The Deep End
Page 24
Was she freakin’ out of her mind? “Like hell you didn’t.”
The second nurse reappeared. “I’ve called the police.”
“Good,” her colleague replied and then turned to the guards. “Get that woman out of here.”
“Wait,” Casey said. “I have a question.” Turning to Phyllis, she took a deep breath. “Why did you push Kendal into the pool?”
Phyllis glanced up at her, a glint of hatred in her eyes. “I didn’t.”
“It wasn’t a button she was returning, was it?” Casey said. “It was a pill. One that had become lodged deep in the corner of your sweater pocket, until you shook out the sweater after it had become trapped under the wheel of your cart.”
“I don’t know what you’re on about.”
“You leave the sweater at work, don’t you?” Casey glanced at Phyllis’s open coat, noting that she didn’t have the sweater on now. “I often forget to bring home clothes that are kept in my work locker, which means they don’t get washed often. That’s why the pill was still there.”
“That’s what you say, but they’re only words.”
“I’m sure that forensics experts will find traces of digoxin in the pocket.” Casey felt her anger surge. “Kendal will get her memory back, and between the two of us, we’ll see who really controls your fate.” She looked at the guards. “Get her out of my sight.”
After they left, Casey lifted the book off the chair and plunked down. She leaned forward, elbows on her knees, and tried to clear her head. She heard voices talking out in the hallway—mention of the syringe and the police being on their way.
“Did she really want to kill me?” Kendal asked.
Casey looked up. “I think so. I guess you didn’t recognize her?”
“She seemed vaguely familiar.” Kendal paused. “Who are Mac and Winson?”
“I’ll tell you later.” She opened the book. “Right now, I’d rather focus on fiction.”
As Casey turned to the first page, she tried not to think about what had just happened. The police would be here soon, then back to reality. She looked at her friend’s blank expression and tried not to let discouragement and sadness overwhelm her.
Looking down, she read, “Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again.”
THIRTY-FOUR
JUSTIN PERCHED ON THE EDGE of Amy’s desk while Amy sipped the coffee Casey had brought from the lunchroom. This was the happiest and most relaxed Amy had looked in a long time, but she had good reason. Given that Cruz had initiated the idea to involve Justin in his drug ring and Mia had helped make it happen, the charge regarding Justin’s escape had finally been dropped.
“How does it feel to be free?” Casey asked him.
“Good, but kind of weird.”
“I heard that Amir’s running Fraserview now that Mia’s officially been charged for her role in Cruz’s operation,” Casey said.
“He won’t make that place any better,” Justin replied.
“If you ask me, the adults behaved more badly than the kids,” Amy said. “Look at that horrible woman who murdered two people and kept trying to kill your friend, for heaven’s sake.”
“Yeah, well, I think Phyllis went off the deep end some time ago.”
Casey wished she’d realized that something more sinister than elderly eccentricity was rattling around Phyllis’s brain. Mac’s plan to fire her must have set Phyllis off. She decided that he was no better than her father and husband when it came to controlling her life. Only this time, she’d done something about it.
Casey cringed. She shouldn’t have told Phyllis that Kendal was improving. If she’d figured out the pill connection sooner, Phyllis would never have gotten near Kendal. Worse, she’d completely underestimated Phyllis’s need for vengeance, not to mention a disturbing cleverness that Casey wished she’d picked up on. It had been a huge mistake to let the woman’s age and odd remarks distract her.
“I assume you won’t be volunteering at Fraserview anymore?” Amy asked.
“No. Amir doesn’t like volunteers, and I have enough data for my term paper anyway.” Casey turned to Justin. “Have you heard from Tanya?”
He hesitated. “She’s doing good. Wants to see me, but I dunno.”
“I guess you’re mad at her for not telling you about Didi’s phone recording.”
He shrugged. “Wouldn’t you be?”
“Yeah, I’d be furious. Tanya’s approach was wrong, but she wanted to keep you in her life. As Phyllis demonstrated, desperation drives people to do outrageous things.”
“Tanya doesn’t have your best interests at heart,” Amy said to him. “Think about what I said this morning. If you want to break up with her, now’s the time. She’s in a safe place with professionals who can help her through it, right, Casey?”
Amy’s expression made it clear she expected Casey to agree. “There’s never a good time to break up,” Casey replied. “But if it needs to be done, then it’s better not to prolong it.”
