E. J.

E. J., also called Ed Junior, is the son of Ed Grayson and Maggie Grayson. He is characterized chiefly through his father’s account of a striking change: a child who once loved hockey now avoids the sport and wants to remain at home. That contrast connects E. J.’s private life to Ed’s decision to pursue Dan Mercer, though the evidence does not specify what caused E. J.’s withdrawal or establish that Mercer harmed him.

Identity and Family

Ed describes E. J. as a happy child whose favorite sport was hockey. Ed had grown up playing basketball and knew little about hockey, but Maggie’s family, from Quebec, played the game, and Ed learned to love it for his son. Hockey thus represents a point of connection Ed made an effort to build around E. J.’s interests.

Withdrawal from Hockey

By the time Ed recounts this history to Wendy Tynes, E. J. has lost interest in the sport. Ed says that bringing him near a rink causes him to react with fear, and that he now wants only to stay home. The account sets his earlier enthusiasm against his present withdrawal without explaining its cause. Ed stops and looks away after describing the change; Wendy responds with sympathy, and the conversation falls silent.

Significance to Ed’s Pursuit of Mercer

E. J. is not shown taking part in the search for Dan Mercer, but his father’s fear for children shapes the pursuit. Ed tells Wendy that Mercer will hurt another child if he is not stopped and asks her to help find him. When Wendy points toward the judge, Ed replies that the judge can no longer help him. His appeal makes clear that he intends to act outside the courts, and his account of E. J.’s changed life gives that conviction a deeply personal context without proving that E. J. himself was Mercer’s victim.