Flashback

by Ted Wood

  'I'm sorry. I'll get you to a doctor.'

  She would talk later, she would tell us everything, but this wasn't the time to ask questions. I went to the kitchen for water and as I returned, Walker came in, breathless. 'I've looked all around outside. He's gone,' he said.

  'Meet Mrs Jeffries. She's just telling me what's going on.' It was his cue to nod and say nothing while she talked.

  Now, with a glass of water in her hands and the knowledge that the worst was over, she did. 'Waites got Kershaw out of prison. I don't know how. He brought him up here to kill Moira. Then we got a phone call, Stu did. We were just finishing dinner. And he said we had to leave right away. I wanted to know why but he just said we were in terrible danger. So we left. Then some woman lent us a car and checked us into a motel. And that's where that bastard found us.'

  'But what were you scared of? Why didn't you just go to the police?' I knew the answer but I wanted confirmation. Walker and I listened intently wanting to hear and remember every word she said.

  'Drugs,' she said bitterly. 'Waites and Stu had cooked up this scheme to bring in cocaine over the border at the Soo. I never realized until the last time Moira visited. She had begun to wonder why her husband encouraged her to come and see us so often. Then, last time, I found Stu repacking her case, putting her clothes into the duplicate case he had in his closet, the one he used when he crossed the border.'

  That was enough for a start. It was time to do the difficult thing. 'Mrs Jeffries, I'm afraid I have some bad news for you,' I said.

  She turned and picked up the tea-towel she had been gagged with and wiped her eyes angrily. 'Not news,' she said. 'I was there, wasn't I? I saw him doing it, killing Stu for that goddamn suitcase.'

  She sat on the couch, sobbing. Walker looked at me. 'I'll get the superintendent. He can take over.'

  The superintendent wasn't much bothered about public relations. He came into the room and spoke to Mrs Jeffries. 'We'll find this guy, he can't have got far.'

  Not a word of sympathy for her loss or for the ordeal she had been through. Just business. It rang as clumsily as the old gag about 'Are you widow Jeffries?' but she took no notice and it reminded me that I had personal priorities of my own. I checked my watch. It was nine o'clock. I was supposed to be at the hospital, collecting Fred.

  I spoke up. 'I've got to pick up my wife from hospital, sir. I'd like to leave my dog guarding my place in case Kershaw is after me. He threatened to try.'

  'No need for that.' The superintendent was playing by the rules now, his rules. 'I'll send an officer to watch your place until you get home.'

  'There's a neighbour woman coming in to tidy up for me. That's why I can't leave the dog on watch. Can you get someone over there right away?'

  'I said I'd do it.' He was imperious now. I was nominally a chief but if I'd been in the OPP I would have been at best a sergeant. He didn't want discussions he wanted obedience.

  'Fine. Thank you. I have to get her. When she's settled in, I'll come down to the station and we can tidy things up. Right now I need a ride back to my car.'

  'Good.' He nodded to Walker. 'We'll take these people back to Murphy's Harbour for now. You look after Mr Bennett.'

  So that was me, a mere citizen in his eyes. Walker said, 'We'll take the detective car, Reid,' and we went out to it and got in, with Sam in the back seat.

  'Make sure he sends somebody,' I told Walker. 'This guy Kershaw swore he was going to get me and I don't want my wife and kid in danger.'

  'It'll be done,' Walker said. 'I'll make sure of it if it should slip his busy mind.' Sarcasm dripped off the word 'busy'. I was glad once again that I didn't work for a big department. The politics are endless.

  He let me off at the Horn house. Jean had already gone so I couldn't turn Sam over to her, which would have been the perfect answer. Instead I stuck him in the front seat and set off for Parry Sound.

  Fred was dressed and waiting, with the baby asleep in her arms. She beamed when she saw me. 'I thought you'd forgotten us.'

  'Sorry, love, it's been a busy morning but we've wrapped things up now, we can relax.' The OPP would soon find Kershaw, I thought, no need to alarm her.

  She kissed my stubbly cheek. 'You're looking kind of lived-in, old thing,' she said. 'Been up all night carousing?'

  'You're half right,' I kidded. 'Except the carousing part.'

