A Purse to Die For

by Melodie Campbell; Cynthia St-Pierre

  Rob frowned. He leaned his forearms on his knees. "Yeah, they might be able to, all right." He sounded pissed. "Spooks don 't have to go through the same channels we lawmen do."

  He made it sound like they were in an old Western. Gina 's mouth broke to a thin smile.

  They sat in companionable silence for a few moments. Rob appeared to be deep in thought. Finally, he said, "That was clever, your deduction about tracing the victim through the store where she bought the handbag. It 's the sort of thing we cops think about."

  Gina smiled. "I had a bit of luck. It doesn 't always work. As a matter of fact—now that 's funny." She paused.

  Rob raised one eyebrow.

  "About the bag being unique." Gina continued. "Remember I said that thing about how the sales clerks keep track of who buys what , so we don 't show up at the same event in the same dress?"

  Rob nodded.

  Gina looked off in the distance. "It can happen. In fact, it did happen, at the Belle Canto Opera Gala a few years ago. And you 'll never guess to whom."

  Gina turned to face him now. Yes, she had his interest. Funny that she remembered it now, years later, after never once thinking about it before.

  "Hilary walked into the place wearing a super-expensive Givenchy red chiffon gown. Darned if her sister Andrea didn 't show up wearing the very same dress. They met each other in the centre of the crowded lobby." She giggled at the memory. "Oh my goodness, you never saw such a scene."

  "Hilary didn 't like it much?"

  "Hilary didn 't give a rat 's ass—oops. No really, she thought it was a scream. It was Andrea who had a conniption. Apparently, she bought the dress in Palm Springs, so that 's how the Toronto store didn 't know about it. But there were the two of them, both in blond updos, both looking so alike…" She giggled again.

  "What 's an updo?" Rob asked.

  Gina grabbed her hair with one hand and swept it up onto her head. When she let go, it fell naturally into a mass of chestnut curls halfway down her back.

  "So there they were, Hilary laughing and pointing, and Andrea screaming at her like a gutter wench. She took a couple swipes at her with her evening bag—Andrea, that is—swiping at Hilary, who ducked—and finally, Andrea marched out of the place, never to be seen again that night. Hilary stayed and acted like the belle of the ball."

  Rob frowned. "So they didn 't like each other."

  Gina nodded. "People said they were competitive, which is a nice way of putting it, from what I saw."

  "I know about competition, " Rob muttered.

  Gina had the sense to keep quiet. She could see where this line of thought was headed and didn 't like it.

  "You know about his real work now." It was a rhetorical comment. No need to ask whom Rob was talking about. Gina said nothing. Overhead, a seaplane droned by.

  "You okay with it?" Rob was pushing it. The disbelief in his voice was clear.

  "No, of course I 'm not okay with it, " Gina replied. "How could I be okay with it? But it 's not my job or my life—it 's his. What can I do about it?" Her voice was bitter, and almost immediately she regretted using it.

  "Do about what?" A cool voice said at her side.

  Rob was on his feet. "You 're back, " he growled.

  Tony nodded, standing with his arms crossed. "And I have news."

  Chapter 33

  She established when she woke from another of her profound slumbers that day was dwindling by the lack of light on the other side of the industrial hospital window spanning the end wall of her room. The nurse said they were keeping her overnight for observation when all Becki figured she needed was sleep. She guessed there was less demand for hospital beds in Langdon Hills than in Toronto. In Toronto, she 'd be booted out on the street already. But here she 'd have nurses around each time she woke to threaten to reintroduce her to real food.

  She didn 't see the need to ever eat again. But she wasn 't the sort of person to be a problem patient, so , appetite or no appetite, she was willing to follow Dr. Crosby 's orders. Two to four hours without any food or drink at all. Done.

  Then small amounts of weak, room temperature tea or ginger ale that had been opened for an hour to release the bubbles. Then if she could tolerate that without further upset, the addition of an apple or banana—puree was recommended—after which she could safely move on to other fruits and vegetables, excluding potatoes. As a last step, after six to twenty-four hours at each successive stage, she could choose meat. Not!

  Or grains. Or even dairy, if she felt daring.

