by Lee Gregg
“It’s lucky that P-lo got that call and not you. Just imagine what would’ve happened if you weren’t here. You think P-lo is coming back anytime soon?”
“It doesn’t look like it.”
“Maybe we shouldn’t go looking for Steve and Aiden tonight?”
“Yeah, maybe,” Sam said. She understood why Drew had changed his mind about tonight’s mission, but she was determined to carry it out, even if it meant she had to do it alone.
* * *
Dan stood outside the Chief’s door, annoyed that the confidence he had felt moments earlier was now completely gone. He had been debating his next move for the last fifteen minutes and had made up his mind. But now, inches from the danger zone, he was having doubts again. If he sat back and did nothing, he could still deny any knowledge or involvement if the microphone was found, he thought. If he took action, he could get caught red-handed. As the seconds ticked by, it seemed more and more probable that the bug would be discovered. He tried to remind himself of how he had come to his decision and, for a second, his mind went blank. But then it all came back. Waiting for an investigation to slowly sniff him out seemed like a torturous way of committing professional suicide. If he had a choice, he preferred to use his skills to shape his future over leaving his fate to chance. Dan knocked on the door.
“One sec,” Chief Constable Joe’s muffled voice responded.
The debate continued in Dan’s head. Should he update the Chief on the auto thefts on Diamond Ridge? Add a little more pressure to the Black kidnapping case? Invite him to the next poker game? Dan rubbed his chin and wondered why all of his reasons for disrupting the Chief suddenly seemed so lame.
“Come in,” the Chief called.
“Hey boss,” Dan said with a smile. The box of donuts sat in front of the Chief. From where Dan stood, he could see a little white ball in one of the corners.
“Dan, how are you today?”
“Fine, sir. How about yourself? Rhonda back yet?”
“Let me tell you, Dan. I am missing Rho-Rho so much! I mean, it’s not the first time she’s gone away for a little R&R with her girlfriends, but I never missed her as much as I am this time. I just might be getting a little sentimental in my old age.”
“Sounds like you just might be, sir. How long has she been away?” Dan stole a quick glance at the box. He dared not look too long in case he drew attention to it, but in that split second, he could not see the bug. His heart skipped a beat and he was sure that it had actually stopped pumping blood altogether for a few seconds.
“Well, now, let’s see. She left last weekend on the Friday, so it’s been a week. Can you believe that? Turned into an old sap in just a week. You better not share this with anyone, Dan.”
“No sir. Absolutely not. And when is she returning?” Dan took a deep breath and held it for as long as he could. He had to get his heartbeat to return to normal and calm his nerves. This was not the time to mess up, he thought as he let his breath back out slowly.
“Not for another week, Dan. A lot of lonely nights for me to go. And I can tell you that I really do not enjoy eating out on my own. Every night I’ve done that. Can’t stand lonely dinners. I always wondered about the poor old losers eating alone in restaurants when I was out with Rho-Rho and now it turns out to be me. Pathetic, I tell you.”
“Not at all, sir. I completely understand the feeling.” Dan shifted his weight, trying to improve his view, but the other side of the box remained out of his sightline.
“Well, now, that’s right. How long has it been since Elaine—”
“Three months, sir.” Dan felt a sharp pang in his chest and his shoulders stiffened abruptly. His gaze dropped to his boots and he stood dazed, surprised with his reaction. The room echoed in silence.
Two light taps at the door broke the quiet as Ervin Armand popped his head into the office. “Can I take your garbage?”
“Erv! I suppose I could let go of a few things here.” The Chief rose to his feet and threw several used napkins and plastic forks into the bin at the side of his desk. He looked into the box of Timbits, reached in and stuffed two into his mouth. “Donut?” he asked Dan, releasing a cloud of powdered sugar into the air.
Dan shook his head and forced a smile. The Chief placed the last donut on his desk and threw the box in the trash. Dan watched it fly into the bin and rock as it landed on top of the other discarded items. He didn’t want to stare, but he couldn’t tear his eyes away from the empty box because it was truly empty. The microphone was no longer hidden inside. Dan felt his pulse pounding in his temples. Where was the bug now?
