by Garry Ryan
“Matt!” Christine was halfway out of the passenger window. When Daniel got the car stopped, she had some trouble getting back inside because she’d opened the door before releasing her seat belt.
Matt set Jessica on her feet.
Christine jumped from the car. She ran, grabbed Matt around the neck and kissed his cheek. “Matt!” Then she recoiled. “You stink!”
“Me too?” Jessica held her arms up.
Five minutes later, Jessica stepped in the back door carrying a bag of groceries. “Christine told me to bring these.” She held up the bag.
Erinn turned, saw her daughter, blinked and scooped up her child.
“Mommy! You’re squishing me!” Jessica said.
Lane’s phone rang as they rolled along a trail set in between condos and an open field. “Yes?”
“They had to have gotten at least this far,” Harper turned left into a parking lot and searched the area systematically with his eyes.
“They’re home,” Lane said.
“Home?” Harper turned to stare at Lane.
Lane nodded. “Christine and Daniel found them within a kilometre of my house. We’re supposed to go there and have something to eat.”
“You’re kidding.” Harper’s eyes filled with tears. He stopped the Jeep, leaned against the wheel and wept.
Lane rubbed his friend’s back with his left hand. “No, I’m not kidding. They’re home.”
SUNDAY, AUGUST 14
chapter 14
“How are you feeling today?” Lane looked around the hospital room. Amir, Saadiq, Katherine and Dylan were like statues taking up four corners in Keely’s room.
Keely rolled her eyes. “The doctor says I might get out today. He’s being cautious about swelling around the heart. Moreau was a good shot.” She shifted her weight and grimaced with pain. “But not quite good enough.”
Amir, Keely’s father, glared at Lane.
Saadiq, Keely’s brother, moved toward Lane and embraced the detective. “Thank you for making her wear her vest.”
“You did that?” Katherine, Keely’s mother, asked.
“He did,” Keely said.
Lane found himself at the centre of a group hug, communal weeping and even a kiss or three on his cheeks. He was left to wonder who was doing the kissing. When he was free and clear, he saw tears in Keely’s eyes. He looked at Katherine and the portly Amir and said. “Saadiq showed us where to look for Matt and Jessica. We wouldn’t have found them without your daughter and your son.”
“How are Matt and Jessica doing?” Dylan asked.
“They’re both downstairs being checked out. It’s a precaution. Someone turned Jessica’s motor on. She won’t stop talking or moving, and her mother and father won’t let her out of their sight. They’re getting plenty of exercise and can’t wipe the smiles off their faces. I’m afraid Erinn will go into labour if Jessica doesn’t slow down soon.” Lane reached into his pocket, pulled out a gift card and handed it to Keely.
“Thought you might want some new tunes to listen to while you’re recuperating.”
Keely took the certificate and smiled. “Think my old stuff is that bad?”
Lane shook his head. “No.”
Katherine said, “We’re going for dinner when she gets out. Would your family like to come?”
“Of course,” Lane said.
“What about Mary? What’s happened to her?” Keely asked.
“She’s thinking about selling her house and moving. And Simpson called. He wants the two of us to do her interview,”
Lane said.
“What happened out back of the women’s shelter? No one told me very much.” Keely sat up and winced.
Lane looked around the room.
Katherine said, “Come on, we’ve got to get something to eat while these two talk shop.”
The room emptied and the door closed.
Lane said, “Things were kind of tense in here.”
“You think?” Keely smiled. “At least everyone is in the same room. My dad is pissed off because I won’t be an obedient little girl. Nothing new there. Come on, tell me what happened.”
“According to Fibre’s initial findings, the deceased woman was killed by two shots from Moreau’s Smith and Wesson. Moreau died from massive hemorrhaging due to the wound inflicted by the shovel blade. Mary and her baby are fine. A woman named Rita — who volunteered at the shelter — has admitted to swinging the shovel. Rita and Mary are the people we need to interview. When would you like to do that?” Lane watched Keely cup her left breast as she coughed.
“How about tomorrow?” Keely asked.
“But you’re not even out of the hospital yet,” Lane said.
Keely glared at him. “I’m not going to spend another day like today with those four watching over me. I feel like I’ve just been kicked out of Sunday school again by the Imam.”
“You got kicked out of Sunday school?” Lane asked.
“More than once,” Keely said.
“How come?”
“I asked too many questions. I have been a constant source of embarrassment to my father.” Keely swung her legs over the side of the bed. “Hand me that housecoat, will you?”
“Are you supposed to get up?” Lane handed her the robe.
Keely shrugged. “I’m tired of doing what I’m told. Besides, I want to see that Matt and Jessica are fine. You’re taking me down to visit them.” She smiled as he held the robe open for her. “How bad is my hair?” She breathed into her fist. “And my breath?”
“I’ll keep away,” Lane said.
“And I have to talk with you. My RCMP boss says my time with the city police is up. They want me to transfer to Central Canada. It seems that female officers who speak Arabic are in demand.” She waited for Lane to reply.
“I don’t know what to say.” Lane helped her into the robe. I feel like I’ve been punched in the belly.
