Closing Time

by Brenda Chapman

  “About that. My sergeant already got Jacques Rouleau’s approval. I have papers in the car for you to sign.”

  She scowled. “Shit. You really thought you could work me, didn’t you?”

  “No, I honestly didn’t know if you’d come around.” He grinned and raised his palms to the ceiling. “But a man could hope.”

  She glared at him but after a brief silence said, “I have to still be here for Dawn so I’m not going to spend every waking moment on the case. You can run stuff past me and I can do research and help with interviews.”

  “Fair enough. The autopsy’s scheduled for tomorrow morning in North Bay, but I can go alone and report back to you. It’s a five-hour trip each way so I won’t return to the Soo much before suppertime.”

  “That should work. I know you’re thorough.”

  “Try to be.” He drank from the mug. “You off coffee?”

  “I’m using this vacation as a health break.”

  “Fair enough. Do you keep in touch with Shannon?”

  “A couple of times a year. She’s busy with her life.” Stonechild’s face got the closed-off look that told him he’d better tread carefully. He knew for a fact that she’d stopped initiating any contact with the woman who used to be her best friend in Dryden. He wasn’t surprised when she pointedly changed the subject. “How’s your wife doing?”

  “She’s tired and ready to shove the baby out into the world, although the doctor says another three weeks is likely. Sleeps a lot when she’s not eating. Has this craving for peanut butter, horseradish, and onion sandwiches, which turns my stomach, so not sure how the baby’s handling it.”

  “Might come out needing some Alka-Seltzer.”

  Clark laughed. “Or its stomach pumped. I’m nervous about having a kid, considering all the crap I see in this job. I know you said Dawn’s mother is in Joliette. What’s she in for?”

  “Armed robbery. She has seven years left on her sentence.”

  “She got ten?”

  “Yeah, so she comes up for parole next year. She’s been a model inmate.”

  “Kid must miss her.”

  “She does, although there’s a lot of anger mixed in. I’m hoping Rose comes to stay with me when she gets out.”

  “She’s lucky to have you.” He gulped the last of the coffee. Stonechild had taken on someone else’s kid and seemed to be sticking with it. Maybe there was hope for her yet. He slid the mug across the counter. “I’m going to head out. Back to the Soo for supper and North Bay first thing tomorrow. I’ll check in after the autopsy.”

  Stonechild’s forehead furrowed. “We need to talk to the other people at the restaurant that night. Three couples. Rachel also has that boyfriend in town we should interview. Why don’t I type up what I’ve got so far from people and make a list of those we need to follow up with?”

  “That would be an enormous help.”

  “Anything else you want me to do tomorrow morning?”

  “Forensics has Rachel’s cellphone and laptop, but I haven’t gone through her bedroom yet. Her parents said they’d stay out of it until I give the green light.”

  “Okay, I’ll get on it.”

  “Now I remember why I liked working with you so much. You take initiative.” He smiled again. “Walk out with me and sign that release paper before you change your mind.”

  “Are we getting any more resources?”

  “Only when the need arises. You and I are alone in the field for now.”

  “Is that usual?”

  “Not unusual. Remember we’re stretched thin this month. The team will help track down information as needed back at HQ, and of course the forensics team is in play. Not like working on a big-city force.”

  “Although even city forces have resource issues and priority files that push other cases aside.”

  “I still think of you as a northern cop. Can’t quite picture you in the overpopulated south.”

  She didn’t say anything and he wondered if he’d struck a nerve. He hadn’t yet decided about phoning Jordan and telling him that Stonechild had surfaced and was working this case with him. He’d wait to see how the next week unfolded before making up his mind. Might be best to keep things professional and steer away from the past. He was leaning that way by the time he reached the outskirts of the Soo. The sight of his brother’s truck in his driveway ten minutes later came as a shock.

  “Shit,” he muttered under his breath as he pulled in behind it. This could get weird in a real hurry.

