Lake on the Mountain: A Dan Sharp Mystery

by Jeffrey Round

  He waited a moment but knew there was no use. He stuck his card in the doorframe and went around back, where a pile of meticulously stacked firewood greeted him. It had grown green with moss around the edges. No one had removed any of the logs for some time.

  He drove back to the main road and stopped beside the mailbox. He wrote a longer note and put it in an envelope, slipping it inside the box.

  The fire burned low in the grate. Dan held Trevor’s hand against his chest. The feeling was warm and richly layered. They might have been a couple, still together after many years, nourishing and measuring what lay between them, amazed by the continuance of life.

  “You never told me what happened between you and Bill.”

  Dan stirred. “Didn’t Thom fill you in?”

  Trevor shook his head. “I’m not really in touch with Thom. In fact, I was surprised when I got the wedding invitation. I think that was Aunt Lucille’s doing. I was always a little scared of cousin Thom, to tell the truth. He was older and knew how to get what he wanted.”

  “Like you?”

  “Like me and a whole lot more. He was always pushy, but after his father left he became downright cruel, especially if you challenged him at anything. I guess he was just reacting to being abandoned. He eased up as he got older.”

  “What about Ted?”

  “Ted was the soft one — self-indulgent, poetic by nature. Not as good-looking as Thom. He always seemed to fail where Thom succeeded.”

  “Has no one tried to stop his drug problem?”

  “Apparently not. He’s always had easy access to drugs, thanks to the family money.”

  Dan ran his fingers through Trevor’s hair, letting them linger along his neck. “Do you remember your uncle at all?”

  “A little. He was my mother’s brother.”

  “Clare,” Dan said.

  Trevor looked at him. “Yes. How did you know?”

  “It’s in the police report.”

  Trevor nodded. “We used to visit when I was a kid, but then we moved out to the coast. There was a scandal before my uncle disappeared, though. My mother and father actually stopped talking to him.”

  “Was it because of the assault?”

  Trevor shook his head. “No, it was before that. About a year before, I think. Uncle Craig moved out of the house for a while, but then he moved back in again briefly. Marital discord of some sort — nobody really talked about it. Then later he was suspended from his job as principal. The rumours just kept getting worse. I didn’t get all the details, just assumed it was one of those adult things you weren’t supposed to know about.” His face was lost in thought for a moment. “There was something else — I barely remember it now, though it made a huge impact on me at the time. Not long after Uncle Craig disappeared — or maybe it was just before he left home the first time, I can’t recall — all his horses died.”

  “His horses?”

  “He kept horses. Six of them. They all died one night. They’d been poisoned, I think. I remember Thom wept. He loved those horses.”

  Dan recalled the photograph of Thom astride a large black horse on the mantle in the Adolphustown house.

  Trevor looked up. “Now that you’ve reached a dead end, will you be leaving soon?”

  Dan smiled. “Am I crowding you out already?”

  “Not at all!” Trevor brought Dan’s fingers to his lips. “Believe me, I’d love to keep you here forever.”

  “Except what would I do for a living?”

  Trevor smiled. “I’ve already got that one figured. I’ve got a neighbour who’d kill to have your skills available for hire. She brought her husband over to see the shed you built. I could feel the envy burning a hole in my wood. In fact, there’s probably not a person on the island who doesn’t need something handy done. You could make a killing here.”

  Dan looked over at the window, the darkness pressing in against the glass. The other day he’d realized how easy it would be to disappear here. To vanish from your previous life and start over again. It would be that simple. No one but the trees to know of your defection from the real world. Though what could be more real than this, he couldn’t say. “I can’t say I haven’t considered it,” he admitted.

  “I don’t want you to leave thinking I don’t desperately want you to stay. But you’re not ready. I can see the signs. To some people living here is a retreat; to others it’s a prison. It’s very different when you’re here for an extended period of time.”

