Tumbled Graves

by Brenda Chapman

  Then she’d give Gundersund a call.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Kala had just popped the last of the club sandwich into her mouth when her cellphone rang. She chewed quickly and glanced at the number before pressing receive. “Officer Stonechild here.”

  “Officer Stonechild, it’s Fred Taylor on the desk. A call just came in asking specifically for you. Woman by the name of Catherine Lockhart.”

  “Did she say what it was about?”

  “Not really. Just that she needed to speak with you. Didn’t sound urgent.”

  “Well I was on my way into the station but I can swing by her place first.”

  “I’ll log it.”

  Kala tucked her phone and notebook into her purse and signalled the waitress for her bill. Twenty minutes later, she reached the outskirts of Kingston and the turnoff to the Delaney and Lockhart houses. She passed the Delaney house first. All appeared quiet, although the yellow crime tape wrapped across the front door signalled that the police would soon be returning. A kilometre farther on the Lockhart house came into view — a smaller home with blue shutters and a garden out front. Pansies crowded around a bird bath in jewel shades of purple, red, and yellow. Both houses were set back from the main road with clumps of pine, birch, and alder lining the long driveways.

  Drops of rain began to splat on the windshield as Kala made her slow way up the Lockhart driveway to park behind Catherine’s car. Thunder rumbled off to the east where the clouds were at their blackest. Kala zipped up her leather jacket and tucked her chin inside the collar before running the short distance to the front door. Catherine must have been watching for her because she swung the door open before Kala had a chance to ring the bell.

  “I was hoping you’d make it before school gets out.” Catherine left the door open and Kala followed her into the kitchen. A coffee pot sat on the table beside a green glass vase filled with pansies and Catherine got another mug from the cupboard. A plate of butterscotch squares appeared in front of Kala. She took one even though she wasn’t hungry. The chewy sweetness filled her mouth. Kala swallowed before asking, “Have you remembered something that could help us with the Delaneys?”

  Catherine waited until she’d crumbled a square in her hands and eaten half. She set the rest on a napkin while she poured two cups of coffee and slid one across the table toward Kala. After pouring milk and sugar into her own, Catherine spoke. Her tone bordered on hostile.

  “I almost didn’t call you after your blond partner practically accused me of having an affair with Ivo. I have to tell you that I’m still quite put out by that.”

  “I’m sorry. We have to pursue all lines of questioning during an investigation. We are trying to find the truth, which isn’t always pretty.”

  “Well, that was hurtful.” Catherine took another drink of coffee as she collected herself. “Sammy’s bus will be dropping him off in a few minutes and I wanted to talk to you before he gets home. I might have mentioned that he’s been having nightmares since Violet went missing.”

  “I seem to recall that, yes.”

  “He keeps saying that he saw a man. At first, I thought his overactive imagination was dreaming him up, but lately I’ve been wondering if there’s more to it.”

  Kala felt tingling at the base of her neck that she got when her senses told her something was coming her way. She nodded at Catherine to continue but didn’t interrupt. Silence could be a powerful tool to draw out a story.

  “I mean, he was bound to be upset that his best friend was missing. He said that the man was looking for her. I really thought he was making up nonsense but since he’s been so upset and talking in his sleep. Last night, he woke up screaming. It took me forever to settle him down. You said to call if anything out of the ordinary happened.…”

  “You’ve done the right thing.” Kala spoke as if calming an upset child. “At the very least, I can try to ease his mind about whatever is troubling him. You’re right that he’s probably experiencing trauma over Violet’s disappearance, but best to be sure that’s all it is.”

  “I had to do something.” Catherine reached for the coffee pot and refilled their cups. “Rain’s getting worse. I’ll bet he thanks me now for insisting he wear his raincoat this morning.”

  “Does he go to school every day?”