“Besides, it would be good for Dylan and me to live away from my father.”
Lane frowned and looked to see that the door was closed. “You’re probably right about that.”
MONDAY, AUGUST 15
chapter 15
Three women, one baby and a lawyer sat across the table from Lane and Keely. The lawyer insisted the detectives meet around a table at the lawyer’s downtown office.
“We have some information on the deaths of Stan Pike and Kevin Moreau. What we’d like to do is gather as much additional information as possible to determine where to proceed from here,” Lane said.
Keely shifted in her seat, leaned back and tried to get comfortable.
The woman sitting next to the lawyer was about thirty but had the eyes of someone much older despite her long blonde hair.
She could have been a model if she was interested in that kind of life, Lane thought.
The woman turned to face Keely. “Can I take a look at your wound?”
“Who are you?” Keely asked.
“Candace Barnett.” She pointed at Rita. “She’s my aunt.”
“What’s your interest in what happened to me?” Keely asked.
“Professional. I work for MSF,” Candace said.
“MSF?” Keely asked “Médecins sans frontières. I often see gunshot wounds. I just wonder what one looks like when a vest stops a bullet.” Candace kept her tone neutral.
She paid for the lawyer and now she’s trying to gain a little trust with a ‘sister’, Lane thought.
“You a doctor?” Keely pushed her chair back and stood up.
“Nurse.” Candace got up and walked around the table.
Keely turned her back to Lane. He turned to watch the lawyer. The lawyer stopped smiling when she saw the detective watching her. The lawyer, Ms. Scott, had short blonde hair and wore a white blouse, black slacks and a tailored black jacket.
Candace pointed at the stitches on Keely’s forehead. “Moreau went for the head shot?”
“I heard a bullet go past my ear,” Keely said.
Lane turned to watch the show.
Candace leaned to take a close look at Keely’s breast. “And then he went for the heart shot.”
“We figure that Pike and Moreau were involved in a series of murders, including Zander, of course. I guess you heard about Roberta King?” Keely asked.
Nice work, Keely. Let her know you won’t be played, Lane thought.
“No, I haven’t heard. What happened to Ms. King?”
“Someone poured gasoline around her house and set fire to it. She died in the fire,” Lane said.
“That’s a shame. It doesn’t surprise me, though. And you can’t be so naïve as to think they haven’t killed a few more people over the past ten years. I mean, for a few years you must have suspected them for any number of drive-by shootings as they established their territory and then consolidated it.” Candace stood up straight. “Be careful with that. The bruising looks pretty deep.”
“That’s what my doctor told me after he put me on blood thinners.” Keely buttoned up her blouse, turned around and sat down.
Candace walked back around the table. Her hand brushed Rita’s shoulder as she passed.
“Can we get down to business?” Keely asked.
Candace frowned. “I was in the car when Pike and Kev picked up Zander. They said they were trying to teach his big brother a lesson. Robert Rowe was Zander’s older brother. He and Kev had a falling out. Robert was a passenger during a drive-by where one of Kev’s cousins was killed.”
“You know where they took Zander?” Lane asked.
“It was a shop in an industrial park. I think Moreau’s grandfather owned it at the time. Kev said they were going to leave Zander there overnight as a warning to Robert. But that’s not what happened, obviously.” Candace looked at her aunt.
“When did you know that they’d killed Zander?” Keely asked.
“I didn’t know for sure until I got a call from my mother telling me that his body was found. Then I got another call explaining that Aunt Rita was in trouble. I did start asking questions about a week after they took Zander. But Kev and Pike, well, they had ways of getting people to shut up.” She turned her focus to Lane. “You know all about it.” She looked at Rita. “My aunt knows all about it. You either played along with Kev or he made you pay.”
“Where were you three days ago?” Keely asked.
“Africa,” Candace said.
“Why are you here now?” Lane asked.
“I heard about what happened. It was time for me to come back and tell what I know. What I saw. To put what Rita and Mary did into some kind of context. If you know what happened to Zander, then you know why Mary did what she did. And you know why my Aunt Rita did what she did.” Candace put her palms down on the table. “Mary?” Lane waited for eye contact before he asked, “What was Pike doing at your house the day he died?”
Mary lifted her head. Joshua stuck a plastic toy in his mouth. A pool of drool appeared on the front of his red T-shirt. “He came to the door and said he was taking Joshua away. I tried to stop him. He hit me in the face and went upstairs. When he came back down with Joshua, I had a knife. Pike was holding Joshua out like a shield, so I aimed for Pike’s crotch.”
“Anything happen after that?” Keely asked.
“I took Joshua and walked away. Caught a bus and asked the driver where the women’s shelter was. That’s where I met Rita,” Mary said. Joshua pulled the toy out of his mouth. A thread of drool connected boy and toy.
Rita looked around the table.
“Go ahead,” Candace said.
“About six months after I retired from drivin’ bus for the city, I came to volunteer at the shelter in my neighbourhood.” Rita saw Lane’s frown and said, “You’re wonderin’ how I could afford to live in such an expensive neighbourhood aren’t you?”
Lane nodded. She’s quick.