  She wrapped the baby a little tighter in her shawl and I went for a nurse. That meant we had to take a wheelchair which made Fred a little impatient. 'I'm going to have to walk when I get home,' she protested cheerfully.'

  'All the more reason to sit while you can,' the nurse said and we all went out to the front door.

  The nurse laughed when she saw the scout car. 'Hey, wonderful limousine service you've got.'

  The one thing I'd forgotten was a car seat for the baby, so I took five minutes to drive into town and buy one. Then we strapped it in place and set the baby in it, her head close to the shotgun in its front seat bracket. Fred smiled. 'I'll tell her about this when she's older. Her very first ride was in a police car.'

  I strapped Fred in neatly and set off down the highway, travelling at the limit, scaring a whole line of drivers into unusually good driving manners. It was a beautiful morning, blue skies, warm, perfect high summer and I tried to relax. The only missing link in the chain was Kershaw and he wouldn't stay loose for very long. But his threat still bothered me. And he was in striking distance of the house. It made me cautious as I drove up the last half mile from Murphy's Harbour to the house. Fred was sitting up, bright and talkative. If she sensed I was on edge she said nothing about it. And then we reached the house and I saw Elaine Harper's OPP cruiser in the yard, next to Horn's pickup.

  'Company so early?' Fred said. 'What's the occasion?'

  'Jean Horn offered to come over and freshen the place up,' I said. 'And the OPP car is Elaine Harper's, you've met her. I guess she's stopped off to see the baby.'

  I pulled in on the far side of the other cars, still cautious.

  'Stay here a moment, I'll get the camera,' I lied. Something wasn't right. Two women in the house and a baby arriving on the doorstep. One of them should have come to the door.

  'We can get pictures later,' Fred said, but I said, 'Please, I want to catch this moment.'

  She leaned over and kissed me. 'You're a sentimental s.o.b., Bennett, and I love you.'

  I patted her hand and got out, letting Sam out of the car. I whispered 'Seek' and pretended to tie my shoe lace as he ran around through the bushes, finding nothing.

  I straigtened up then and headed for the house. Nobody came to the door and I felt my skin draw tight with tension. Something was wrong, I was sure of it.

  At the door I hesitated. If Kershaw was inside, threatening the women with his shotgun he would kill me the moment I opened the door. If he wasn't, I was being a fool. But I had to be sure.

  I thought for a moment, then pretended to fumble in my pocket for keys. I turned to look at Fred who was craning down to see through the window of the other cars to the door. I made a turning motion with my hand and mouthed, 'Forgot my key.'

  Then I stopped off to one side of the door and reached across to tap it with my knuckles, withdrawing my hand at once.

  Instantly the door blew apart, the shotgun load shredding it in a shocking burst of sound. I gave a shout and slammed both feet hard on the floor, like a flamenco dancer, still standing off to one side.

  It seemed like a year and then the muzzle of the gun stuck out through the hole in the door, pointing down to where my body should have been lying.

  I grabbed the muzzle, feeling it hot in my palm, and snatched it towards me. He hung on but I wrenched him against the inside of the door and I had the muzzle turned from me. Still holding it with all my strength, I threw my weight against the broken door and it gave, sending the door back against the wall. He was in there but not trapped. He let go of the gun and tried to get out. I didn't hesitate. I drew my revolver and rea
ched around the door to shoot him through the body. He gave a grunting cry and went slack. I hooked the door away from him with one foot and stood over him, gun trained on the middle of his chest.

  It was Kershaw. His hair was greyer then in his photograph but unmistakable. He was holding his side and blood was oozing through his fingers.

  'Jean! Elaine!' I shouted, and heard a muffled half scream. I stepped away from Kershaw, carrying his shotgun in one hand, my service revolver in the other, and crouched to look around the door jamb into the kitchen.

  Both women were lying face down on the floor, hands and mouths tied with strips of tea-towels. Elaine looked up at me. 'Is there anyone else?' I shouted it, in case the shots had deafened her. She shook her head and I took a quick look back at Kershaw. He hadn't moved and I pulled a knife off the magnetic strip and cut her hands free, then Jean Horn's.