32
In the darkness, Sam jogged past a row of cars parked along one of the four sidewalks bordering the Village Square parking lot, passing the Village Square Market without even a sideways glance in its direction. A shiver crept down her spine. Somehow, the air in the square felt much colder than it was just a couple of blocks away. She had avoided this area of the village since the shooting and returning to it now triggered an edgy tingle over her skin.
She spotted Baker’s Doutzen ahead. The memory of the bakery in the bright daylight framed by the windows of the Village Square Market flashed into her mind. George Baker in a thick, red sweater to protect him from the cool fall weather, a kind smile on his face as he held out a tray of goodies. The look of delightful anticipation on a child’s face as she reached up and took a sample. As if the most wonderful thing in the world was about to happen, instead of the worst.
Sam watched the child just moments before she saw blood pooling on the white-tiled floor next to her — the image that haunted her every time she thought about her mom. The same image that was flooding into her mind now, taking her back to a place she had been trying to forget. The place where she could smell the faint scent of bleach from the tiles, where she heard ringing in her ears after the deafening pop, where she felt the limpness of her mom’s hand.
Sam’s stomach lurched and she knew she couldn’t stop what would happen next. She made a dash for a garbage bin, but she didn’t have time to manipulate the bear-proof handle. Bending over behind the container, she felt everything inside her erupt and spill out — an acidic mess of food and bile mixed with tears.
With nothing left to expel, Sam got up slowly and noticed two women standing in front of a truck with a red-lettered licence plate. They were gawking at her with their mouths open, their upper lips curled in disgust.
“It is her,” the woman holding a large box said, shaking her head.
“Who?” the one wearing black asked.
“You know. Her. Kidnapped the boy she was in love with and left him to die when he refused her advances. She’s the reason why.”
“Ohhhh. Well, just look at her. Probably wasted from drinking away her sudden fortune.”
“Absolutely disgusting,” the woman with the box said, giving Sam a dirty look.
“No shame at all.”
Sam’s stomach clenched. She stared at the two women, trying to decide whether she should confront them. She was so tired of pretending that she hadn’t heard what people were saying or that she hadn’t seen their nasty looks. This time, she decided, she wasn’t going to walk away. But before she could take a step, they made a hasty retreat into their truck.
“Hurry, she could be on drugs,” the woman with the box said. “They get violent with superhuman strength. Did you see the video of that naked man at the gas station?”
The truck door slammed shut, sparing Sam from hearing the rest of their conversation. In their rush to leave, they backed into a van driving through the lot. Trapped between three parked cars to their front and sides, they honked furiously at the van now imprinted with their rear bumper.
Sam knocked on the window of the van that had been T-boned. After confirming that the driver wasn’t injured, she gave him her contact information, letting him know that she would be happy to serve as a witness should he have any problems with the driver who had caused the accident. Those two might want to
spend less time watching videos about drug addicts and more time on videos about instant karma, she thought.
Sam circled around the shops in the square and jumped out of the way of a car driving out of the back lane. She looked up at the sign beside her, the words dimly illuminated by the brake lights of the passing car. Dead end.
Without the street lamps that lit up the square, the alley seemed like a large black hole. Sam stood still, as though blinded by the dark, waiting for her eyes to adjust. Slowly, her other senses grew more sensitive. Her nose picked up the mouth-watering smells from the bakery, along with the off-putting odors leaking out of the large garbage bins lining the lane. Even the cold air stung Sam’s nostrils in a way it hadn’t before. Except for the drip from a leaky pipe somewhere in the distance, which echoed down the lane, there was complete silence. It was a dramatic contrast from the buzz of people and cars in the Village Square just on the other side of the complex.
Sam took a few steps forward. The slosh of her boots in the icy slush covering the road was deafening. She slowed her pace, trying to quiet her steps as she passed tiny backdoor alcoves crowded by dumpsters. To her right was a wall of snow, making her feel like a rat navigating through a maze with only two directions, forward and back. She had no idea whether this particular path lead to a trap, a reward, or nothing at all.
