Ronan shook his head. Things were very muchnotokay. He turned his screen toward Tennyson so he could see the headline. After Ten gasped, Ronan began to read, “A severed human head was found in a basement freezer on Davis Street. According to witness statements the woman who owns the house, Maria Cullen, fell and broke her hip two weeks ago, which required surgery and an extended stay in rehab. The family decided it was best that she move into an assisted living facility. The head was found while Cullen’s great-niece and nephews were packing and cleaning out the house. The identity of the remains is unknown at this time. If you have information pertaining to this death, contact the Salem Police.”
Ten stood with his mouth hanging open. “What the hell is wrong with people? How do you have a frozen human head in your freezer and not know about it?”
“Well, when we cleaned out our basement freezer on New Year’s Day, there was a pot roast, boxes filled with unidentifiable leftovers, and a package of Everly’s favorite dinosaur-shaped chicken nugs we didn’t know were there. I’m sure that kind of thing happens all the time.” Ronan grimaced at the thought of what happened to the rest of the meat in the Cullen freezer.
“You’re right. I’m sure nugs get lost in the freezer all the time, but not heads.” Ten shook his head. “I mean, how the hell does a head end up in a suburban Salem home in the first place?”
“My first thought is that this could be some kind of domestic situation. Maybe Maria’s husband was handsy with other women or was abusing her in some way and she took matters into her own hands.”
“Makes sense,” Ten emptied his plate into the trash and handed the dish to Ronan. “But one big question remains, where’s the rest of the body?”
Good question. “Which brings me to my second thought, that this could be mob related. We’re not that far outside of Boston and leaving a human head sends a message. You know, like that scene fromThe Godfatherwith the horse…”
Ten held up a hand. “Got it. You think you’re gonna get called in on this to investigate?”
“Why, because it’s anactualcold case?” Ronan asked with a snort. He’d worked a lot of homicide cases in his career as a Boston Police Officer, but none included body parts in a freezer.
“That’s terrible.” Ten giggled. “I’m going to hell for sure.”
Ronan wrapped his arms around his husband. “If you are, I’m right behind you.” Gallows humor at its finest.
“Daddy! The bus is at Mrs. Hickenlooper’s house. We gotta gonow!” Everly shouted.
“I’ll catch you later.” Ten pecked Ronan’s cheek and rushed into the living room. “Don’t forget, we’ve got that meeting later this morning. You know, the top secret one?”
Ronan nodded. He’d been forbidden to even think about the meeting called by Everly’s second grade teacher. They didn’t want her to know what was going on until the complete picture had been painted.
“Bye, Daddy!” Everly and Ezra chorused.
“Have a good day! Love you!” Ronan called back, as Ten shut the door. He took his seat at the table and finished skimming the rest of the article. Maria Cullen hadn’t been questioned about the head as yet, and no other body parts were found in the house. Ground penetrating radar would be brought in to search the property for the rest of the remains of the victim. The approximate age of the remains was unknown.
Sighing, Ronan set the phone on the table. He knew what was going to happen next. Every parent, spouse, or child of a missing person was going to mob the Salem Police Department needing to know if the remains belonged to their family. He didn’t envy the officers who were going to be tasked with speaking with grief-stricken family members.
Ten’s question about his unit being called in to work the case spun around his brain. Ronan supposed it was a possibility. Cisco always spoke about the team’s empathy when working with the families of murder victims, which made them ideal candidates.
For the moment, Ronan needed to get his ass to the office. He and Jude were in the middle of an investigation he was anxious to get back to. It wasn’t until they started working this case that Ronan realized how much he’d missed Jude’s instincts and gut feelings. It was good to have the team back together again.
As for the frozen remains, if Cisco wanted them to work the case, he’d give them a heads up.
2
Tennyson
After a busy morning reading for clients, Ten finally had a moment to catch his breath. It had been a complete surprise the day before to get an email from Miss Stanton, Everly’s second grade teacher, asking for a meeting with him and Ronan. Ten had written back asking why. Everly was a good kid. She wasn’t a bully and got good grades. Teachers didn’t have time to meet with parents to tell them how awesome their kids were, which meant there was obviously something of a more serious nature Miss Stanton wanted to discuss. The return message stated the teacher would explain everything when they were together.
The message had annoyed Tennyson and angered Ronan. He’d sat down after dinner with Everly and asked her about school. What she thought was going right and wrong. Nothing Everly said made Ten think there was any kind of trouble. Library days were her favorite. She hated math. Nothing was out of the ordinary. Ten had put the meeting out of his mind, not wanting his daughter to get wind of it. Everly didn’t need to worry needlessly. Ten, on the other hand, was a wreck.
As he and Ronan drove to the school, Ten’s anxiety ramped up. His mind spun over the possibilities for this meeting. Was Everly behind her classmates? Was she ahead? Was there an issue with her behavior?
“Take a breath,” Ronan said, as he parked in front of Salem Elementary School.
“I’m fine,” Ten muttered.
“Like hell you are!” Ronan shot back. “Look, I know this meeting is upsetting, but let’s take a different approach. Whatever theteacher is going to say is not the end of the world. If Everly’s falling behind, we’ll hire a tutor. If she’s light years ahead of her peers, we’ll sign her up for piano lessons or baby Mensa meetings.”
Ten snorted. “What if this has to do with Everly’s behavior and attitude?”
“Babe, it’sstillnot the end of the world. Our daughter isn’t going to be sent to death row for sassing off to her teacher. We’ll talk to her after dinner and get her side of the story and go from there.” Ronan cracked his knuckles. “I’ll tell you one thing though, I’m not going to let this teacher walk all over our daughter. She’s a good kid who is kind to others. Besides,” Ronan snickered, “I doubt she’s running a covert Tootsie Roll ring on the elementary school black market.”