  'He's down. Watch him,' I said as they untied their gags. I grabbed the phone and rang the station. Walker answered and I filled him in. I was trembling with tension and fury. 'The bastard could have killed my family,' I shouted.

  'Be right there. Take care of the women.'

  Walker hung up and I turned to the women. 'Did he hurt you?'

  Jean spoke first. 'No. He said he was going to have some fun when you were dead. He didn't want to take the time until then.' She was calm but pale.

  'Sit down,' I told her. 'You too, Elaine.'

  Elaine sat, weeping. 'I'm sorry, Reid. I was sitting having a coffee with Jean and he just walked in on us with that gun. I should have been doing my job.'

  'Forget it. Sit down. I'll get my wife and baby in.'

  Elaine stayed where she was but Jean came out to the living-room where Kershaw was sitting, blank-faced, pressing his hands uselessly against the wound in his side. 'He's hurt bad,'Jean said. 'Leave him. Get Fred. Take her in the back way.'

  I touched her on the shoulder in gratitude and ran back out to Fred. She was in the front seat of the car, the baby in her arms, talking softly to her. 'It's over,' I said. 'You can come in now.'

  She looked up at me, rocking gently with the baby, her face chalk white. 'I can't take this,' she said softly. 'I love you. You know that. But I saw that door explode. You could be lying there now, dead.'

  She began to weep, tears spouting from her open eyes. I bent and held her very close and she forced her head into my shoulder, wiping her eyes to and fro against my shirt front. 'It's over,' I told her. 'I'll quit this job if you want.'

  'It's never over,' she sobbed. And then Jean Horn came out of the house. She came over and touched me on the back and I let go of Fred and stood up.

  Jean knelt beside her. 'What a beautiful baby.' She held out her hands and slowly Fred gave up Louise and Jean took her, crooning to her in Ojibway.

  Fred wiped her eyes on her sleeve and got to her feet. 'Let's get inside,' she said.

  Jean straightened up, carrying the baby, and I took Fred's arm and led her to the back door. Elaine Harper opened it without speaking and Fred stepped up inside. 'Where is he?' she asked me.

  'In the front, by the door. Stay with Elaine, please.'

  Elaine steered her to a chair and I went to Kershaw. His head had slumped forward and his jaw had dropped. I knew he was dead.

  I was crouching there and I heard a car pull up outside. Walker and the other detective came up the steps, the superintendent behind them. Walker bent and felt Kershaw's throat. 'Well, he won't make any more trouble,' he said softly.

  The superintendent was puffing. 'What the hell happened here?'

  'I'll tell you in a minute. Right now I've got to look after my family.'

  The superintendent looked at me sharply. 'You can't just walk away,' he began.

  'Watch me,' I told him.

  I went back to the kitchen. It was empty. Fred and Elaine were standing outside with Jean Horn who was still holding the baby. 'You can't take her into the house with that thing in the door,' Jean said. 'I'll take them home with me until it's cleared up.'

  Fred protested but Jean clung to the baby, crooning. 'It's better,' she said.

  I took Fred's arm. 'It really is, dear. I won't be long here. Then I'll pack us a bag and we'll take right off for your folks.'

  'Maybe,' she said and I was happy to see the first of the steel coming back into her voice.

  I drove them over in the scout car and came back to find the ambulance crew taking Kershaw's body out of the house. The superintendent was talking to Elaine Harper and he looked at me as I came in.

  'I hear you were too smart for him.'

  'Seems that way. I hope you've got all the pictures you need. I'm going to scrub that blood out of the walls and get a new door put in.'

  'We don't need pictures. We have first-hand evidence from PW Harper,' he said. 'Go ahead.'

  And so I did it, changing the cleaning water four times before every trace of the blood was gone. Then I called the lumber yard and got them to send a new door right away, and a handyman. After that I sat down and made a formal statement to the OPP.

  'You're free and clear,' Walker said. 'Clear case of self-defence.'

  'Good.' I was still not talking much. 'Now I want you to take the prisoners away. I'm through. Right now I'm hanging up my skates.'

  'For keeps?' he asked in surprise. 'Hell, Reid, don't be too hasty on this. You've got a good little place here.'

  'If my wife wants me out, I'm quitting. Right now I'm taking time off.'

