‘We just have a couple questions for you. May we come inside?’

‘Yeah, I guess.’

She waved them into her living room. A game show blared from the television. The room smelled of beer. So did Jessie’s breath. Stride saw the kitchen adjacent to the living room, where dirty dishes mingled with empty Budweiser cans. There was no air conditioning, and the shadowy interior was warm with stale air that hung in the room.

‘You were on the security team during the marathon last month, weren’t you?’ Maggie asked her.

‘Yeah.’

‘We’re trying to identify the man who’s standing next to you in this picture.’

Jessie took the photograph from Maggie with two thick fingers. The glib smile on her face wavered. ‘Why are you looking for him?’

‘Do you know him?’ Stride asked.

‘Has he done something?’

‘Ms. Klayman, is this your son?’ Maggie asked. ‘Troy Grange thought it was.’

She sat down on the old sofa. An empty bag of Doritos was on the coffee table in front of her. ‘Okay, yeah, that’s Ross. So what?’

‘Is he here?’ Stride asked.

‘No.’

Stride eyed the hallway that led to the bedrooms. ‘Does your son live with you?’

‘Yes. What is this about?’

‘We’d just like to talk to him. Do you know when he’ll be back?’

‘No, he went for a walk. Do you think Ross has done something wrong? Because he hasn’t. He’s a great kid.’

Maggie withdrew another photograph from her pocket. This one was a blurry picture taken by Jay Ferris near Ely’s Peak, showing a man in camouflage aiming an assault rifle. ‘What about this photograph?’ she asked. ‘Is this Ross?’

Jessie studied it. ‘I don’t know. I can’t make out the face.’

‘Do you or Ross own a rifle like this?’

She shrugged. ‘We have guns. They’re all legal.’

‘Including a Bushmaster rifle?’ Maggie persisted.

‘Yeah, so what? I told you, they’re all legal.’

‘What about handguns?’

‘Yeah, we have some. Sure. I don’t have to remind you guys about the Second Amendment, do I? A person would have to be nuts not to carry a gun in this day and age. No offense to cops, but I don’t have time to wait for a patrol car to mosey over here if someone breaks into my house.’

‘Would you mind if we take a look at Ross’s room?’ Maggie asked.

Jessie folded her arms across her ample chest. The chirrup in her voice rose higher. ‘Actually, I do mind. You come in here asking all these questions about my son, and you won’t tell me what’s going on.’

Stride exchanged a glance with Maggie. ‘Well, thank you very much for your time, Ms. Klayman. We’d appreciate it if you or Ross could give us a call when he’s back. We need to meet with him in person.’