A loud bang rang out from ahead. Sam jumped. Her heart racing, she froze in place, straining to make out the source of the noise. Did it come from behind a dumpster? Inside a dumpster? The sound of her pulse pounding in her ears matched the thumping she felt in her chest. She waited until her heartbeat slowed to match the sound of the dripping pipe. Then, she continued on.
As she approached the midway point of the lane, she became acutely aware of two shadowy figures slumped next to a door further ahead. She took out her phone, started her voice recorder and tucked it back into her jacket pocket. After a deep breath, she walked towards the figures. She could see that the dim light illuminating the small alcove was above a sign with the words “Baker’s Doutzen” written on it. This was it.
“Steve? Aiden?” Sam called out softly.
“Who’s there?” A tall figure stood straight and took a few steps towards her. It was Steve. The other figure remained seated, but he spun around and sat erect, as though ready to pounce.
The question, “Where were you two last weekend?” popped into her head, but Sam stopped herself from blurting it out. She cringed, suddenly realizing that she’d put herself in a difficult situation, that obtaining a recorded confession wouldn’t be as simple as it sounded when she had devised the plan. A flood of regret washed over her as she looked up and down the empty alley and back at the two dark figures in front of her.
“Who are you?” Steve asked again, approaching Sam quickly, “Wait. Are you….”
He stopped directly in front of her, his face hidden in the shadow of his own backlit frame. Somehow, it felt cooler in that shadow, as though the light he was blocking radiated heat like the sun. An icy chill shot down Sam’s back.
The door to Baker’s Doutzen flung open and standing at the entrance was George Baker with a large bag of baked goods.
“Aiden!” he said, offering the bag to the man sitting near the door. “Slow day today, so, more for you. Where’s Steve?”
Aiden pointed and George squinted into the alley. “Steve? What are you doing over there? Who’s that? You have a new friend?”
“Hi George,” Steve responded. “This is…we had a run-in with her yesterday.”
“Come here, both of you. Let me get your new friend something, Steve. I was going to bring home a loaf today, but you can have it.”
“No, it’s okay, Mr. Baker,” Sam said as she and Steve approached.
“Oh, it’s you,” George said, his mouth slightly open in surprise. He must read the Glacier Times, Sam thought.
“Listen, I’m really sorry about what happened yesterday,” Steve said to Sam. “The past few days have been crazy and Aiden was a little on edge because of it. He can get a little paranoid sometimes, but…he’s not wrong. People have been following us and taking pictures and whispering about us. Anyway, it’s my fault that went down the way it did. I was being a jerk and he was just reacting to it and…I hope Aiden didn’t scare you too much.”
Sam hesitated a beat before responding, “No, I…I was just wondering where you two were last Sunday night.”
“Why?” Steve asked. When Sam didn’t immediately respond, he cocked his head and his whole body stiffened. “Wait, that’s the night Ben Black was kidnapped, right?”
“Yes.”
“What, you think we were involved?” Steve sounded both amazed and offended.
“We stay at the shelter at night,” Aiden offered timidly.
“No, I…I just needed to know. I’m not saying…What shelter?” Sam stammered.
“The Garden,” Aiden said.
“What does it matter where we were? That’s none of your business.” There was hint of annoyance in Steve’s voice now. “Wait. Are you the one behind that Justice For Ben website? You’re the reason we don’t have anywhere to sleep anymore! Why would you accuse us of kidnapping?” The hint of irritation was now gone and in its place was obvious anger. Steve took a step towards Sam and loomed over her.
“Steve, now take it easy,” George said.
“No, I…I…,” Sam struggled to find the right words.
“Back off,” Sam heard an authoritative voice say.