  “No. I was taking him to playgroup most mornings, but with Violet gone he gets sad and sits off by himself. I finally called the school on Friday and he started afternoon kindergarten again this week. He was enrolled last fall but hated it, I think because Violet was too young to go too. My son needs to be around other kids, otherwise he’ll never learn to cope and get along. He likes the bus ride, anyhow.” She looked at the clock on the wall and heavily pushed herself to her feet. “If you’ll wait here a minute, I’ll just go watch for him at the front door. The driver will be letting Sammy off within the next few minutes and he dawdles if he doesn’t see me in the window.”

  “I’ll keep myself occupied with another square. They’re delicious.”

  Kala chewed on a mouthful while she checked her messages. Gundersund had texted asking where she was. She typed a reply and asked if he could come by that evening to catch up on the case. Once she finished interviewing Sammy, she’d have to get home. Dawn would be there ahead of her and they needed to talk. She heard the door open and close and a bag hitting the floor. A moment later Sammy trailed Catherine into the kitchen.

  “Sit at the table, Sammy, and I’ll get you a glass of milk.” Catherine opened the fridge door. “You remember Officer Stonechild, don’t you? She’s dropped by for a visit.”

  “Hey, Sammy.” The kid reminded Kala of a little bulldog, solid and pug faced.

  He climbed onto the chair and grabbed squares with both hands from the plate. He’d stuffed one into his mouth while Catherine had her back to him getting a glass out of the cupboard. Kala smiled at him when he finally made eye contact.

  “Your mom has been telling me that you’ve been having bad dreams about a man. Can you tell me about what’s upsetting you, Sammy?”

  Catherine returned and set the glass of milk on the table. She shook her head at the sight of his full cheeks before moving her chair up next to him and sitting down. “Swallow what’s in your mouth and tell Officer Stonechild about what’s worrying you. She can help make it better.”

  They waited while he chewed and swallowed. He looked at Kala with intense blue eyes, oddly disconcerting. “He asked me where Violet is.”

  “Who asked you?”

  “The man.”

  Catherine looked at Kala with an expression that said, “See?”

  Kala avoided looking at her and focused in on Sammy, who was stuffing the second square into his mouth. She waited for him to swallow. “Where did you see this man?”

  “In the trees,” his eyes darted over to his mother and back to Kala. “Near the road. I was on my bike.”

  “What did he look like?”

  “Big.”

  “Was his skin white?”

  “White and brown.”

  Not helpful. “What colour was his hair?”

  “I don’t remember.”

  “Come on, Sammy.” Catherine poked his arm. “You remember everything. What did he look like?”

  Sammy started kicking the table leg with one foot. “He was big and he wore black.”

  Kala thought for a moment. “When did you see him?”

  “After Violet was gone.”

  “Did he say anything else to you?”

  Sammy shook his head. “Can I go play now?”

  Kala said, “Why are you dreaming about this man, Sammy? What upset you about him?”

  Sammy’s eyes widened. She saw confusion in their depths and sat still, waiting for him to find the words.

  “He followed us. Violet was ta
lking to him and I called her to come. He asked her my name and she told him. Sammy Lockhart.”

  Catherine sighed, breaking the moment. She pushed herself to her feet. “I’ll just go cut some more squares. You can have one more, Sammy, for helping Officer Stonechild. No matter how little.” She mumbled the last sentence in Kala’s ear on the way to the counter.

  Kala moved her chair a little closer to Sammy. “If you saw the man after Violet went missing, how could he have been talking to her?”

  Sammy closed his eyes tightly and scrunched up his face.

  Very softly, “Sammy? How could that be?”

  His eyes shot open. Brilliant blue and suddenly remembering. “He was at the flower store when Violet and I were looking at the birds. Then he was in our yard after she went missing.” Sammy puffed out his cheeks and jumped off the chair. “I’m going now, Mom.” He gave Kala a mischievous grin and scooted out of the kitchen before she could stop him.

