Reserved For Murder

by Kevin Hopkins

  Penner was trying to make sense of it all. ‘Why did they choose Sammy?’ she asked.

  ‘Easy target who was at the right place at the right time, apparently,’ the Chief said, shaking his head. ‘Sooleawa was mad at Travis after they killed Jonny because he screwed up the note—he hadn’t made it look like Jonny’s hand writing. The night of the feast, he saw Sammy and remembered that he had a paper Sammy had written. So, he went back to his house, forged the note, then went and found him in the woods. I don’t know all the details—all I know is that Sooleawa was furious that he hadn’t actually killed Sammy and she was terrified that Sammy might eventually remember what had happened that night and tell someone. She told Travis that he was going to have to try again when Sammy was back home, but Travis refused. He said he was done helping her out and that he would pay back the money he could out of his salary. Apparently that wasn’t good enough. Or, maybe she thought she couldn’t trust Travis any more. But, the night before you left, she followed him out to the woods when he was walking Chewie and shot him.’

  The Chief’s shoulders sagged as he finished speaking. Barry looked at the ground, kicking the dirt with his toe. Finally, Millar cleared his throat and said, ‘No offence, but it sounds pretty crazy to me. How could all of this been going on under your nose? How do we know you’re not involved.’

  ‘Detective, I am not a murderer,’ the Chief said. ‘I admit, I thought that Travis may have been involved in some way, and I was willing to let you think that. I was even willing to let you think that I had something to do with it, just to protect the tribe. And to keep you guessing. But, as soon as I found out the truth, I gave the note to Barry to test and told him everything. I loved Sooleawa, but I wouldn’t cover up this type of crime, no matter who had done it.’

  ‘It’s true,’ Barry confirmed. ‘Since he came to see me, he’s been giving me total access to anything I need. We hired a forensic auditor to check the accounts and it seems like Travis was definitely stealing. And he was the only one accessing the accounts, other than Sooleawa.’

  ‘And, if I had anything to do with this, do you really think I would be here telling you all this?’ the Chief asked. ‘As I told you before, I used to be a lawyer. No lawyer would explain a crime to the police if they were involved. I don’t care how good a lawyer someone was, that would be stupid.’ For the first time, Chief Ravenclaw showed some of the same aggression as before.

  ‘So, where’s Sooleawa now?’ Penner asked. ‘Did you arrest her?’

  ‘Well,’ said Barry slowly, ‘That’s why I need to get back to work.’ He glanced over at the Chief. ‘After Chief Ravenclaw came to see me about all of this, I got an arrest warrant signed by the judge. But, by the time I got back to the reserve, she was gone.’

  ‘So you don’t know where she is?’ Millar asked, his voice raising. ‘Great. So you finally had a chance to arrest her and she’s disappeared?’

  ‘Not exactly disappeared,’ Barry hesitated.

  ‘What?’ Millar said, looking between Barry and the Chief.

  ‘She was found dead this morning,’ Barry said. ‘Just at the edge of the woods. There was a group out turkey hunting early this morning and it seems like it was an accident—probably a stray shot—but, we’ll see what the coroner says to be certain.’ He looked at his watch. ‘Chief, do you mind bringing them in to get their stuff? I have to meet the coroner—I’m already late.’

  ‘No problem,’ the Chief replied. ‘I’ll come and see you when we’re done.’

  Without another word, Barry got back into his car and pulled away. ‘Right, if I can get a ride with one of you, we can get your things,’ the Chief said.

  Grant looked at Millar and Penner, neither of whom would make eye contact with him. ‘I’ll take you,’ he finally said, turning and walking back to his car. He opened the passenger door for the Chief and waited for him to get in before walking around the front to the driver’s side. He shook his head at Penner and Millar. ‘We could have at least rock, paper, scissored for it,’ he said. ‘I’ll see you guys there.’

  ‘We’ll follow you,’ Millar said, slapping the roof of Penner’s car and getting in.

  Penner put on her sunglasses and started the engine, but left it in park. Turning to Millar, she said, ‘So…what are you thinking?’

  ‘I’m thinking that I’m still not sure I’m buying what the Chief is selling.’

  ‘I hear ya. I can’t believe Sooleawa was the mastermind behind everything,’ said Penner. ‘But grief and bitterness are powerful emotions—they can make you do crazy things. And the Chief does seem pretty broken up. He made a good point—he could have just let us think that Travis was behind it all.’