Penelope stepped out from the shadows of the lane and with one hand on Steve’s chest, she pushed her way between him and Sam. “She had nothing to do with setting up that website. Someone else is running it and I know because I’m helping him. And you are on that site because you were caught on camera demanding money from my friend in front of the BEE. And, I was there yesterday when your brother, there, almost decapitated my friend.”
“Aiden didn’t mean it. Honestly, he would never hurt anyone.” Steve stepped backwards and took a seat beside his brother. “Look, I’m really sorry. That kid in front of the BEE was too busy filming himself to notice that he’d kicked our donation cup into the crowd. We lost all our cash. And then he acts like we’re the ones who did something wrong. We’ve been getting hounded since that website went up and we got booted out of the shelter because of it. We didn’t have anything to do with the kidnapping. You can check the sign-ins at the Garden, or just ask Terry there.”
“What shelter are you talking about? Glacier Village doesn’t have a homeless shelter,” Penelope said.
“The Blooms run it on the down-low. Or at least they used to. We got linked to the location because of that website and now we’re not allowed to go back. Can’t risk it getting shut down and putting everyone else out in the cold,” Steve explained. “It’s out on Raven Lane by Silver Glow Lake, the big green house with all the raised planter beds.”
Sam’s eyes met Penelope’s and she knew they were both thinking the same thing. The reason they had received so many tips about Steve and Aiden being spotted near their first checkpoint was because their campsite wasn’t far from the shelter.
“What the Blooms are doing at the Garden is amazing. It makes all the difference. Gives people a chance,” George said, putting his hand on Steve’s shoulder. “This one got a job this week, didn’t you, Steve? And with a bit of time, you and Aiden can find your own place to rent. Your own place to call home.”
“Could have,” Steve said. “Once they find out I’m homeless, there’s no way I can keep my job. Look, we’ve got to go. I’ve got an early shift tomorrow. C’mon Aiden. Thanks for the bagels, George. This should be good for a few days.”
George waited until the two men disappeared down the alley before whispering, “They’re good boys, but mental illness is very, very difficult. Steve has been taking care of Aiden since Aiden was twenty.” He shook his head gently. When he spoke again, his voice was back to full volume and as cheery as it had been when he had first greeted Aiden. �
��Anyway, come in, come in. Penny, did you get to say goodbye to Claudia? She had some kind of lab emergency last night.”
“Yes, actually it was Sam’s dog she took with her.” Penelope turned and tapped Sam’s arm. “So, get this, Sam. They are saying that Trax attacked Dr. Chow and now that there are two victims, he’s their top priority. That’s why they went to my place to find him.”
“What?”
“Oh, that is your dog! He looks terrible now, but he is going to be a beautiful dog. I can tell. Claudia always wanted a dog like that, but my little girl, Marie — Claudia’s mom — has such severe allergies. Now that Claudia lives in Vancouver, she can finally have the dog she always wanted.”
Sam felt a tiny ache in her chest. She missed Trax already.
“Come, sit down. Fresh sourdough bread. Doutzen made it specially for Claudia.” George smiled as he led them to a table by the front window. “Losing family is never easy. Even when it is only for a short time. Everyone deals with it in their own way. But Doutzen? She goes cuckoo crazy every time Claudia leaves after a visit. Can’t stop crying. Won’t stop talking about moving to Vancouver to be closer. They talk every week, text or email every day and we drive down for a weekend every month! Still, she is so upset. Like her heart physically hurts. She thinks she is having a heart attack every time. I tell her, ‘Doutzen. That pain you feel is that little part of Claudia that got stuck inside your chest the first time you opened your heart to her. And she is in there, giving you a little squeeze to remind you that she is right there with you.’ She says, ‘George. Shut up. This is real pain. The worst pain you can imagine.’ And I say, ‘No, Doutzen. The worst pain is never being lucky enough to feel that squeeze.’”
Sam looked out the window as she listened to George. Her gaze fell on the Glacier Village Market across the parking lot and she stared through the front windows at the row of coolers along one side of the store. She counted the cooler doors and when she got to four, she shut her eyes, squeezing her eyelids together as tightly as she could. Two tears escaped.