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“We found you through LinkedIn,” she said. “But you haven’t updated your résumé.”
“I never got a bite through LinkedIn,” he said. “So why bother, you know?”
“How long have you been at the Library?”
“Just a couple years. I’m waiting for something to open up on the Strip again.”
“Why’d you leave in the first place?”
“A bunch of bullshit is why. I don’t want to talk about it.”
“That’s fine. I was just making conversation until—”
As if on cue, Maddie split the curtain. Ballard slid over to make room. Maddie gave a slight nod that Ballard took to mean she had secured the straw from the Bloody Mary glass.
It was time to put Rodney Van Ness in a corner.
44
BALLARD LOOKED VANNess directly in the eye.
“You know, Rodney, we have a problem,” she said.
“Here we go,” Van Ness said, shaking his head. “I knew this was bullshit. Give it to me. What problem?”
“Well, to begin with, parts of your story don’t add up. And that concerns me because we came here hoping you’d provide information that would help us find Victor Best. But I gotta be honest, I have problems with what you’ve been telling us.”
Van Ness put his hands flat on the table as if he was about to push himself up to leave. Ballard hoped Maddie would be quick to put an arm out to dissuade him.
“Hey, I’m trying to help you,” Van Ness said. “I told you all I know about Victor. I haven’t seen the guy in like twenty years. I got an email from him, big deal. Everybody’s email was on the thing the reunion committee sent out. That’s it.”
“You said he runs a restaurant over there,” Ballard said. “How do you know that?”
“He said it in the email. He said if I ever went over there, he’d comp me a meal. He was hoping I’d comp him in Vegas. That’s it.”
“Fine, but that’s not where my problem really lies. It’s right here, Rodney.”
Ballard opened the yearbook again and slid it across the table until it was right in front of him. It was open to the page with Mallory Richardson’s photo.
“Her,” Ballard said. “You say you didn’t know her.”
“No, I said I didn’t know herwell,” Van Ness protested. “You can check your recorder.”
“But did you forget something?”
“No. I mean, yes, I could have. It was a long time ago.”
“Did you forget that you took her to your senior prom?”
Van Ness looked up from the yearbook. Ballard knew that if he was smart, he’d slide out of the booth, push past Maddie, cut through the curtains, and be gone. But she was banking on him not having the guts to do that.
Instead of leaving, he put on an amateurish look of surprise.
“Oh, shit, you’re right,” he said. “I did. I mean, we did go together. But it was a one-and-done date.”
“And you couldn’t remember that when I first showed you the book and her photo?”
“Look, to be honest, I did a lot of drugs back then. I was high that night and it’s always been a blur.”