  “I’ll try his number again,” said Dawn. She typed and sat back to wait while Skype tried unsuccessfully to connect with Gundersund’s computer. “Where could he be?” she asked.

  “He’s probably working. Emergencies can arise out of nowhere, as I’m sure you remember from all my late nights.”

  “He’s going to think we’ve forgotten him.”

  Kala laughed. “I very much doubt that. We’ve only been gone four days.”

  “Still.” Dawn shut her laptop and crossed her arms across her chest. “I guess we can try again tomorrow.”

  “We can and we will.” Kala picked up their empty plates and cutlery and set everything on the tray. “I was hoping to get some groceries, but we’re going to have to go into the Soo since the only store in Searchmont burned to the ground several years ago.”

  “Who told you that?”

  “The woman behind the counter when you went to the washroom.”

  “We have enough bread and milk for another day.”

  “As roughing it goes, we don’t have it too bad. A forty-mile drive to restock isn’t much of a hardship.” Kala thought she could fit the trip in midafternoon if she got the search of Rachel’s room done in the morning.

  “How do these people stand having to go so far for everything?”

  “They’ll have learned to take the good with the bad. Living close to nature always comes with some concessions.”

  “Would you want to live this far away from a city?”

  Kala decided to leave her answer open-ended. “I’ve lived with Taiku in a cabin outside a town in northwestern Ontario and it suited me. I also like where we live now, in a community near a city. I can adapt to either.”

  “But which do you prefer, Aunt Kala? Where do you want to be if you have a choice?”

  She’s intuitively landed on the crux of it. Can I stay rooted in one place with the same people for the foreseeable future or is this yearning in me to get in my truck with Taiku and hit the open road going to win out? If I go back, my life is going to change big time. And the truth of it is, I don’t know if I’m built for the responsibility. This ache in me is only getting stronger. I don’t know if I’m wired to be with one person forever. I don’t know if I’m capable of making Gundersund happy.

  Kala picked up the tray and stood, looking down at Dawn. “I’m where I need to be for now,” she said. “I’m not going to worry about the future today and neither should you.”

  Kala woke up early the next morning and checked outside before she put on her running gear and bug spray. Rain might be on the horizon, but for now the sky was transitioning from black to indigo with silver streams of moonlight bathing the trees and shimmering across the lake. The beauty of this place, the isolation and the calm were a balm for her soul. She called to Taiku and they walked through the woods and past the restaurant to the road. She thought about Rachel while she ran and the best way to approach the interviews that lay ahead. Word would soon get around that the girl been murdered — her parents would tell somebody and, like oil spilled on water, the news would spread through the entire town. She didn’t know if this would inspire people to come forward or make them retreat further behind the impenetrable wall that united small towns against outsiders.

  Shane was alone in the restaurant after she settled Taiku back in the cabin. He heard her enter and appeared with a pot of tea as she took a seat near the window. He was wearing a white apron over jeans and a blue-and-white-checked flannel shirt,
and had tied his brown hair back with an elastic band. He ran a hand over a few days’ growth of stubble on his cheeks while his velvety black eyes levelled with hers. “Blaine and Ian have come and gone,” he said. “I’m making cheese-and-onion omelettes this morning unless you’d like something else.”

  “An omelette would be great, but hold the onions. If you make a second with onions before I leave, I can bring it to Dawn in the cabin.”

  “No problem.”

  She watched the light strengthening across the lake until he returned. He set a fluffy, golden omelette with brown toast and hash browns on the table in front of her. “Please join me,” she said.

  He looked toward the door and back at her as if weighing his desire to leave against the need to be polite. “I’ll get a coffee and will be right back.”

  She was halfway through her meal when he finally returned and dropped into the seat across from her. “Sorry, I was getting a soup started for tonight. We’ve got a few reservations already.”

  “Were you a cook before you came here for the summer?”