  ‘I still have a lot of questions. But I don’t think we’ll ever get all the answers.’ Millar watched Grant’s car disappear into the dust ahead of them.

  ‘So, we’re considering this case closed?’ Penner asked as she shifted to drive and started to follow Grant onto the reserve.

  ‘It’s not airtight—but it’s closed. Now let’s go get your coffee.’

  ***

  ‘So, you really didn’t have anything to do with all of this?’ Grant asked the Chief.

  ‘I swear to you,’ Ravenclaw said. ‘I’m willing to do a lot for my people, but something like this is beyond me. But, some good has come out of all of this madness. The government engineers have already been out and investigated the water issues. Looks like it should be fixed within the year. So, as much as I condemn what she did, Sooleawa actually did some good for our community. I will miss her, but I think she finally got what she wanted—she’s together with Amanda now. And maybe she got what she deserved.’ They drove the rest of the way in silence until they reached the band office. ‘Drop me off here. I’ll get the keys and let you guys into the rooms.’

  Grant pulled over and let the Chief get out. He rolled down his window. ‘Chief? Are hunting accidents very common?’

  ‘Pardon?’ the Chief asked, turning back around.

  ‘I know hunting accidents happen, but they’re pretty rare, no?’ Grant said. ‘Seems like a pretty big coincidence that a murder suspect would end up getting killed by a hunter’s stray shot, I would think.’

  The Chief leaned down until his head was level with Grant’s in the window of the car. ‘You know, my mom used to have an expression she used all the time. Don’t ask questions you don’t want the answer to. See you in a bit, City Boy.’

  About the Author

  Kevin Hopkins grew up in the suburbs of Ottawa after his family moved to Canada from England. The middle child of three boys, he has always enjoyed the creative side of life, from playing music, painting and sculpting to writing.

  Kevin now lives in an old farmhouse East of Ottawa with his wife Juanita and their two cats, Lenny and Carl.

  ‘Reserved For Murder’ is Kevin’s second novel.

  A note from the author

  Although the Black Beaver Coffee Company is purely fictional, it was inspired by Birch Bark Coffee Co., an Indigenous-owned and operated Ontario company. Birch Bark Coffee Co. offers organic and fair trade coffee that is grown and produced by South American farmers who are Indigenous descendants and is one of only three Canadian companies with SPP certification, helping true organic farmers. On top of this, they also hire people through Flower Cart to put the labels on their bags.

  Despite government efforts and pledges, thousands of Indigenous families in Canada continue to go without clean drinking water. Some communities have been under boil water advisories for more than 25 years. Set proceeds of Birch Bark Coffee Co. sales are used to purchase water purification systems that are installed, for free, in Indigenous community homes across Canada. For every 100 bags of coffee sold in retail locations, and every 50 bags of coffee sold online, Birch Bark Coffee Co. is able to equip one home with a certified water purification unit, at no cost to the family.

  You can learn more about their mission and how to purchase their excellent products at www.bir
chbarkcoffeecompany.com. Detective Penner recommends the Summer Solstice Dark Roast.

  You can connect with me on:

  http://www.kevinhopkinsauthor.com

  https://twitter.com/@author_kevin

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  Also by Kevin Hopkins

  The Ottawa Detective Series is the first series of novels by Kevin Hopkins

  A Striking Similarity

  The first murder was a tragedy.

  The second was a mystery.

  The third was an epiphany.

  Detective Terry Millar doesn’t believe in coincidences. As a criminal profiler, he’s built his reputation on identifying patterns and perpetrators.

  But he’s never encountered a killer like this.

  Millar and his team are being led on a macabre treasure hunt around the city of Ottawa, and they’re desperate to find a connection between the crimes before the killer strikes again.

  The murders bear a striking similarity to one another, which should make it easier for the renowned profiler, but the evidence seems to point in an impossible direction.

  With every secret that’s revealed, Millar is a step closer to realizing that nothing will ever be the same again.

  The Art of Murder

  The Ottawa Detectives are called in to investigate when a well-known local politician goes missing on the night his family is dedicating a new art exhibit of pieces from their private collection in the Canadian Museum of History.

  During the investigation, their efforts are side-lined as the RCMP, Canada’s national police force, gets involved.

  There seems to be more afoot than just a missing Member of Parliament, and the Detectives are determined to get to the bottom of things, whether the RCMP are receptive to their ideas or not.

  Look for The Art of Murder, the third book in the Ottawa Detective Series in the Fall of 2020.