The Spies That Bind

by Diane Henders

  “Cedar waxwing,” I diagnosed. “Or maybe a Bohemian waxwing. They’re famous for flying into windows, especially if they’ve been eating fermented berries, but there aren’t many fermented berries around in August. So it might have been a coincidence, but it’s a hell of a long way for a dead bird to bounce all the way over the sidewalk and into your car. Has anything else happened to make you feel nervous?”

  “Not… really…”

  When I rotated my hand in a ‘keep talking’ gesture, she sighed. “Just some ugly rumours. But it’s a small town and everybody has their nose in everybody else’s business. If there isn’t any juicy gossip they make some up.”

  “What kind of rumours?”

  “Well, one is that I purposely got pregnant to force Spider into marrying me, which is silly, of course, because I’m not pregnant at all.” She glanced shyly up at Spider. “Not that I’d mind if I was…”

  He flushed and beamed at her. “I wouldn’t, either. It would be so cool to have a baby with you!”

  Linda cuddled closer, beaming up at him in return. “I can hardly wait! But maybe not for a little while…”

  “…until you finish the courses you’re taking,” he agreed.

  Their happiness was so palpable I hated to burst their bubble, but I did.

  “Anything else?” I asked.

  The joy went out of their faces as if I’d dumped a bucket of cold water over them.

  “The only other rumour I’ve heard is that Spider is secretly gay and in love with Tim but he’s marrying me to prove he’s straight,” Linda said.

  Spider chuckled. “That’s a new one!” He winked at Linda. “I bet Tim started that one himself.”

  They both laughed, then sobered and turned back to me.

  “So what do you think, Aydan?” Spider asked. “Should Linda take out a bigger life insurance policy on me?”

  “That’s not funny!” she snapped, then added, “M-maybe if I wasn’t so stressed out with all the last-minute wedding stuff I wouldn’t be freaking out over this, but… but…” Her lips quivered and she drew a deep shaky breath, blinking rapidly to clear the tears that puddled in her eyes. “I’m scared.” She threw her arms around Spider. “I don’t want to lose you.”

  He wrapped his bony arms around her in turn, stooping to pull her closer. “I don’t want to lose you, either, Sweetie. And I didn’t mean to make light of it. You’re right, it is scary.”

  Linda swiped at her eyes. “And now I’m going to be late to meet Lola and Moonbeam Meadow Sky and I was so looking forward to meeting her, b-but I’m afraid to even leave the house. And I’m afraid to stay here, or drive my car, or… or… anything.”

  My heart leaped. “Wait, you’re meeting Moonbeam?”

  “Yes, we were supposed to be at the dressmaker’s house ten minutes ago. I called to let them know I’d be late, but…”

  Glorious relief flooded me. “Call them back and tell them you’re on your way.”

  “B-but…”

  “I’ll follow you over and Spider will ride with me,” I reassured her before turning a faux-stern frown on Spider. “But he’s not allowed to see the dress. It’s bad luck.”

  A few minutes later we pulled to a halt in front of the dressmaker’s home, a pale yellow Victorian two-storey with immaculate white gingerbread trim. Moonbeam and Karma’s rental car was parked on the street behind Lola’s orange Jeep Renegade, and I drew a long thankful breath.

  As we got out of our cars I surveyed the quiet street warily, but didn’t see any threats. Unlike Spider and Linda’s new subdivision, giant elm trees shaded the cracked and overgrown sidewalks. Gracefully-proportioned old houses sat back on their generous lots like serene matrons basking in the late-morning heat. A black cat prowled across the street on some surreptitious errand, its tail trailing low, and an unseen squirrel scolded it vigorously.

  Nothing but peace and small-town charm. Too bad I didn’t dare believe it.

  As we came up the walk, Lola, Moonbeam, and a plump woman with a round cheerful face stepped out on the verandah, obviously engaged in a pleasant conversation. There were smiles all around, but none of them were as broad as the one I felt widening on my own face.

  “Moonbeam!” I cried, then belatedly added “…Meadow Sky… I’m so glad you’re still here! I thought you’d left.”

  She threw me a tiny frown and headshake before switching instantly to her usual glowing smile. “Of course not, dear. I promised Lola I’d look at Linda’s gown today.”

  I took her ‘shut up’ hint. We’d talk later.

  “And you must be Linda,” Moonbeam went on, fluttering down the verandah stairs like a gaily-coloured butterfly in her gauzy tie-dyed caftan. “How nice to meet you, and don’t worry; I think we can salvage your wedding gown.”

  “Really?” Linda’s face lit up.

  “Yes, I believe so. We can lighten the red with a gentle bleach solution and make the blotches look planned by repeating them on the rest of the gown to match. Then I can overpaint it to turn the blotches into flowers in a Japanese-style pattern. Your gown is so elegantly simple that the hand-painting will suit it beautifully. And we can soften the effect by dying the background a subtle pink, which would be absolutely lovely with your complexion… if you don’t mind pink…?”