  She sipped some flat ginger ale from the plastic cup lingering on the metal table beside her hospital bed and remembered she wanted to phone Gina. Because she had something important to discuss with her. She picked up the receiver then reconsidered the order of her calls. After all, shouldn 't she phone her husband first? If the situation was reversed and he landed in a hospital bed far from home, wouldn 't she want to be the first person he called?

  "Hi, honey. How are you?" he asked as soon as he recognised her voice.

  "Extreme dieting, " she deadpanned. When she thought about the word that described the comic 's tone she was trying to take with Karl, it reminded her way too much of bed panned .

  "Really? Dieting? What for?"

  Isn't he charming? That 's why I went ahead and married him all those years ago. Well, that and the p olice c hief uniform.

  "See, " she began, "what happened, Karl, is…I got food poisoning."

  "Poison?"

  Hearing panic, she quickly clarified, "Food poisoning. Had my stomach pumped and everything. And now the good doctor and his trusty nurse cohorts are planning to build my strength up again. Starting all over from the beginning. Like an infant. With mush."

  "Oh, honey."

  "Not to worry. So how are things on your end?"

  He ignored her question. "What was it you ate?"

  The line crackled.

  "Pardon?" he said.

  "Vegetarian sausages."

  "All living creatures know they 're poison."

  "Karl!"

  "Sorry. What I mean is, how awful."

  He sounded like he really meant it this time.

  "Who else got sick?" he ask ed.

  "No one."

  "How 's that again?"

  "What do you think, Karl?" This is embarrassing.

  "Oh, I see. Couldn 't entice anyone else to try your breakfast meat replacements. And so therefore they were spared."

  "That 's about it."

  She must have started to sound more defeated than amused because Karl quickly changed his tactic. "Missing you. Counting the days. You 've been gone nine full days now. Way too many to be away from your husband, who loves you."

  Maybe she yawned.

  "You sure you 're okay?"

  "Sorry. Running on empty. Literally."

  "Hungry, " he surmised.

  "Noooo!"

  Silence.

  She regretted shouting at him. "As if I needed another reason to stay stuck in Langdon Hills."

  Despite her pessimistic tone, something hopeful was twitching at the back of her brain and making her think that possibly, after doing just one more little thing, the whole frigging ordeal might come to an end. She just needed to pass it by Gina first.

  "First thing tomorrow , I 'm coming out there to see you, " Karl said.

  "Don 't. I 'm fine. Just fine. Hold down the fort for me at home. And I 'll be back before you know it."

  "Not soon enough."

  "If you come here, you 'll get dragged into this whole mess. It 's bad enough one of us has been ripped from ordinary life and forced to live in the middle of a…a thriller."

  "You? And ordinary life?"

  "Compared to this."

  "You really don 't want me to come, " he stated.

  "No."

  "Hmmm."

  "Why, hmmm ?"

  "Remember, I said I 'd look into Tony and that gun of his you saw? Tony 's a fed. Has been for some time. Undercover. Really, the on
ly reason I was able to find out what I did about him is I 'm in the biz too. So if he 's with you, you 're in good hands. But keep this to yourself. That 's a must."

  "Tony? A fed? Holy smoke! That 's good news. I guess. Unless he 's—whaddaya call it?—gone rogue."

  "Rogue?"

  "You know, as in Sarah Palin 's book."

  "I should come, anyway."

  "No! Hey, Karl, it 's starting to snow here. First snow of the season. Is it snowing there?"

  After a half an hour of convincing him she was fine, she fell asleep again. When she awoke, it was completely dark outside. Time flies when you 're unconscious.

  She dialled Gina's cell over an d over. Gina didn 't pick up. Each time Becki tried, she was directed to voicemail. Why would Gina turn off her phone? The only thing Becki could do was leave a message.