“Moved there twenty-five years ago. Wasn’t such a trendy place then. Anyway, I saw what Candy had done with her nursing with MSF and decided I could help out too. I took care of the gardening at the shelter. Made it a nice place outside, you know, a peaceful place. When Mary and her little one came there, I’d already heard what happened to Pike. My sister still lives in the old neighbourhood; she told me. So I put two and two together, you know.” Rita waited for a moment then asked, “You want me to keep goin’?”
Keely nodded.
“Mary and I got to talkin’. I told her about what happened to my Candy,” Rita said.
Candace blushed and looked away.
“Sorry, Candy. It was a long time ago, you know. Anyway, Mary knew about Zander, too. Guess her husband told her ’bout his part in takin’ Zander to see Moreau and Pike that day after school. Then I saw the news. Moreau had some free apartments. I knew it meant that anyone who turned Mary in would get a free place to live. So I kept an eye out for Mary and the baby. They were gonna come and stay with me ’cause it was only a matter of time before Moreau or one of his people showed up. And he did. Walked right past me after he shot that one over there.” Rita turned to Keely. “Sorry, it happened so fast, there was nothin’ I could do.”
Keely shrugged and the movement caused her to grimace.
“How come Moreau didn’t see you?”
“I was workin’ at the corner of the hedge. I ducked behind it when Dee Dee opened the gate for him.”
“Dee Dee?” Lane asked.
“The one he shot in the backyard. She was collecting on Moreau’s offer of a free apartment. Anyway, I got mad at myself for standing around. I’ve been mad for a long time about what he did to Candy. I went to the side of the house. I could see what was going on from there. Kev had his back to me and was pointin’ his gun at Mary. So I took my shovel and swung it like an axe. The blood splattered on my face. After that I picked up the gun and pointed it at him.” Rita looked at Lane as if asking him whether she should continue.
“Who called the ambulance?” Lane asked.
“I did,” Mary said. “I picked up Joshua and went around to the front door and inside to use the phone. Rita stayed outside and watched Kev. When I came back outside, Moreau was lying on his side, kind of panting and shivering.”
The lawyer, Ms. Scott, said, “Candace insisted that all three stories be told at one time, so that the entire series of events could be put into context.”
Lane frowned.
Candace asked, “Is there a problem?”
“When you examined Keely’s wound, you knew that Moreau would go for a head shot and the heart. How did you know that?” Lane asked.
The lawyer grabbed Candace’s forearm. Candace shook it off. “He used to take me target shooting. He bragged about what a good shot he was and that only one shot was usually necessary. But his backup was the heart shot. He used to say that life on the streets was hard.”
“Why were you involved with him?” Lane asked.
Candace looked at her aunt then at Lane. “I was in love with him — or, at least, that’s what I thought at the time.”
“Who’s paying for the lawyer?” Keely asked.
“Me,” Candace said.
“How?” Keely asked.
“I’ve been putting money away for years. There aren’t very many opportunities to spend money in the places where I work,” Candace said.
TUESDAY, AUGUST 16
chapter 16
“Fibre here.”
“Any news on the family front?” Lane asked.
“We found out yesterday. It’s two boys and a girl!” Fibre said.
“Ummm,” Lane said.
“It is amazing, isn’t it? And Gaia has agreed to live next door in my duplex. That way I can help when the babies are born because she wants to continue working. I might even take a leave of absence.”
“That’s wonderful news.”
“It wouldn’t have happened without your advice.”
“Any news on the Moreau investigation?” Lane asked.
“Of course.”
His voice just went monotone agai
n. Amazing, Lane thought.
“Here it is. DNA evidence puts Jessica and Matt in the apartment along with the accused abductor. Also, the investigation of the women’s shelter crime scene is completed. If you want, I will leave a copy of the report with my secretary. The investigation of Moreau’s residence turned up a copy of the movie you were asking about. It’s an amateur production with a young woman and a younger Kevin Moreau.” Fibre cleared his throat.
“Is it of any value to the investigation?” Lane asked.
“I don’t believe so. Would you like to pick it up when you come for the crime scene report?”
“Yes, please,” Lane said.
“I will do that right now so that it will be ready whenever you arrive.” Fibre hung up.
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 17
chapter 17
“You’re sure you’re feeling well enough?” Lane asked.
“Will you stop it? I mean, yes, I’m still sore. And yes, I’m having flashbacks. But I want to do this. It’s a good thing to do. You know, move forward.” Keely sat in the passenger seat. Lane drove north and west down into the river valley.
“How’s your family doing?” Lane asked.
“Mom’s fine. Saadiq is fine. Dylan keeps bringing food and flowers over. My dad, well, he’ll never change.” Keely took a deep, careful breath.
“Saadiq sure helped us out when it came to finding Matt and Jessica. He’s got a real network of friends. I don’t know how I’ll ever be able to pay back that debt.” Lane guided the car over the bridge. Underneath, the highway traffic headed west toward the mountains.
“Don’t worry, he still thinks he owes you. Remember how you helped me out after the explosion and the other day when you told me to wear a vest? He still thinks he has a ways to go to even things out.”
“Does your dad think he’s in my debt?” Lane smiled.