  “I worked at a couple of diners in Sudbury. The last one went under and I was out of work, so Martha bailed me out by asking me to work here. She used to do all the cooking and said she’d be happy for an easier summer.”

  “How do you know her?”

  “Our mothers are first cousins.”

  “I haven’t met your wife.”

  “Petra.”

  “She was here the other night, but I didn’t get a chance to speak with her. How does she like living in the woods for the summer?”

  Shane’s gaze passed over hers and out the window. He drank from his mug. “Petra would rather be anywhere but here.” He refocused on Kala and gave a tight smile. “She’s managed to spend a lot of the summer in the Soo.”

  “Where will you go when the lodge closes?”

  “Not sure. I have some job applications out in Sudbury and Toronto, although I prefer not to return to Sudbury. I’m thinking of heading farther west as well.”

  Kala took a final bite of hash browns and set down her fork. His use of the singular pronoun might be unintentional, but for now she wouldn’t probe. She sensed he’d shut down if she went there. She rested her elbows on the table and leaned in. “I’m helping Officer Harrison look into Rachel’s death. What can you tell me about her?”

  “I thought you might be. I hear you worked with him before.”

  “That’s right.”

  Shane scratched his cheek while he appeared to organize his thoughts. “Rachel was quiet, pleasant, a good worker. She melted into the background and you forgot she was even in the room. I got the feeling she was micro-managed at home by her mother.”

  “Was anything bothering her aside from her home situation?”

  “I wouldn’t know.” He twirled his coffee mug before taking a drink. “She seemed happier as the summer went on. I thought it might be because she was away from her mother. She’d started talking more and joking around. Becoming more self-confident.”

  “Did you meet her mother, Isabelle?”

  “Yeah, we’ve met.” He gave a half smile. “She’s a religious, self-righteous worrier from our few conversations. I wasn’t impressed with how she interacted with Rachel.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Isabelle treated her like a child, and she was anything but. I figured Rachel had reason to act out.”

  “How was she with her father?”

  “They seemed to have a looser relationship. He was into his outfitter business and often away overnight. She told me that he asked her to work for him this summer, but she wanted to try something different.”

  “So the last time you saw Rachel was at closing time Saturday evening.”

  “That’s right. I locked up and she went out the front door to wait for her father. I asked her if she wanted a lift to town before she left but she said no and that he’d be there any minute. Like I said before, I exited by the back door and didn’t see her again.”

  “Did Neal leave with you?”

  “I didn’t see him at the restaurant. I heard he came by, but I was working in the kitchen.”

  “You and Petra have one of the cabins?”

  “We do. The one up the hill farthest from the lake. You might not have noticed it in the woods, which have gotten thicker up that stretch of land. Martha’s father built our cabin first, and it was meant to be temporary while he spent more time and effort on the rentals. It’s basic, which doesn’t suit Petra, as you can imagine. I don’t mind roughing it a bit.”

  “Where’s Petra now?”

  “Sleeping. You won’t catch her up before noon. She’s like a teenager that way.” Shane lifted his mug and made as if to stand. “Well, if you’ve asked all your questions, I’ve got to get back in the kitchen and make that second omelette for your niece. I’ll be around if you think of anything else needs answering.”

  “Thanks. I’ll keep that in mind. I also want to pick your brain about the rivers and where to put in my canoe.”

  “Sure thing.”