  "Gina, it 's Becki. So…I 'm the one who 's in hospital now. I know. Dumb. Something I ate. Anyway, I discovered something here. By fluke. My doctor, Dr. Crosby, is…was…Godmom 's doctor too . And he happened to let it slip that Godmom didn 't have cancer. You believe that? What 's it mean, do you think? Was Carla lying? Or was she somehow convinced Godmom had cancer? Weird, huh? So I want to talk to you about it. Call me. Room 27. They 're forcing me to stay here overnight. So call anytime. Don 't worry how late. Believe me, I 'm getting plenty of sleep. And Gina…be careful. Something 's seriously not right about this. Okay…bye for now."

  Great fluffy flakes were floating down from the sky on the other side of Nellie 's bedroom window. As Mom would say an infinite variety of perfect crystals. Snow meant tobogganing. And snowmen. And skating. And Christmas. But Christmas was still almost three months away.

  She cuddled under the covers with Macho. His face, hands and feet were made of rubber or something, but the rest of him was soft just like her other stuffed animals—the ones who didn 't sleep with her—which were lined up at the end of the bed. Sometimes she felt sorry for them way over there, but Mom said she could only have one stuffed animal under the sheets at night, and since Macho was her favourite…Macho 's arms were around her , and she made sure the blankets were well under his chin , so he could still breathe. She tucked him in just like Mom tucked her in every night. Finally, when Macho started to snore really loud, she decided it was probably okay for her to fall asleep too .

  Chapter 34

  Gina stood on the porch between the two t itans and waited for Tony to break the tension.

  "He 's alive, " Tony said. "And in Ontario. Used a bank card east of Kingston yesterday. Seems we all forgot one thing."

  "What 's that?" Rob 's voice was grim.

  Tony pulled a pack of cigarettes from his pocket. He knocked one out and held the pack over to Rob. For one tense moment, Gina thought Rob was going to smack it away. But he didn 't. Gina saw him hesitate , and then he reached over to pull it out.

  "Thanks, " he mumbled.

  Tony snapped open a lighter and lit his own. He snapped it closed then tossed the lighter to Rob, who seemed to be expecting it and caught it easily. It hit Gina suddenly she was watching a scene that had happened many times before in the past between these two.

  Tony took a big drag and then let out smoke.

  "We forgot Reggie had been married before. His ex lives in Gananoque , and the family have a cottage in the Thousand Islands."

  Rob cursed.

  "Did you know he had a son? No? Well, he never told me about it either. Kid is about eleven. Mother has sole custody."

  Gina watched the two men eye each other.

  Finally Rob said, "That it? Just a bank card?"

  Tony grunted. "It 's more than you came up with."

  "Son-of-a-bitch, " said Rob.

  Gina couldn't tell whether Rob was referring to Tony or the information. The tension was pretty hot on the porch.

  "Got an address?" Rob mumbled it around the cigarette in his teeth.

  Tony reached in his shirt pocket and pulled out a paper. "Name of ex, town address, cottage address and number of bank machine. Knock yourself out, lawman."

  Rob snatched it from his hand then disappeared into the house.

  Gina stood looking at Tony.

  "You didn 't make any friends there."

  Tony snorted. "We may both wear white hats, but we 're at war. Didn 't you know?"

  "Mom, have you seen Becki?"

  "No, sweetie. I haven 't been here. I 've just come from the lawyer 's with your dad."

  Gina watched her mom pour tea from the old china pot. She poured it immaculately, without losing a drop. Gina went to the cupboard for more cups.

  "I haven 't seen her for hours. I wonder where she went." she said.

  "Not far, I 'm sure. That nice policeman keeps track of us. Speaking of which, " Mom lingered over the cup, "what exactly is going on between you and him? And is that why Tony is so miserable?"

  Miserable? Tony was acting miserable? Oh, for crying out loud —and then it hit her like a winter gale. Mom didn 't know who Rob was. She didn 't remember. Gina 's eyes went wide. Mother didn 't know Rob was the boy who had caused her to be sent to Vancouver that summer long ago. Oh, crap. What the heck would she say when she found out? Even worse, what would her dad do?

  The knock caused Rob to look up from his desk.

  "Yes?"

  Carla stood in the doorway. She looked better than he 'd seen her look the entire week. Her hair was nicely combed , and there was colour in her face. Why hadn 't he noticed how good-looking she was before?

  "Can I get a day pass for tomorrow? I have a doctor 's appointment in Toronto."