  Moonbeam’s anxious expression dissolved into relief as Linda let out a jubilant laugh. “I’d love a pink wedding dress! I almost went with pink to start with, but then I chickened out and went traditional white at the last minute!”

  “Oh, good. It’s settled, then.” Moonbeam turned to smile up at the plump woman. “May I take Linda’s gown with me? I’ll need to drive down to Calgary to get some supplies, and then I’ll work on it at our hotel room.”

  “Of course. I’ll go and get it.” The dressmaker hurried back into the house, and I made playful shooing motions at Linda, Lola, and Spider.

  “You guys go talk among yourselves. Moonbeam and I have secrets to discuss.”

  They laughed and obligingly turned away as I ushered Moonbeam a few paces down the walk and lowered my voice. “I talked to Ste… um… Ch… Cosmic River Stone this morning.”

  Moonbeam’s sweet features settled into an expressionless façade almost as impenetrable as Stemp’s own, but her faded china-blue eyes reflected the depth of her pain. “I’m afraid it’s Charles Randall Stemp now,” she said softly. “Cosmic River Stone is no more.” She sighed. “I was foolish to think otherwise. Cosmic River Stone ceased to exist twenty-five years ago.”

  “But you’re not just going to leave, are you?” I begged. “You can still-”

  “Now is not the time, dear,” Moonbeam countered with a significant glance at the dressmaker emerging from the house with a zippered garment bag over her arm.

  “Okay, we’ll talk later,” I said hurriedly. “But I have a huge favour to ask. I wouldn’t ask at all, but I’m up to my eyeballs in shit right now and-”

  “You’re wasting time, dear,” Moonbeam interrupted with a smile.

  “Would you please take Linda to Calgary with you? And Spider? If Karma could go along, too, that would be great.”

  She frowned. “Of course, but why?”

  “I’m afraid somebody might be targeting them.”

  The fragile butterfly morphed into something considerably steelier. “Report.”

  I briefed her rapidly while she listened, interrupting occasionally with terse questions. When I was finished, she gave a firm nod. “Karma Wolf Song and I are armed, of course. We’ll protect them. What about Lola?”

  “Her, too.”

  “Consider it done.”

  I threw my arms around her. “Thank you.”

  “You are most welcome, dear.” She hugged me back, deceptively strong under the delicate gauze. “Give us a status update as soon as possible. We’re at the Silverside Hotel, room two-ten.”

  “You could stay at my farm…” I began, but Moonbeam was already shaking her head.

  “No, the hotel is
closer to Spider and Linda. It’s a better choice tactically.”

  I smiled and deferred to the expert.

  Chapter 23

  Driving back to Sirius Dynamics at eleven-thirty, I practiced a few calming yoga breaths. Relax. Spider and Linda would be safe. Moonbeam and Karma were formidable bodyguards. And as long as they were still here, I might be able to talk Stemp into giving their relationship another chance.

  I sighed. So much unnecessary pain between them. If only they could reveal their deepest secrets to each other…

  My cell phone vibrated as I pulled into the Sirius Dynamics parking lot, and I swung into the nearest parking space and punched the Talk button.

  My hello was greeted by Kane’s terse voice. “We’re going back to Calgary. Do you have time to meet us at the drive-in? We’ll be there in about ten minutes.”

  I swallowed hard. “See you there.”

  He disconnected without a goodbye, and I turned my car around to head for the street again, alternating muttered entreaties with obscenities while my heart played a xylophone solo against my ribs.

  Please, God, don’t let this be bad news.

  Fuck, at this point was there likely to be any other kind?

  And dammit, in a couple of hours I had to pretend to be Arlene Widdenback the arms dealer, and how the hell was I going to pull that off when I didn’t have time to prepare?

  A few minutes later I turned into the drive-in’s parking lot, bouncing over the dusty potholed gravel to park far away from the crowd. All the brightly-painted tables were occupied, and the scent of grilled meat and frying oil floated on the warm August air. My stomach managed to flip-flop with queasy nerves and growl with hunger simultaneously.

  Kane’s Expedition and Hellhound’s Forester arrived only seconds after me. We all got out, and I studied Kane’s face worriedly. He was still pale and hollow-eyed, but he had shaved and he seemed more composed. I put my arms around him, but he returned my hug only briefly before stepping back.

  “We’re going to interview the suspects and the mothers of the abducted boys to see if we can uncover any commonalities,” he said crisply. “Hellhound will handle the men. They’re all in the Calgary area, which seems like too much of a coincidence for my taste.”

  “But Mayweather tried to connect them and couldn’t,” I said. “And two of them are in the remand centre, so that doesn’t really…”

  Kane twitched his shoulders irritably. “Mayweather’s missing something. Four of the mothers are down south; Alicia and one other one in Calgary and one in each of Okotoks and Nanton. I’ll interview them today. The other three are in Red Deer, Edmonton, and Stony Plain.” His fist clenched. “There aren’t enough hours in the day. I could phone them, but you always learn more talking to people in person. I’ll go up there tomorrow.”

