The Goldfish Boy

While Teddy was playing with flowers in the front yard, Mr. Charles had been inside having an afternoon nap. Matthew is cleaning his room when, at 2:37 p.m., he hears a shout from the garden. Mr. Charles is calling for Teddy, who is nowhere to be seen. Jake’s mom Sue appears, and, sensing an emergency, offers to call the police. Twenty minutes later a police car arrives, and two uniformed policemen speak to a trembling Mr. Charles. Looking out his bedroom window to look for Teddy, Matthew instead sees Casey, skipping along merrily despite her brother being missing. More policemen arrive, and eventually, a helicopter appears over the houses.

When the doorbell rings, Matthew panics. It is a policeman, Officer Campen, who would like to ask Matthew some questions to see if he knows what happened to Teddy. When Campen asks to look in the backyard, Matthew hesitates; he does not want the man to walk through his house, given all the germs he could be letting in. While Campen searches around the backyard for Teddy, Matthew scrubs his hands at the kitchen sink, worried about germs. Back inside, Campen asks Matthew if he has seen Teddy recently. Matthew explains he saw Teddy earlier that day, playing in the front yard on his own. Campen grows suspicious of Matthew when he mentions that Mr. Charles’s front gate was closed, but Matthew explains, “I just look at things and see stuff. That’s all” (84). Campen is also suspicious of the fact that Matthew was staring out the office window, people-watching, instead of playing outside like a normal child.

Matthew shows Campen the office window, and Campen realizes that he has a good view of the whole neighborhood. When he asks Matthew if he has seen anything suspicious lately, Matthew thinks about Casey pushing Teddy into the pond, but does not mention it. Matthew mentions Mr. Jenkins went out running just before Teddy went missing, and even provides Campen with the exact time, which he wrote down in his notebook. Campen is questioning Matthew about his strange habits when the phone rings. Too terrified of germs to put his mouth to the receiver, Matthew lets it go to voicemail. The call is from Dr. Rhodes’s secretary, who is calling to confirm his therapy session tomorrow. Campen avoids Matthew’s eyes and leaves to question Mr. Jenkins.

When he leaves, Matthew gets an email from Melody, wanting to know if he knows anything about Teddy going missing. Matthew tells her he saw him playing in the front yard earlier in the day, but nothing else. Melody realizes that Matthew is probably the best witness in the case and begins asking a slew of questions about the goings-on at Mr. Charles’s house; Matthew immediately regrets saying anything to Melody.

Soon after, a van pulls up to Mr. Charles’s house, and two men begin draining water from the pond with plastic pipes. When Mr. Charles notices their activity, he is incredulous. Ten minutes later, the men finish searching the pond for clues. As soon as they finish, Mr. Charles picks up his hose and begins filling the pond again. By 6:00 p.m., Matthew watches as two sniffer dogs run around the neighborhood searching for evidence. As he watches on from his window, Matthew gets an email from Jake, who believes that Old Nina kidnapped Teddy. Matthew replies, asking Jake if he has any information. Jake responds by saying, “The only thing I’ve seen is your stupid gawping face staring out that window of yours” (92). Matthew, not bothering to reply, deletes the email.

Jake and Matthew had once been best friends. Sheila had gotten close to Sue when they were both pregnant and expecting babies around the same time, Matthew at the end of October and Jake at the beginning of November. After the kids were born, Sheila and Sue continued to develop their friendship, and would meet up for coffee, the boys in tow. After a few weeks, Sue noticed something was wrong. Jake was struggling to put on weight and his skin was unusually red and patchy. After months of doctor’s appointments, the doctors discovered Jake had several allergies. Soon after that, Sue’s husband left, leaving her alone to care for her sick son. When the boys started school, Jake was teased by the other kids for having so many medical issues and dietary restrictions, but Jake took comfort in having at least one friend in Matthew.

The bullying came to a climax in fifth grade, when, on a field trip to London, Jake sat alone on the bus—his peers were under the impression that his skin condition was contagious and refused to be near him. Instead of sticking up for his friend, Matthew declined Jake’s offer to sit together, ultimately choosing to sit with his new friend, Tom. When the boys started middle school the following year, Jake had turned a new leaf: He began hanging out with a group of older, rowdier kids, and took on the role of the school rebel. Jake effectively “stopped being bullied by becoming the bully” (96).

Back in the present day, Matthew lists all the people known to be home during the time of Teddy’s disappearance. He looks outside at the policemen, trying to solve the case of the missing boy. Matthew realizes that he may be extremely useful to them, as “they didn’t know the neighborhood like [he] did” and “they didn’t see the things [he] saw” (97). With this in mind, Matthew becomes determined to find out who took Teddy.

After spending some time thinking about the Teddy Dawson case, Matthew feels panicky; it has been hours since he washed his hands, which, to him, means he could be in danger of becoming ill. Concerned, Matthew washes his hands “over and over and over until [his] eyes streamed from the pain” (98). Back in his room, Matthew confides in Wallpaper Lion about Teddy, telling him the police “need someone like me, watching things” (98). Matthew continues to write down facts about the disappearance, such as possible suspects (Mr. Charles, Casey, Old Nina, Jake, and Melody) as well as their possible motivations (Mr. Charles is more concerned about his pond, Casey clearly hates her brother, Old Nina is mysterious and strange, and Jake craves attention). Matthew considers Melody an unlikely suspect, but remembers her habit of going to the cemetery, which means she may “know of some place to hide [Teddy]” (99).