  The darkness outside the windows reflected in Trevor’s eyes, those eyes that had moved away from the disasters of the past and looked forward to a more hopeful future. Dan scarcely dared think he could have any part of it.

  Nineteen

  My iPod, Your iPod

  Dan set his bags on the hallway tiles. Late afternoon shadows emerged from the corners. There was no Ralph peering at him from the kitchen, tail wagging expectantly, and presumably no Ked, which meant he was either at practice or still at his mother’s. One day Dan would have this place all to himself, with Ked grown and living on his own, the dog wherever the dog ended up — either with Ked or out in some greater greener pasture that held a place of awe in animal lore.

  His answer machine yielded three messages. The first wasn’t entirely unexpected, the next two were. He hit play and his cousin Leyla’s distinctive bleat filled the room, as though she was there with him and not four hundred kilometres north and two decades back in time. Here was the girl who had been almost like a sister to him, the girl whose “impressive” breasts were the subject of schoolyard lore, which he recalled now with amusement. Her voice took him a long way back.

  He listened carefully to the message then dialled her number and played catch-up for a few minutes. Then she got around to the subject of her mother’s latest test results — they hadn’t been favourable. Dan felt a pang of guilt; it had been more than three years since his last visit. He’d sent birthday greetings, Christmas presents, anything to bridge the gap between trips, but there’d always been some excuse keeping him away. He hated to think they might believe they were no longer important to him.

  “God, Leyla, I’m sorry. I don’t know what to say.”

  “Three months — that’s what the doctor said.” She was matter-of-fact about it, though Dan had no doubt she loved the mother she was about to lose, if not sooner then later. She paused. “She was hoping ta see ya, Dan. Can ya come up?”

  “I’ll come up.”

  “Better make it quick, eh?”

  “What about you, Leyla? You need anything?”

  “No. I’m all right. Kurt pays the child support on time. One thing he’s been good for, at least. He’s stayed out of jail the last couple years, but we’re through. Last time I marry a guy because he’s got a nice motorcycle, know what I mean?”

  “At least he never hit you.”

  “No, he never did or I mighta left him sooner. Too bad, eh? Wanted to hit him myself a few times, though.” She laughed.

  “I’m just back from a trip out west. Let me check in with work to see whether they can spare me this weekend. I’ll give you a call.”

  “It’d be good to see you, Danny. Well, you know what I mean — despite the circumstances.”

  The second message was from Donny. He’d been fired from Holt Renfrew after fifteen years. He sounded shell-shocked. While Dan saw Donny as something of a Zen master who could maintain his equanimity in the middle of a war zone, he could tell his friend was having a hard time with this one.

  Donny was in the midst of cooking when he answered on the second ring. “I was wondering why you hadn’t bothered to return my calls,” he said sulkily. “Anyway, I’m already over it. I’m not even angry any more. I think.”

  “So they just fired you? They just said get out?”

  “More or less. I wasn’t escorted to the front door, but there weren’t any flowers either.”

  “But why?”

  “I’ve been trying to sort that one out. I think it’s t
he ooh-la-la factor. It’s not chic right now to be buying perfume from a black man.”

  “Are you saying they fired you for being black?”

  “No. Not at all. They fired me for being out of fashion. Or maybe for not being Indian or Arabic. All the chi-chi jobs are going to Indians these days. It’s the accent. The Rosedale ladies love it. I’m Yesterday’s Girl.”

  Dan pondered this. “You’ll get another job. You’re not too old. Just be glad this isn’t happening a decade from now.” He tried to sound convincing, but he knew it was the verbal equivalent of a pat on the back, the way he talked to Ked sometimes. Cookies and milk would have been more of a comfort. “Why not take a vacation? Get away for a couple of months. You’ve got money.”

  “Thanks, but I wasn’t planning on going anywhere just now.”

  “You’ll be more relaxed and in the mood to look for a job when you get back.”

  “I’ll also be older. I’m in an industry where youth succeeds far more than a relaxed attitude.”

