“I’m sorry to call so late. It’s about your father-in-law.”
“Is he all right? I’ve been trying to reach him.”
“He’s at a club called Rockers in Oak Bluffs.”
“Has he been drinking?”
“Quite a lot, I’d say.”
“He’s supposed to have surgery tomorrow.”
“He told me he’s decided against it.”
When she didn’t respond immediately, it took him a moment to realize it was because she was crying. Finally she said, “It’ll take me fifteen minutes to get there. Can you keep him talking?”
“I don’t think that’ll be a problem.”
When Lincoln slid back onto his barstool, Coffin said, “Okay, here’s what’s going to happen, Lincoln. The chief of police in Edgartown is a friend of mine. Tomorrow, I’m going to go see him. Tell him what I suspect.”
“Which is?”
“That girl never left this island.”
“You’ve changed your mind, then.”
“Yes.”
“Okay, but again, why tell me?”
His chuckle was entirely devoid of mirth. “Because, Lincoln, I’m offering you an opportunity to join the We Don’t Do Right by Girls Club. As a charter member, I can do that. You want to warn your friend Mickey? Let him make a run for it? Be my guest.”
“Look, Mr. Coffin, I respect your professional instincts, but Mickey didn’t have anything to do with Jacy’s disappearance.”
The other man just shook his head at this. “But you don’t know that. You believe it. Take it from me, knowledge and belief are two completely different animals.”
“Have it your way.”
“No, Lincoln. It’s not about me having it my way or you having it yours. It’s about facing facts. Like the fact that your friend Mickey has a criminal record in the state of Connecticut, where he was arrested for beating a man into a coma with his bare hands. Two hours ago you didn’t know that. Now you do.”
“Except I don’t know any such thing, because, no disrespect intended, I don’t really know you. We only met today—well, yesterday—and you just spent the last half hour telling me about all the wife beaters you tried to protect when you were a cop. You and Troyer are old friends. Why wouldn’t I believe you’re protecting him?”
“Well, reason it out. You’re a Minerva College graduate. Why would I tell you something about your friend that you could easily disprove if I’m lying.”
“Because I might just believe you.”
“But you don’t.”
“No, it doesn’t track. If Mickey’s got a criminal record…if he assaulted Jacy’s father like you say, how come he never went to jail?”
“Ah, Lincoln, I feel sorry for you. I really do. He did go to jail. It’s all part of the public record. He spent a full week in the county lockup. Where he didn’t go was prison. Because when the guy he beat the shit out of finally came to, he refused to press charges.”
“Why?”
“Well, if Mickey was my friend, I’d ask him.”
“Is that why you drove out to Chilmark today? To ask your friend if he was involved in Jacy’s disappearance?”
“That was the reason.”
“And he denied it?”
“Correct.”
“And you believed him.”
“I’ll put it this way, Lincoln. I didn’t disbelieve him.”
“Okay, so how did he convince you?”
“Well, that day your friend punched him? Mason’s got a different version of what went down. The version you tell, when your gentle, good-natured pal came upon the two of them in the kitchen, Troyer had the girl backed into a corner and was groping her. So it’s Mickey to the rescue.”
“That’s what happened.”
“Not the way Mason tells it. According to him, the girl didn’t exactly mind getting groped.”
“That’s bullshit.”
Coffin ignored this. “The way he tells it, he stepped in front of the girl because he thought your friend meant to hit her, not him.”
“That’s—”
“Were you there in the room?” When Lincoln hesitated, Coffin continued, “No, I didn’t think so. Which means you don’t know, Lincoln. You believe. And like all true believers, you reject out of hand anything that undermines your belief.”
“Okay, but doesn’t that same logic apply to you? Neither of us wants to disbelieve a friend.”
“Our circumstances are similar, Lincoln, but not identical. Mason and I do go back a long time. He’s needed my help now and then, it’s true, and in the spirit of full disclosure I’ll admit there was a time when I bottomed out and it was Mason who pulled me back from the brink. So, yeah, I do want to believe he’s telling the truth. But I’m under no illusions. He’s always been ten different kinds of jerk, especially where women are concerned. So yeah, I’ve considered the possibility that he’s gaslighting