“Explain.”
“Have you ever watched a reality show called Love Is a Battlefield?”
“Every episode,” Hester said.
“Really?”
“No, of course not. I don’t even get the concept. Reality TV? I watch TV to escape reality. What about it?”
Wilde had time on the hike, so he filled Hester in on Peter Bennett and the ensuing saga of his scandal and disappearances. When he finished, Hester said, “What a mess.”
“Yes.”
“You found your family — and they’re as dysfunctional as all the others.”
“I was abandoned in the woods as a small child,” Wilde said. “We didn’t expect functional.”
“Good point. So you’re going to search for your missing cousin?”
“Yes.”
“Maybe you’ll just confirm that he committed suicide,” Hester added.
“Maybe.”
“And suppose that’s the case.”
“Then that’s the answer.”
“You just let it go?”
“What else can I do?”
“So next steps,” Hester said, getting down to business. “Seems to me the person who might have some information is his wife or ex-wife or whatever she is, Jenn Whatshername.”
“Cassidy.”
“Like David? Man, I had a crush on him in the day.”
“Who?”
“David Cassidy. The Partridge Family?”
“Right.”
“Girls talked about his hair and smile, but he had some caboose too.”
“Good to know,” Wilde said. Then: “How should we approach Jenn Cassidy?”
“I know a lot of Hollywood agents,” Hester said. “I can see if she’ll talk to one of us.”
“Good.”
“I assume you got Rola working on the real identity of this Dog troll?”
“Yes.”
“By the way,” Hester began, her tone aiming for nonchalant and not coming close to hitting the mark, “did you shtup Laila last night?”
“Hester.”
“Did you?”
“Did you shtup Oren?” he countered.
“Every chance I get. Oren has a better caboose than David Cassidy.” Then: “Was that question supposed to stop me from asking about you and my former daughter-in-law?”
Wilde kept hiking up the mountain. “Where are you?”
“I’m in my office waiting on a verdict in the Levine case.”
“Any idea when it will come in?”
“None.” Then: “Was that question supposed to stop me from asking about you and my former daughter-in-law?”
Wilde stayed silent.
“Right, right, it’s none of my business. Let me make some calls, see what I can learn. Hit you later.”
Wilde did a little maintenance on the Ecocapsule. Rain had been in short supply since his return, so he took the water tank to the nearest brook to fill it. The Ecocapsule had wheels, so Wilde could move it every few weeks, just to be certain no one could track him, but he always stayed close to one of the mountain waterways for just such drought-like occurrences.
When Wilde finished, he headed over to the lookout spot that gave him a bird’s-eye view of Laila’s house on the end of the cul-de-sac. No cars. No movement.
His phone buzzed again. It was Rola.
“We got lucky. Sort of.”
“Explain.”
“We were able to trace the ISP for DogLufegnev. Seems he runs an extensive bot farm, several of which trolled your cousin pretending to be different people. So not only did ‘Dog’ post toxic stuff about Peter Bennett, he then amplified the posts as though a lot of other people agreed.”
“Not uncommon,” Wilde said.
“But still awful. What’s wrong with people?”
“Did you get a name or address for DogLufegnev?”
“Sort of. Do you know how ISPs work?”
“Pretty much.”
“What I have is the billing address that uses that particular ISP. It could be anybody in the household.”
“Yeah, okay.”
“The ISP is billed to the home of Henry and Donna McAndrews, 972 Wake Robin Lane in Harwinton, Connecticut. It’s a two-hour drive from you.”
“I’m on my way.”
Wilde didn’t use a rental this time. He had a place where he could “borrow” a car with a license plate that couldn’t be matched or traced — the vehicular version of a burner phone. He figured that would be best. He also brought dark clothes, a mask, gloves, and an appropriate yet subtle disguise in case he felt it was needed. There was, Wilde had the self-awareness to realize, a fine line between caution and paranoia. Wilde may be flirting on the paranoia side of that line, but it seemed the more prudent way to behave.
He took Route 287 East and crossed what had once been the spot of the Tappan Zee Bridge, but that had been torn down and replaced with the newly minted “Governor Mario M. Cuomo Bridge,” and while Wilde had no problem with Mario Cuomo, he still wondered why they’d change such a perfect name — “Tappan” for the Native American tribe, “Zee” as the Dutch word for sea — to honor any politician.
The ride grew more and more rural with each passing mile. Litchfield County had plenty of stunning wooded areas. Five years ago, when Wilde needed to escape the Ramapo Mountains but wanted to stay on the East Coast, he’d lived in these woods for two months.
It was nightfall by the time Wilde reached Wake Robin Lane. The road was still, quiet. He slowed the car. Every house had several acres of land. House lights twinkled through the thick foliage.
But there were no lights on at 972 Wake Robin Lane.
Wilde again felt that primitive tingle, that survival instinct most of us have long since smothered or let decay as we “progressed” and moved into sturdy homes with locked doors backed by trusted authority figures. He kept driving until the end of the street and turned right on Laurel Road. He passed Wilson Pond, found a secluded spot by the Kalmia Sanctuary, which, according to the sign, had been created by a local Audubon Society. Wilde was already clad in black. He put on his gloves, a black baseball cap, and pocketed a lightweight black ski mask in case he needed it. It was pitch dark now, but that didn’t bother Wilde. He knew the skies and the stars well enough to hike the mile through wooded yards. He also carried a flashlight if need be — being a “survivalist” didn’t give you the ability to see in the dark — but the skies were clear enough tonight.
Fifteen minutes later, Wilde stood in the McAndrews’ backyard. Before heading out, he had looked up the house on Zillow. The McAndrews had bought it in January 2018 for $345,000. It was 2,600 square feet, three bedrooms, three baths, fairly new construction, and sat on two secluded acres.
As the old saw goes: It was quiet. Too quiet.
No lights on in the back.
Either the McAndrews family members were all in bed — it was only nine p.m. — or, more likely, no one was at home. Wilde felt his phone buzz. He had an AirPod in his left ear. He tapped it to answer. There was no need to say hello. Rola knew the drill.
“Henry McAndrews is sixty-one years old, his wife Donna is sixty,” Rola said. “They have three children, all boys, ages twenty-eight, twenty-six, and nineteen. I’m still digging.”
Rola hung up.
Wilde wasn’t sure what to make of that. If one were to profile based on age and gender, the sons were more likely to be DogLufegnev than their parents. The question was, Do any of the sons still live at home?
Wilde slipped on the mask. None of his skin was showing. Most homes today have some kind of security system or camera setup. Not all. But enough. He stepped closer to the house. If he were to be spotted by camera or eyes, they would see a man dressed head to toe in black. That was it, and that, Wilde knew, was nothing.
When he got closer to the house, he ducked down in the flower bedding and grabbed a few pebbles. Staying low, Wilde threw the pebbles against the back sliding glass door and waited.