  'Good idea.' The superintendent had come out of the house and was listening. 'We'll tidy up the ends.'

  And take whatever credit was around, I thought without bitterness. 'We got statements from everybody,' Walker said. 'What a bunch of whiners, they were all so eager to get off that they've incriminated the hell out of one another.'

  'What did they do about a lawyer?'

  'Hell, shysters came down like flies on honey,' Walker laughed. 'Two from Parry Sound, three from Midland, phone calls from as far away as Toronto.'

  'But the suspects all talked?'

  'Yeah. Sang like birds,' Walker said happily. 'We got everything. Bill Holland came down with Inspector Dupuy from Parry Sound. He says you called the whole shot on it.'

  'Walk me through it,' I said and the superintendent stepped in. 'You're still in shock,' he said. 'Do you have a drink in the house?'

  'Yes. Good idea. I'm off duty now.'

  I got my bottle of Black Velvet rye and after a little polite headshaking they all joined me. I poured myself a solid double, the others took them lighter and Walker relaxed with his drink on his knee.

  'Waites was at the bottom of everything. Him and Jeffries. They were running coke over the border at the Soo and down to Toronto. They were working for some sleazebucket Waites defended one time in court. Jeffries was the pipeline. He'd pick it up and bring it this far, then Waites' wife would bring it down. Only she didn't know what was going on until a couple of weeks ago when her friend Carolyn found Jeffries changing the suitcase Moira had brought up for a new one, full of junk. The women talked about it and Moira Waites was going to blow the whistle.'

  That all made sense and I nodded. 'And Waites sprung Kershaw to kill her?'

  'Right. He set her up, Kershaw killed her and put the car in the lake, slashing the seats so you'd think it was a gang thing. Then Waites rang the Jeffries and told them what had happened. They panicked and ran. Ms Tracy met them on a side-road and put them into a motel. Kershaw and Hanson were already staying at the other place, where you found Hanson.'

  'What was Tracy's angle? Money for her movie, what?'

  'Yes. Waites promised to get her the money she needed if and when the murder came off as planned. Her end was to create a disturbance and take care of Kershaw. That's why she organized young Hanson to fake this gang crap.'

  'What went wrong?' They'd all got what they wanted, I thought.

  'Kershaw wanted more money. He'd been paid ten grand but he knew he had Waites over a barrel. He went after more. And at the same time Jeffri
es made trouble. He had money in a safety deposit box in the bank but he couldn't get it. So he went to Pickerel Point to have it out with Waites and they fought and he killed him and took the case, knowing it was loaded with coke and he could get money on that.'

  'And Kershaw went after the case.'

  'Right. Ms Tracy helped him, told him where the Jeffries were hiding and lent him her car. Only she acted too fast. She realized you'd come asking questions when you saw her car was missing. That's why she banged her face up and said she'd been assaulted.' Walker raised his glass triumphantly. 'But we got 'em.'

  The superintendent sipped his rye slowly. 'Kershaw's been up here ever since he got away from Toronto. When you found Hanson at the motel he got out of the back window and ran. That night he hid out, stole food from the grocery. He didn't want to kill you until he'd got more money to get away. He figured he'd get more from Waites, he was counting on it. He didn't know Waites was going to be killed.'

  'And Ms Tracy set him up to kill me?'

  'Yeah,' the superintendent said. He didn't like telling this part of the story, but maybe the drink had loosened him up a little. 'She figured by then that you were pretty good at your job. That's why she'd had Hanson pull this gang caper. But when you were right behind her, stepping on her heels every move she made, she figured you had to go.'

  It was as close to a compliment as I would ever get from this man. I changed the subject. 'Why did she involve young Freund?'

  Walker explained it. 'She had Hanson pick up Kershaw's kid in the beginning, so she would have something to hold over Kershaw's head. Apparently he wanted to see the boy, despite the divorce.'

  'But in the end he tried to have him kidnapped,' I protested.

  'When he didn't get the coke and didn't get any of the money Waites had promised him, yeah. He figured, kill two birds with one stone: spend time with his kid, have his ex-wife pay him as well.'

  There was a tap on the door and I went out to find the guys from the lumber yard there. No carpenter. They were sorry but he was sick.