  “Maybe it’s time for a change of career,” Dan said, trying to sound hopeful. “There’s always government.” In his mind’s eye he saw corridors thronged by men and women clutching briefs as they scurried about in search of political patronage — a helping hand, a meaningful pat on the back. The perks of civil servitude.

  “I always said I’d kill myself before becoming a civil servant.”

  “Well, then? What are you going to do?”

  “I’ve got a nice gas stove here. I could stick my head in it.”

  Dan heard the sounds of clanking pots on the chrome range in Donny’s well-appointed Jarvis Street condo.

  “Maybe you’re right,” Donny continued. “I need to get out of the city. I’m currently looking from my prestigious penthouse window down over the panorama of our beloved Commonwealth of Gay. And it doesn’t add up to very much right at this moment. When did the world become so … colourless?”

  “You and my assistant should get together.”

  “I thought your assistant was a girl.”

  “Never mind.” Dan cast around for something positive to say. “Look — you’ll find a new job. Maybe a better one. This will pass.”

  “And this too shall pass.”

  Dan thought of Trevor and his island. “You could always cash it all in and go live in the country where it’s green and smells at least halfway clean.”

  Donny snorted. “And where would I cruise on a Saturday night?”

  In the past twenty minutes the room had eased from late afternoon to an early twilight. A silvery light slipped through the partially opened kitchen door. Dan struggled for something to say. “Look, do you want me to come over?”

  “No. Thank you.” There was a long pause. Then, “Would you miss me if I died?” Donny said, his tone casual, as if he’d asked Dan to pick up a pack of cigarettes from the corner store.

  “What a question!” Dan said.

  “I’m serious. Can you answer it?”

  “Of course I can. And, yes, I would miss you a great deal. Probably until the day I die. Don’t do this to me!”

  “I’m all right, really. I was just wondering.”

  Dan heard more cooking noises. “Of course I’d miss you. For one thing, I’d have no one to laugh with over those sentimental old movies we watch after your fabulous dinners.”

  “Well, that’s good to hear,” Donny said. “I was never sure if you realized we were supposed to be laughing at them. Anyway, I’m okay. I didn’t mean to alarm you. If it’s all right with you, I’m going to get on with my Nasi Goreng. I’ll call you tomorrow.”

  The answer machine yielded its final message. Dan listened twice to be sure he got the gist of it while anger twisted its tendrils around him like a strangling vine. Kendra’s voice cut through the stillness of the house as Dan imagined Ked’s future lying shattered on the tile floor like the glittering pieces of some rare Etruscan vase. This was what came from not choosing your friends wisely.

  He was about to call Kendra back when he heard the hollow thud of footsteps on the outside stairs followed by a key in the lock. Ked stepped in looking gloomy, but with a rebellious glint in his eyes. He put his backpack down and glanced warily at his father.

  Dan said, “I got a call from your mother.…”

  “Yeah, and she didn’t believe me either,” Ked began.

  Outside, a streetcar sizzled along the rails. Dan paused to take stock of the situation. “Let’s not start there,” he said. “I never said I don’t believe you. I haven’t even heard your side of things.”

  Ked slumped against the wall.

  “Talk to me, Ked.”

  “Okay — I was listening to an iPod in the schoolyard….”

  “Whose iPod?”

  “Ephraim’s.”

  “The kid I see you with sometimes after practice?”

  Ked nodded without meeting his father’s gaze. “Anyway, when the police came….”

  “How did the police get involved?”

  “I don’t know, they just … someone called them, all right? I don’t know!”

  His son was working himself up. Whatever he’d been through at school had taken its toll. “Take a breath,” Dan said. “And just tell me what happened.”

  “They said they were going to charge me with possession of stolen property.”

  “The police said this?”

  Ked nodded.

  “And where was Ephraim?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “What do you mean you don’t know? You had his iPod.” Dan heard his voice getting louder. If Ked persisted in giving these two-second answers, he might explode. It could only disintegrate from here. He felt broken glass underfoot.