Amy gave Casey a brief nod and sipped her coffee. Yesterday, Amy confided that Justin’s dad couldn’t cope with the responsibility of parenting a teenager right now. His mother, not surprisingly, said he couldn’t live with her either. Amy, however, was thrilled to have Justin move in with her.
Stan emerged from his office and handed Amy some loose sheets of paper. “I’ve been working on the quarterly report and it sounds stupid. Can you fix it?”
“Certainly.”
Stan looked at Justin. “How goes it, buddy?”
“Good.”
“We’re heading up to Whistler for the weekend,” Amy said. “Justin wants to get a little snowboarding in before winter’s gone.”
“Which reminds me, I need your vacation schedules for the summer.” Stan glanced at the accounting and human resources staff at the other end of the room. He moved closer to Casey and murmured, “Have you and Lou set a wedding date yet?”
Stan and Amy were the only people at MPT who knew about the engagement. She’d asked them to keep it quiet until she and Lou came up with a date. “We’ve decided on August. Lou’s mom is consulting an astrologer for the exact date.” Casey tried to say it with a straight face and failed.
“Can’t hurt, I suppose,” Stan said with a grin. “I’m taking all of July off, so you’ll be in charge.”
“Really?” He’d never left her in charge for a whole month.
“Think you can handle it with all the wedding preparations?”
“Sure, I’ll have lots of help. Lou’s mom has already started an invitation list, so I guess we’re off and running.”
“How’s your friend doing?”
“Getting stronger.” Since Phyllis’s arrest a week ago, Kendal had started to remember her job and her apartment, although she still didn’t remember Casey, which was hugely discouraging. “I’m seeing her again tonight,” Casey added. She would be finished the book soon, and after that? She supposed it was up to Kendal.
CASEY ENTERED THE PRIVATE ROOM, happy to see Kendal’s welcoming smile. At least she recognized Casey now, but as a new friend who’d been visiting nearly every day for a week, not someone with a long shared history.
“You look good today,” Casey said.
“No headache for a change.”
The color had returned to Kendal’s face, and her eyes were more alert and expressive. Her head was still bandaged, but Deanne said the doctors were amazed by her progress.
Casey pulled up a chair and pulled Rebecca from her bag. “Ready to begin?”
Kendal rolled onto her side so she was facing Casey. “Yep.”
Casey had read only a couple of paragraphs when Kendal blurted, “She’s about to realize the truth, isn’t she? That Maxim really does love her.”
“Yeah, it’s my favorite part.”
Casey read two more lines before Kendal again interrupted with, “Love is everything, isn’t it?”
An odd comment. “Yeah. I think it is to most people, whether it’s romantic lo
ve, or love for friends and family, or a pet.” Kendal stared at her, her expression unreadable. Casey returned to the paragraph she was reading. She got through a couple more lines before she was interrupted again.
“You’re engaged,” Kendal said, nodding to Casey’s ring.
“I am, yes.”
“Congratulations.”
Casey gave a quick smile. “Thanks.” She started reading again.
“I always knew Lou was crazy about you.”
“Yeah well, it took me a while to see it.” She noticed the familiar smirk, something she hadn’t seen in a long time. “Wait a sec; you remember Lou?”
“How could I forget a cutie like him?”
Casey’s mouth fell open. “Have you always remembered him?”
Kendal shook her head. “Came to me this morning, right after I remembered everything about you.”
Casey jumped up. “That’s wonderful! What else do you remember?”
“A lot. After Phyllis tried to kill me, fuzzy images started appearing later that night . . . Friends, family, coworkers, and then Fraserview residents . . . Mac. I couldn’t home in on them at first, but then things began to gel. I even remembered why I didn’t want to go home during that awful camping trip. It was because of those cute guys in the camper across from us.”
To see her old friend become herself again brought tears to Casey’s eyes. “What about what happened in the pool room? Any recollection there?”
“That part’s still fuzzy.” She paused. “I do remember holding a white pill.”
Casey nodded. “Police confirmed that it was digoxin.”
“I don’t remember how I wound up here.”
“You don’t need to.” Casey swept long strands of hair away from Kendal’s face. “Was the pill your last memory before you fell?”
