in your pool, Scott?” asked Odelia.

“I don’t know, I swear.”

“Did you have a party?” asked Chase.

“No, absolutely not. We were going to have a party tomorrow night, and I’d already invited some friends, but tonight was just a regular night.”

“What did you do?”

“Nothing special. We just hung out by the pool.”

“How much did Todd have to drink?”

“Not much. A couple of beers, maybe. We cooked together, then had dinner out by the pool, then just hung out for a while.” When he saw that Chase didn’t believe him, he said, emphatically, “I’m telling the truth, sir. You can ask Layla. We just hung out and then we played some video games, watched some television, then went to bed.”

“But not Todd.”

“No, like I already told that old lady, he wanted to stay up, said he wasn’t tired, and wanted to sit out by the pool for a while.” He shrugged. “I just figured that he needed to clear his mind, you know—with everything that was going on between him and Tilton.”

“Did you use any drugs, Scott?” asked Chase. “And remember that we will find out.”

“No, drugs, sir.” When Chase gave him a hard stare, he relented. “Maybe a little weed.”

“So can you explain to me how Todd ended up dead in your pool, Scott?”

“I swear I don’t know, sir.”

“He was a good swimmer?”

“Yes, he was.”

“Did he ever talk to you about his real dad?” asked Odelia, trying a different tack.

“His real dad? No, ma’am, he didn’t. Well, just to say that he was out of the picture, and had been a real scumbag for leaving him and his mom like that.”

“But he never told you he was in touch with him or anything?”

“Or that he wanted to look him up?” asked Chase.

“No, sir. He never mentioned anything like that. Not to me, anyway.” He hesitated, then shook his head decidedly. “When I went to bed he was fine—just fine. So I have absolutely no idea what happened. Not a clue.”

Chapter 20

Even though it was the middle of the night, we made our way to the Bonds, to inform them of the death of their son. It was a task that couldn’t be put off until the morning. It was also a task that no one likes to perform, but it had to be done, and so we rode in the car with Chase and Odelia and stood by as they rang the doorbell and waited patiently until Mrs. Bond and her husband appeared, looking sleepy and not a little bit rattled.

When the police show up on your doorstep in the middle of the night, it is never a good sign. And when you’ve just informed them of your son going missing, even worse.

I could tell from Rosa’s expression that she already knew that Chase and Odelia weren’t harbingers of glad tidings, and already Tilton Bond was supporting her as Chase said, in somber tones, “I’m sorry to have to tell you that we’ve found Todd, Mrs. Bond.”

“Oh, no,” said Rosa, clasping a hand to her mouth. “He’s not… dead?”

“I’m afraid he is.”

“No!” she cried, then wordlessly opened and closed her lips, even as she staggered back. We all moved inside, and there, seated on the cozy couch in the living room, Odelia and Chase took turns to inform the parents of the boy that Todd had died that night.

“I knew he hadn’t left for Mexico,” said Tilton softly. “I should have gone looking for him, instead of relying on his good sense to come home again when he felt he should.”

“But how?” asked Rosa. “How did he die? He was such a good swimmer.”

“The investigation will have to bear that out,” said Chase.