  Ked’s eyes narrowed in anger. “I don’t know where Ephraim was. He loaned me his iPod and then he left.”

  “And you had it when the police got there?”

  Ked nodded. “Look, why would I have stolen property when you buy me anything I want? I already have an iPod and a Game Boy and a million other things, so why would you even think I would steal? Have some faith, Dad.”

  Dan looked at his son slouching against the wall. He was torn between comforting him and wanting him to suffer a little — long enough that the humiliation would leave its mark. Deep enough that he would never do anything like this again — whatever it was he’d done. But more than anything, Dan thought, he wanted to protect Ked from the million ways a life could be ruined by the actions of a single unguarded moment. “It’s not me you need to convince,” he said.

  Ked looked up. “Then who is it?”

  “The police, your school principal — you need to convince the people who don’t believe you. The people who don’t know you as well as I do. I simply want you to tell me what happened. What were you doing with a second iPod, for instance?”

  “Eph let me borrow it. He wanted me to hear something on his that isn’t on mine. Is that such a strange concept?”

  “No,” Dan said. “Not at all. Except that you happened to borrow an iPod that was stolen. Let me ask you this — does this Ephraim sell stolen goods?”

  Ked shot his father an angry look. The rebelliousness returned to his face. “No! He just bought it from some guy!”

  “Would you calm down, please?”

  “Why should I calm down? You’re accusing my friends, Dad. I know Eph, and Eph would never purposely handle stolen goods.”

  “Then why did he have it?” The argument was turning circular.

  “Who would turn down an iPod for thirty five dollars?” Ked screamed.

  “Didn’t it occur to him that a thirty-five-dollar iPod might be stolen property?” Dan’s voice sounded angrier than he’d intended.

  “Apparently not,” Ked said, his eyes misting over. “You don’t believe me either. You don’t trust me!” The hurt in his face was apparent. “I always tell you the truth and you don’t trust me!”

  He took the stairs three at a time. Dan heard his bedroom door slam.

/>   Kendra was inclined to reserve judgment on the question of whether Ked had known the iPod was stolen property.

  “I mean, think about it, Dan. He’s always told us the truth, hasn’t he?”

  “Of course.”

  “Well, sometimes at that age you don’t think about the consequences of things.”

  “That age, nothing! He can’t afford not to think,” Dan snapped. “I’m sorry,” he said. “This is really rattling me.”

  “It’s all right. I’m sure there are things here for both of us to learn.”

  That was Kendra — all about learning things when the world was falling apart. Still, Dan admitted, it was better than falling apart with it. “It’s just that kids sometimes do stupid things. I’m not saying he was stealing, but maybe he simply turned a blind eye to what his friends do.”

  “Then this will be a lesson he won’t soon forget,” Kendra said softly. “Come on, it’s not the end of the world.”

  “This could be on his record for a very long time — guilty or not, it doesn’t matter.”

  “I know.” Kendra sighed. “But we’ve gone this far without these troublesome parent-teenager issues, so I think we’ve done a pretty good job, all round.” She paused. “No — you’ve done a good job. I’ve mostly been sitting on the sidelines reaping the rewards. So try to remember that before you beat yourself up over this.”

  The issue lingered like a dark cloud, with Ked suspended from school. His friend had quickly cleared him of all suspicion regarding ownership of the iPod, but the issue of stolen property remained. Then suddenly, the day turned bright again. The school principal called to apologize to Ked and his family, dismissing the terms of suspension and asking Ked to return to school. That same day Ephraim’s mother produced a receipt from a pawnshop showing she’d bought the item legally, and all charges were dropped against the boys.

  Dan was glad to have the issue resolved, but in that time his son remained edgy with him, tense and barely communicative, as though in Ked’s mind Dan had gone beyond some sort of acceptable parent-son boundaries.