Seven

Haunted by a returning sense of dread, Cal throws himself into house painting. After dark, eggs smash against his door; Trey is demanding attention. Cal relents, orders Trey to clean up, and invites him in to talk. He agrees to look into Brendan’s disappearance on condition of honesty.

Cal conducts a structured interview. Trey outlines Brendan: bright, fidgety, a jokester and tinkerer into motorbikes and hurling; no current girlfriend; friends include Eugene Moynihan, Fergal O’Connor, Paddy Fallon, and Alan Geraghty; an ex, Caroline Horan. Brendan occasionally used hash, ecstasy, and speed, did small-time shoplifting “for the laugh,” had speeding citations, and clashed physically with their abusive father.

They focus on March 21. Brendan spent the afternoon watching TV with Trey, unusually fidgety but not depressed, then left on foot around five without the family car, dressed in jeans, hoodie, and bomber jacket. He did not return. Initial calls rang out; now his phone goes straight to voicemail. Trey later found Brendan’s usual cash stash empty, though it held a few hundred days earlier.

Cal notes the details point toward a voluntary departure—possibly a bus out of the area—while keeping other possibilities open. He proposes discreet inquiries by posing as a newcomer seeking an electrician, using Brendan’s side work as a pretext to raise his name. He instructs Trey to quietly check whether small essentials (charger, razor, backpack, clothes) are missing and to keep Cal’s involvement secret from Sheila.

They set expectations: results may take weeks or never come. Trey, energized yet anxious, accepts the plan and leaves, while Cal privately estimates runaway as the likeliest scenario.