The Shards: A Novel

Bret inspects Matt’s pool house. The space is mostly empty, but he discovers a Hustler magazine and a piece of paper with the initials RM (Robert Mallory) and a phone number that is separate from the number listed on the school roster. Bret sees Matt’s underwear and stuffs it in his pocket.

Bret speaks to Sheila, meeting for the first time. She mentions bruises and wonders if he got into a fight with someone. Bret wants to know what really happened. Sheila tells him to speak to Ronald.

Ronald, a high-powered lawyer, mistakes Bret for Robert, as Matt mentioned Robert to Ronald. Ronald has a minor link to the ex-husband of Robert’s aunt. Robert was with his aunt in Palm Springs when Matt vanished. Robert claims he never hung out with Matt.

Ronald hired a crime-scene photographer, and Ronald shows Bret the grotesque photos, which both arouse and disgust him. Bret says Matt only used marijuana, yet Matt had 6,000 milligrams of methaqualone (Quaaludes) in his system. Also in Matt’s stomach were the fish from his aquarium.

Ronald knows that Matt didn’t drive 110 miles to Crystal Cove. As Matt never replaced the headlight on the Datsun, Ronald finally took it in and noted the mileage. Matt only drove the car around 10 miles after he was last seen. Ronald believes someone assaulted Matt and gave him drugs. Bret now thinks of Matt as his “first love.”

The next morning, Bret vows to change. He’ll make a schedule, stop using drugs, limit his drinking, and follow Robert. He drives to school in silence and kisses Debbie. When he sees Robert at midmorning assembly, he imagines Robert’s penis.

The seniors prepare for Homecoming. Their theme is a spoof on the 1981 John Carpenter film Escape from New York—“Escape from Buckley High” (577). No one talks about Matt, and Robert “serenely” gazes at Susan.

In the administration office, Bret compares the phone number on the paper with Robert’s listed number; as expected, they don’t match. Bret goes “with the flow” of high school and plays the part of the “cynical” writer, but he wants to leave Buckley, Los Angeles, and his friends. Bret drives his mother’s Jaguar to school. He heads to the library and reads John Updike’s novel Rabbit, Run (1960) for his American fiction class. He tells Susan that he’s “hiding” from everyone.

Bret regularly follows Robert in the Jaguar. Though Robert only returns to his condo in Century City, Bret feels “addicted” to the dynamic. One time, Robert drives to a two-story home in Benedict Canyon. Bret senses a “presence” and realizes that Matt could’ve come here with Robert, as the distance is about 10 miles.

The seniors continue working on their “Escape from Buckley High” float, and they remain silent about Matt. Susan doesn’t want to be Homecoming Queen, so she and Thom fight. Thom grabs Susan, and Susan slaps Thom. Bret and Debbie comfort her in the bathroom. Repeating what Susan told him, Bret tells her that she only has to get through one more year. Susan’s “pragmatism” emerges. She and Thom reconcile and kiss, which prompts movie-like clapping. Bret identifies Homecoming as the beginning of the end for Susan and Thom.

At the Homecoming football game, Ryan is with his family, and Thom is with his mother, but no other parents are present. Terry wants to have another meeting with Bret at the Polo Lounge in the Beverly Hills Hotel, and during the football game, Bret focuses on his pitch. Later, unable to sleep, Bret drives to the house on Benedict Canyon. There’s light from a second-floor room, but the light goes out, and Bret drives away.

Bret takes a valium before arriving at the Beverly Hills Hotel. He’s seen the hotel in movies like American Gigolo (the 1980 crime drama about a male sex worker), and he’s been here for many bar mitzvahs. Presently, the hotel corridor is empty, reminding him of the vacant hotel in Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining (1980). The hotel has rooms, suites, and bungalows, and Steven wants to take Bret to Terry’s bungalow. Bret is suspicious and questions Steven. Curious about what might happen, Bret goes.

In the bungalow, there’s a football game on the TV. Terry wears a bathrobe that exposes his genitals. As Bret pitches his story, he notices that Terry is bored. Afterwards, Bret and Terry have sex. Bret notes that no one forced him to be here. Later, he learns that someone took pictures of his and Terry’s sexual interaction.

Still thinking about the bungalow, Bret claims no one hurt him, so he’s not the victim of assault. He then recommits to playing the role of Debbie’s caring boyfriend.

Bret reads in the Los Angeles Times about another missing teen, Audrey Barbour. She left the mall to watch the premiere of the fifth season of the primetime soap opera Dallas (1978-91). Her parents didn’t notice anyone entering their house or rearranging furniture. The Trawler called Audrey on her private line, and though he only breathed and sighed, she told him about miscellaneous topics, including a sexual fantasy. When the Trawler abducted Audrey, he left behind a poster for Gang of Four’s album Entertainment! (1979). No one at Bret’s school discusses Audrey.

At the party for Robert on Saturday, Bret notices how close Robert has become with Thom and Susan. Ryan and Bret have a tense conversation about Matt, Debbie, and their past. Ryan says Bret makes life “so difficult,” and Ryan doesn’t want to become a part of Bret’s “drama.” Outside, Bret notices Debbie and Robert in Susan’s parents’ bedroom. Debbie leaves, and Robert and Susan have an intense exchange.

Debbie and Bret meet at the tennis court. Bret says he needs a “break” from the party, and he asks Debbie about the bedroom. Debbie explains that Susan is upset with Robert for drinking while on medication. Overcome with feelings for Robert and Thom, Bret has intense sex with Debbie.

Thom and Susan scream at each other, with Thom calling Susan a “liar” and a “bitch.” Robert tries to calm Thom, then takes off his clothes and cannonballs into the pool. Thom tries to pull him out, but Robert resists, so Susan takes off her clothes and helps Thom with Robert in her underwear. Robert tries kissing Thom and Susan before falling asleep on the couch and experiencing several nightmares.