  Catherine returned and plunked a full plate of sweets onto the table. “He won’t give you any more now. I doubt any of it’s true anyhow. I guess he’s just upset about Violet. Thanks for coming by and talking to him though. I’m hoping your visit will be enough to get the nightmares to end.”

  Kala wasn’t so certain that Sammy’s jumbled story didn’t hold grains of relevant information. She thought over what he’d told her, cryptic as it might have been. “You said that you went to a plant nursery with Violet and Adele earlier in the week that she went missing, is that right?”

  “Yes. It was our last outing. We stopped at Country Kitchen on Highway 2 for lunch first.”

  “Can you remember if anybody else was in the restaurant?”

  “It was busy. We had to wait for a booth.”

  “Is it possible that a man approached Sammy and Violet while you were at the nursery?”

  Catherine pursed her lips and thought it over. “I was going to say no, but I had to ask the clerk if I could use their washroom and I was gone, oh five minutes, maybe ten. Adele said she’d watch them, but when I got back she wanted to leave right away. The kids didn’t argue for once and home we came. I managed to buy the pansies out front while Adele got the kids into her car.”

  “Were there birds?”

  “In cages. Little brown songbirds and yellow and green budgies. The kids love going to the nursery to see the birds.”

  “You don’t remember a man alone either in the restaurant or the nursery?”

  “Nobody stands out.”

  “And Adele didn’t mention anybody?”

  “No.” Catherine leaned her dimpled arms onto the table and reached for a square. “But now that you mention it, she kept checking the rear-view mirror when she was driving home. She seemed on edge. Do you think Sammy really could have seen a man?”

  “I don’t know.” Kala didn’t want to worry Catherine Lockhart unduly, but Sammy’s story raised alarm bells. “Maybe keep a close eye on Sammy while I check out his story. Keep your doors locked too, just to be on the safe side. We’ll look into this tomorrow and I’ll let you know what I find out.”

  “As if I’m not already paranoid enough. I tell you, Officer Stonechild, between the deaths and Sammy’s nightmares I’m about ready to move back to Toronto. I never thought I’d say this, but my old Regent Park apartment is starting to look like a safe haven.”

  “Like this, Gundersund?” Dawn slid the spatula under half of the hardening egg and folded it over the bottom half. She looked up at him, her eyes seeking approval.

  “Perfect. Two more minutes and we can slide this one into the oven with the other two to keep warm.”

  “Aunt Kala works late a lot.”

  “She should have more time soon. The case she’s working on is nearly over.” He looked at Dawn’s bowed head. She was a striking girl and self-contained for a thirteen-year-old. Other kids this age who’d experienced what she’d been through were already broken, but she was still reachable. Her desire to please and the spark to learn weren’t far under the surface.

  He reached into the oven and pulled out the pan with the other two omelettes and held it steady while she scooped the last one from the frying pan and laid it carefully next to the others. He set the pan on top of the stove and covered it in tin foil before sliding it back into the oven. Taiku got up from his spot next to the table and barked once before going to the back door with Minny at his heels.

  “I hear her truck. I’ll start the toast.” Dawn smiled and jumped across to the toaster.

  “And I’ll pour the milk.”

  He always liked the first moment when Stonechild walked into the house. She’d look around for Dawn and her features would soften at the sight of her niece. She might not have acknowledged it to herself, but the connection was there and deepening. Then her eyes would find him and for the briefest of moments, he could tell that he was included in her circle. Slowly but surely, Kala Stonechild was letting them in.

  “Something smells good,” she said, kicking off her shoes and dropping her bag on the floor. She knelt and gave Taiku and then Minny a good rub down their sides.

  “We made cheese and mushroom omelettes.” The toast popped and Dawn got busy with the butter.

  “You’re wonderful. I’ll wash up and we can eat.”