“I kind of remember going into the pool room. At least I remember the cold, and Phyllis’s face . . . how it changed from surprise to irritation to a strange stare.”
“She apparently confessed to stealing one or two pills at a time until she had enough to overdose him. Phyllis ground the pills into a fine powder, though she didn’t put the power in his thermos like I thought,” Casey said. “It seems that Mac was fond of bringing enormous homemade sandwiches stuffed with deli meats and cheeses. She sprinkled powder between the meats and cheese, which were lathered with mustard and mayo. Between all the flavors and the way he apparently wolfed down his meals, he probably didn’t notice the medication.”
“Think she really intended to kill them?” Kendal asked.
“She’s still insisting that Mac and Winson were accidents, but I have my doubts. The job and the casinos were all she had in her life. Without a paycheck, Phyllis would have lost everything. From what I understand, she has no children, and no relatives in Canada.”
“Well, she’s not our problem anymore,” Kendal said, “So, let’s talk about fun stuff, like your wedding.”
Casey chuckled. “It seems I’ll need of a maid of honor. Are you up for the job?”
“Only if you don’t put me in some shitty dress with ruffles.”
“No ruffles.” Casey gave her a quick hug. “I promise.”
Acknowledgments
The idea for this book was inspired by my volunteer work many years ago at a detention center that no longer exists. Fraserview Youth Custody Center and its staff and residents are strictly products of my imagination.
Many thanks to Kemal Khan, retired director of Burnaby Youth Custody Services, for kindly answering questions about current youth custody centers. I also had the pleasure of meeting Gordon Cruse, author of Juvie: Inside Canada’s Youth Jails, whose experiences as a youth supervisor brought back a lot of memories and filled some gaps about things I’d long forgotten.
It has been a privilege to work with Ruth Linka, Taryn Boyd, and the talented people at TouchWood Editions, including editor Cailey Cavallin, designer Pete Kohut, and publicists Emily Shorthouse and Tori Elliott . Once again, I’m indebted to the always enthusiastic editor, Frances Thorsen, who’s worked with me on all four of my Casey Holland books. Thanks as well to proofreader Sarah Weber.
Where would I be without my Port Moody writers’ group? They’ve stuck with me for years and still give me many ah-ha moments with their insights. Also, heartfelt thanks to my family, whose support means the world to me.
DEBRA PURDY KONG’s first Casey Holland transit security mystery, The Opposite of Dark, was released in 2011, the second, Deadly Accusations, appeared in 2012, and the third, Beneath the Bleak New Moon, in 2013. She is also the author of the Alex Bellamy white-collar crime mysteries, Taxed to Death and Fatal Encryption, and has written more than one hundred short stories, essays, and articles for publications such as Chicken Soup for the Bride’s Soul, BC Parent Magazine, and the Vancouver Sun. In 2007, she won an honorable mention at the Surrey International Writers’ Conference for her short story “Some Mother’s Child.” Debra has a diploma of associate in criminology and has worked in security as a patrol and communications officer. She lives in Port Moody, BC, with her family. More information about Debra and her work can be found at debrapurdykong.com. Follow her on Twitter at @DebraPurdyKong.
Copyright © 2014 Debra Purdy Kong
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, recording, or otherwise—without the prior written consent of the publisher or a licence from the Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency (ACCESS Copyright). For a copyright licence, visit accesscopyright.ca.
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LIBRARY AND ARCHIVES CANADA CATALOGUING IN PUBLICATION
Kong, Debra Purdy, 1955–, author
The deep end / Debra Purdy Kong.
(A Casey Holland mystery)
Issued in print and electronic formats.
ISBN 978-1-77151-094-3 (html).—ISBN 978-1-77151-095-0 (pdf)
I. Title. II. Series: Kong, Debra Purdy, 1955– . Casey Holland mystery.
PS8571.O694D44 2014 C813'.54 C2014-902766-4
Editor: Frances Thorsen
Copy editor: Cailey Cavallin
Proofreader: Sarah Weber
Design: Pete Kohut
Cover image: coolmilo, istockphoto.com
Author photo: Jerald Walliser
We gratefully acknowledge the financial support for our publishing activities from the Government of Canada through the Canada Book Fund and the Canada Council for the Arts, and from the Province of British Columbia through the British Columbia Arts Council and the Book Publishing Tax Credit.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.