  Rob stared at her. Carla's face was stony. Appointment in Toronto, my ass, he thought . But this was the chance he had been waiting for.

  "Just for the day?"

  She nodded. "I 'll leave early, do my business and get back after dinner at the latest."

  Rob leaned back in his chair. He took some time thinking to make it look good. "All right, " he said finally. "Take your cellphone , and leave it on."

  "Thanks. I 'll get Gina to look after Nellie."

  "She 's in the parlour, I think."

  Carla nodded again and moved away with a sway in her hip.

  Something wrong with that woman, Rob thought.

  "What 's wrong, Gina? Are you looking for something?" Carla stood at the door to the front parlour, watching.

  "Have you seen my cellphone? I seem to have lost it. It 's pink." Gina turned from the couch where she had been lifting pillows.

  Carla shook her head. "Try dialling the number."

  "Did that, " said Gina. She sat down with a thump and a sigh. "It may have run out of juice."

  Carla didn't seem concerned. "So use the house phone. The police won 't mind."

  Gina shook her head. "I was just going to check calls, not make any. If I call work, they 'll just make it difficult for me." She sat frowning.

  Carla went to the window.

  "Will you do me a favour and look after Nellie tomorrow?"

  Gina looked over in surprise.

  "Well, sure. But where are you going?"

  Carla shrugged. "Got a doc appointment in Toronto. Our Sergeant Renfrew of the RCMP is letting me go for the day, can you believe it? I promised to be good and get back around dinner."

  Gina was mystified. After that prank of Tony's, she was surprised Rob would let anyone step away from the house, let alone drive to the city.

  "Lucky you, " she said. "I 'd love to get away."

  "How long are you going to stay here?"

  Gina's head shot up. Why did Carla sound like that? "Only as long as they make me. I have to be back in Toronto next week for work at the latest."

  Was that the shadow of a smile? Gina stared. It seemed Carla would be pleased to see her go. But why? Carla had always liked her, she was sure of it. They both loved Nellie, for one thing.

  "It 's got to be difficult for you with all these people invading your home." Gina chose her words carefully.

  They seemed to be the right
words.

  Carla nodded. "It 's not good for Nellie. I can 't wait for things to get back to normal."

  Normal? With Ian murdered and Reggie missing? Gina stared at the woman in front of her, who stood gazing placidly out the window. It was as if she suddenly didn 't know this calm and cool person masquerading as her aunt. What the devil was wrong with Carla?

  Chapter 35

  Carla had so many reasons to not want them finding Reggie now. Of course, she had to press charges for the last time he beat her, but she didn 't feel like going through some court ordeal, didn 't want Nellie having to deal with kids taunting her for having a jailbird for a father, didn 't want him…Just best if the bastard stayed missing.

  But before Carla reached the road that led out of town, she picked out a tail on her heel. Which prompted a very unflattering thought. Rob thinks I 'm brain dead.

  She gripped the wheel. Langdon Hills is a small town. Traffic would have to be labelled slow to non-existent. He knows that. As if I 'm not going to notice a vehicle following me from my own street practically to the highway . Firstly, the odds of any two cars twinned in time and place in Langdon Hills is beyond all probability. And secondly, if a miracle of the sort did happen one day, I 'd know exactly who it was, and then afterward I 'd make a comment about it to that neighbour—I see you were heading out to buy a few cases of Diet Coke on sale at Costco in Orillia at the same time I was yesterday.

  No way was she enough of a bonehead to miss the ambulant police presence and its significance. Not only did it scrap her plan to have a little chat with Reggie and send him off once and for all—before the police caught up with him on Salisbury Island, as threatened in the conversation she overheard between Gina, Tony and Rob—it revealed she was under suspicion. One thing she knew, she 'd be in a whole mess of trouble if they caught her skipping town under false pretences.

  She shook her head with tight, jerky movements. She decided to teach the cops a lesson. She picked up her cellphone from the passenger seat as if the ringer were signalling an incoming call. She brought it to her ear. The officer behind her, whether it be Rob or one of his cronies, wouldn 't dare arrest her for using a mobile device while driving because he was incognito .