The first search party returns in the evening, having found nothing. When his parents return home, Sheila is especially upset about Teddy, and asks Matthew for a hug. Matthew stands frozen on the stairs, unable to comfort his mother for fear of touching her. Matthew thinks back to a time when he was five and promised his mother that he would always want to hold her hand and feels guilty.

A little later in the evening, a news team shows up to report on Teddy Dawson’s disappearance. When the second search party returns, there is still no sign of Teddy anywhere. Soon after, Melody shows up at Matthew’s eager to talk about Teddy’s disappearance. When she notices all the baby stuff in the office, she wonders aloud if Sheila is pregnant. Matthew tells her matter-of-factly that the things were for his baby brother, who died. Melody is genuinely sad to hear the news, and changes the subject back to Teddy. She flips through Matthew’s notebook, giggling at his notes on the case, until she comes across his comment about her frequenting the graveyard. Offended by the notion that Matthew is considering her as a suspect in Teddy’s disappearance, Melody leaves.

At 9:00 p.m., Matthew makes his TV debut, appearing on the news not as an interviewee but as a figure in the background, watching the neighborhood from his window. After the news segment, Sheila tries to persuade Matthew to remain downstairs, but he declines her offer, instead running upstairs to scrub his hands.

The police are still coming and going outside, trying to gather information and possible evidence. Matthew receives an email from Melody, offering to help him investigate Teddy’s disappearance. Matthew realizes that she could be useful, especially considering that he cannot do much on-the-ground investigating if he is confined to his house. He tells her that the first suspects are Mr. Charles and Casey, and suggests Melody make up an excuse to chat with them and “do some snooping around” (112). Melody is eager to complete the mission, and immediately runs over to Mr. Charles’s house, carrying a cake.

Within 10 minutes of delivering the cake Melody runs home and gives Matthew an update. She reports that Casey is “creepy” and does not seem bothered about Teddy’s disappearance (114). As for Mr. Charles, his eyes “were red like he’d been crying,” and he ate a sizable portion of Melody’s cake (114). Back in his room, Matthew talks to Wallpaper Lion about the case, and considers all the possible suspects (Casey, Mr. Charles, Jake Bishop).

Matthew wakes with a start at the sound of the doorbell. It is late at night, yet Mr. Charles is at his front door with Casey. Apparently, Mr. Charles needs the family to look after Casey for the night while he goes to the hospital, having eaten something that is not sitting well with him. Upstairs, Casey ignores Matthew and settles into the spare room. Matthew is not happy about the situation, and insists that she sleep downstairs on the couch, a suggestion that annoys his mother.

Sheila reports that Casey and Teddy’s mother is on a flight back to the UK and will arrive in the morning for Casey. The adults make sure Casey is settled in, and when they leave, she glares at Matthew. Gesturing toward his bedroom, she asks, “Is that your tank, Goldfish Boy?” (119). She continues to taunt Matthew until he snatches her doll out of her hand and tells her he saw her push Teddy into the pond, calling her an “evil little witch” (120). Matthew wakes up in the middle of the night and checks on Casey in the office. In her sleep, Casey tells him, “The old lady’s got him, Goldfish Boy” (121). Through the open curtain Matthew looks across the street to Nina’s house and notices that something is different. The yellow lamp that stays on at all hours has been switched off.

The next day, Matthew attends his first therapy session with his parents. Before leaving, Matthew emails Melody and tells her to see if she can find any information about Old Nina, a new prime suspect. Outside Mr. Charles’s house are a team of forensic scientists. Matthew envies their hazmat suits and wishes he could own one himself.

At therapy, Dr. Rhodes speaks with the entire family. She asks about Matthew’s condition and asks about the latex gloves. Brian and Sheila argue about the gloves, and when Dr. Rhodes announces that Matthew is likely experiencing obsessive-compulsive disorder, they argue even more. Brian blames Sheila for her excessive vacuuming, and Sheila takes offence. As the argument grows more heated, Brian begins shifting in his seat, nearly touching Matthew’s arm. Matthew grows anxious about being touched, and, panicked, asks his father to move away from him slightly. Brian is incredulous at first, and eventually breaks down into tears. Dr. Rhodes suggests the parents take a break so she can chat with Matthew alone.

When they are alone, Matthew is distracted by the clock. He is anticipating the long hand landing on 13, a number that makes him very anxious. Dr. Rhodes, seemingly aware of his distraction, gives him information about OCD and how he can begin recovery with cognitive behavioral therapy. The mere thought of having to confront his fears makes Matthew feel deeply unwell, so he excuses himself to the bathroom, where he scrubs his entire arms.

At home, the family run into Gordon. Sheila asks him how Penny is doing, and he gives her a vague answer before heading back home. In Mr. Charles’s yard is Melissa Dawson, Teddy’s mother, who looks distraught. Once home, Matthew kicks off his shoes and runs upstairs to change his clothes and spray himself with antibacterial spray.

In an email, Melody reports back to Matthew about Old Nina, who apparently has a cellar. In the same email chain, Matthew asks Melody for a favor: he needs her to buy him a new box of disposable latex gloves. Melody agrees to the favor without asking any questions. Matthew realizes that Melody “wasn’t someone I’d taken much notice of before,” but that now she seems to feature prominently in his life. Shortly after their email correspondence, Matthew watches Melody emerge from her house, on her way to buy his gloves.

An hour later another policewoman arrives to ask Matthew some more questions, which annoys Matthew. He tells the policewoman she should consider questioning Jake, who is “a nasty piece of work” (145). Back in the office, Matthew finds an email from Jake, ridiculing him for investigating Teddy’s disappearance with Melody. In the middle of the correspondence, Matthew hears noise from outside: Melody’s dog, Frankie, has found Teddy’s blanket.