  Dinner was becoming a comfortable routine. He thought that the three of them made for an unlikely family, for that was how he was beginning to feel around them. Dawn felt like a daughter, and Stonechild … well, she was someone he liked being around. When they finished the omelettes and toast, Stonechild made tea and Dawn left with the dogs to do homework. Before she reached the bottom of the stairs, Stonechild called to her, “We’ll take the dogs for a walk after the tea, so don’t plan to spend all evening shut up in your room.”

  Gundersund stood and walked toward the kitchen window. “Has it stopped raining?”

  “It was drizzling when I came in. The weather person on my car radio is calling for it to clear by seven. Shall we take the tea into the living room?”

  They settled on either end of the couch. He could tell during supper that Stonechild was bursting to tell him something and she wasn’t long getting to it.

  “I know Heath believes the Delaney case is closed, but Rouleau felt that I should keep the appointment I made with Benoit Manteau in Millhaven this morning.”

  “I could have gone with you.”

  “The fewer people involved the better, because there’s going to be hell to pay when Heath finds out. I didn’t want to get you into trouble.”

  She still didn’t get it. “We’re partners, Stonechild. We have each other’s back, so if you’re in trouble, so am I.”

  “I had your back. I was protecting you from Heath’s wrath.”

  “You have to let me have yours.”

  They stared at each other and he saw something in her eyes that looked a lot like regret. He’d take it. “So what did you find out from Monsieur Manteau?”

  “He carries around a photo of his baby daughter, the daughter he’s never seen. Problem is, the baby in the picture is not Violet.”

  “How can you tell? All babies look much the same.”

  “Violet was blond and had blue eyes. The baby in Benoit’s picture has black hair and brown skin, matching his own features. Turns out he has a different mother than Etienne. Benoit’s mother was Hispanic. Benoit would have been suspicious if his child didn’t have his colouring.”

  “Are we sure that Violet is Cécile’s missing child?”

  “Prevost said they came up with one hospital photo taken for ID purposes when Cécile’s baby was born and the baby was fair and blue-eyed, like Violet.”

  “Don’t mothers usually take a lot of pictures of their newborn?”

  “Cécile apparently wasn’t interested.”

  “Why would Cécile both
er trying to fool Benoit? He was bound to find out about the kid’s heritage if she hadn’t been kidnapped.”

  “Good question. I’m thinking fear. She had to be screwing around on him and he didn’t strike me as someone you’d want to do that to. There’s a meanness underneath his charm that made my skin crawl. Maybe she came up with the idea of giving him that photo after she was sure her baby wasn’t coming back. I think we have to have another chat with her.”

  Gundersund took a second to consider the implications. “So we have a violent boyfriend of a pregnant violent girlfriend who was sleeping with …”

  “My money is on one of the other upstanding family members. Etienne to be specific.”

  “Why Etienne?”

  “Well I got a call to go see Catherine on my way back to the station. That’s why I’m so late. Her son Sammy is having nightmares about a man who talked to him and Violet at the nursery while Catherine was in the washroom. When I checked the visitor log at Millhaven today, Etienne happened to be visiting Benoit on the same day. It was right after that when Adele acted spooked and wouldn’t leave the house all week. She made plans to take Violet to her sister’s, something completely out of the ordinary. A week later, she and Violet went missing. Sammy couldn’t give a description of the man, but I think he might have visited the Lockhart house. The other option is that the kid is traumatized and seeing the man in his dreams because on some level he knows the man killed his friends.” Kala took a sip of tea and waited for Gundersund to absorb the information.

  The linkages and possibilities all were coming up disturbing. Adele had stolen a child from the worst possible people and spent the next four years basically hiding out. Benoit Manteau’s transfer to Millhaven had led to a chance encounter between Adele and Etienne that had blown her cover. Gundersund knew that Stonechild was onto something and that she wasn’t going to let go of until she had the entire truth. “If what you’re saying is true, Ivo Delaney is innocent and Heath isn’t going to be happy. The Kingston force might have had a hand pushing Delaney over the edge and killing himself.”