  Kala returned to a still-sleeping Dawn and set the food in the fridge, leaving a note on the table telling her it was there and saying she’d be back by lunchtime hopefully, when they could go for a swim. She locked the cabin and drove her truck toward Searchmont. She passed the spot where Rachel’s body had been found. A makeshift wooden cross and flowers had been placed on the shoulder of the road nearby. Kala parked a short distance farther on and backtracked. The cross was thigh-high. Rachel’s name had been printed in capital letters on the horizontal piece of wood in black magic marker. A photo of her face was stapled below. Two bouquets of white lilies and pink roses were at the base in vases of water. Kala pulled out her phone and took photos, forwarding them to Clark with a short explanation. Likely not germane to the case but he should know, nonetheless. Ten minutes later she pulled into the Eglans’ driveway and prepared herself for the morning search through Rachel’s bedroom.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  Clark was on the road by 4:00 a.m. as planned. The autopsy was scheduled at the North Bay Regional Health Centre for nine thirty, and with clear sailing on the highway he pulled into the hospital parking lot with ten minutes to spare. He signed in at the front desk before meeting the coroner and pathologist in the operating room. They’d already prepped for the autopsy and Rachel was lying naked on the metal table. He tried to remain detached even as overwhelming sadness filled him. She was so young and she’d had so much living ahead of her.

  He watched the cutting and weighing and inspecting but let his mind wander to the night before. Jordan and Valerie were sitting in the kitchen when he’d entered the house. Jordan had jumped up to give him a bear hug, and Clark had gotten them both a beer after hugging his wife.

  “I’ve ordered a pizza,” she said. “I’m going to lie down for a bit, but save me a piece.”

  “Are you feeling okay?” he asked.

  “I didn’t sleep well last night, so I might be gone for a long nap.” She eased herself out of the chair and lumbered past him, one hand supporting her back. “I’m sure you boys have lots of catching up to do.” She gave Clark a meaningful look before disappearing from the room. He knew what she was referring to and regretted telling her about meeting Stonechild at Pine Hollow Lodge.

  “What brings you to the Soo?” he asked Jordan.

  “I had some time off. Thought I’d get in a bit of fishing and help you paint the baby’s room. I’m guessing you haven’t gotten around to it.” Jordan grinned as he lifted the beer bottle to his lips.

  “Still got three weeks.” Clark hated the defensive note in his voice. Jordan knew him too well. His nickname in high school had been “Last Minute.” He preferred to think of himself as methodical.

  The front doorbell rang and Jordan jumped up. “This meal’s on me,” he said and playfully shoved Clark back into his seat on the way by. He returned with the pizza box and got a couple of plates from the cupboard and tw
o more beers from the fridge before sitting down. Clark watched him serve up slices and thought about the time his brother had been going out with Stonechild. He’d been happier with her than anyone before or since, and that included his wife, Miriam, who’d had a nasty streak wider than a country mile. Clark had hated how Miriam controlled and manipulated anyone who got close to her. Two children later, his brother had had all he could take of sharing his life with her. Nobody in the family had tried to talk him out of his decision to split up for good.

  Jordan appeared more at ease than the last time Clark had seen him the year before. He’d shed a few pounds and looked as if he’d been working out. Clark was taller than his brother by a couple of inches, coming in at six three with a stockier build. He’d been the football player in high school while Jordan had been a hockey star forward — quick and agile with a deadly slapshot. He’d met Miriam in grade ten and she’d snared the high-school heartthrob, even though Jordan never saw himself that way. He was self-effacing but with an easy-going confidence. A lot like Stonechild in the self-assured department, except she was a loner whereas Jordan was not; he liked being with family and friends and had trouble being separated from his kids. Stonechild had proven that she could walk away from everybody in her life without looking back.

  “So what’s new?” Clark had asked, hoping to keep the conversation away from his own work.

  “Not a lot. Business is going well. I picked up a contract to rewire a bunch of stores in the Intercity Mall. The guys start next month. What about you? Val tells me you’re working a big case.”

  “A sixteen-year-old girl was murdered a few nights ago on her way home from a server job at a lodge near Searchmont.”

  “That’s awful. Any leads?”

  Clark shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “I can’t talk about an ongoing case, but we’re looking at various angles. Getting statements. I’m leaving early in the morning for the autopsy in North Bay. Before sun-up.”

  “Are you alone in the field?”

  And here it is. Decision time. “I’ve got a recruit at the lodge who’s helping with the investigation.”