  “Wait, what about me?” I asked. “I have an appointment at two o’clock that I can’t skip, but after that I could take the north loop. As long as they could see me around suppertime or in the evening, there would still be time after I finish my business here.”

  If I was still alive after I concluded my business with Frederick Labelle; but I didn’t mention that.

  “Would you?” The furrows eased from Kane’s forehead. “That would be excellent. Then we’d have a complete set of interviews by tonight.”

  “Sure. Give me the names and addresses.” I hesitated. “Um… what are we going to tell them?” I glanced around the parking lot to be sure we wouldn’t be overheard. “Are you going to get in trouble for impersonating a police officer? Did you hand in your resignation and do your debriefing yet?”

  Kane made an impatient gesture. “No time.”

  “It’s okay, darlin’,” Hellhound said. “Nobody’s gotta impersonate anythin’. I’m a private investigator an’ you’re both workin’ with me. We ain’t got as much clout as the cops, but the moms’ll be desperate to talk to anybody, an’ the guys that’re up for murder are gonna help if they figure we might find the real killer.”

  He gave Kane a sidelong glance as if regretting his use of the word ‘killer’, but Kane’s only reaction was to extract a sheet of paper from his pocket and crease it with his thumbnail before tearing carefully along the fold.

  “Here are the three northern contacts,” he said, then reached into the cab of the Expedition to extract a small stack of printed pages. “And the police files for the women you’re going to see.” He handed me the papers, then hesitated as if calculating times. “Aydan, you’ll likely be the latest if you’re going all the way up to Edmonton, so Hellhound and I will go to my condo in Calgary after we finish and we’ll wait for your call there. Of course, if anything important comes up in the interviews, call me immediately. Good luck, both of you.”

  “Okay, if you can secure your line at the condo, I’ll call you from a secured phone…” I began, but he was already swinging into his Expedition. A moment later he pulled out of the parking lot and Hellhound and I watched him drive away.

  Hellhound’s arm closed around my shoulders. “Don’t take it personal, Aydan. He’s just-”

  “It’s okay,” I interrupted gently. “You don’t have to make excuses for him. I don’t even want to imagine what he’s going through. If it was my child I’d be going insane.”

  Hellhound sighed. “He might be, darlin’. He just might be.” We stood in glum silence for a moment before he put on a smile that looked almost convincing. “Come on, let’s grab a burger. I’m starvin’.” His smile vanished into worry. “Shit, I shoulda made John eat, too.”

  “He’ll eat,” I said without conviction, then sighed. “You’re doing all you can for him. Don’t feel badly.”

  He shook his head, his eyes dark. “I can’t feel any other way.”

  “I know.” I slid my arms around him and we held each other in silence for a moment.

  After a short wait in the lunch lineup we retreated to the grass at the edge of the adjacent park with our food. I tried to take comfort from the pleasant scent of crushed grass and the sun baking my shoulders, but even its heat couldn’t banish the chill of foreboding around my heart.

  After a few minutes of silent concentration on his burger, Hellhound popped the last of it into his mouth and reclined on the grass. Tucking his arms behind his head, he lay watching me with sleepy eyes while I nibbled the last of my fries. Moments later, his eyelids slipped closed and the hard lines of his body eased. A small snore escaped him and his eyes popped open.

  “Sorry, darlin’. Didn’t mean to fall asleep on ya.”

  “It’s okay.” I swallowed the last of my fries and wiped my greasy fingers on a napkin before moving over beside him. Leaning back against the heavy wooden post that marked the park’s boundaries, I stretched out my legs before tugging gently at his shoulders. He squirmed over to stretch out again with his head on my lap, and I stroked his cheek.

  “Did you get any sleep at all?” I asked.

  “Yeah, I grabbed a coupla hours after John got up.”

  “That’s not much.” I kept stroking with light fingertips. “Have a nap. I don’t want you to fall asleep driving to Calgary.”

  “Mmhm…” he mumbled, his eyes already closing. “Watch my back, darlin’…”

  “I will.”

  His muscles softened into sleep and soon he was snoring gently. Tucking my arm around his head to shade his face, I leaned back and watched the surrounding area for threats while I mapped out my upcoming meeting with Labelle as best I could.

  Half an hour later my ass was asleep and my brain was in knots. I hadn’t a clue whether Labelle was looking for a buyer or a supplier; or hell, who knew? Maybe he wanted revenge for Nicholas Parr’s death and he’d shoot me on sight.

  And if Labelle didn’t kill me, Stemp probably would when he found out I was working on Daniel’s case despite his direct order.

  I gulped.

  But I wasn’t really working the case; not as an agent. Just asking a few questions as a civilian, helping a private inves
tigator. So technically I wasn’t doing anything wrong…

  I’d just keep telling myself that. And keep conveniently ignoring the fact that I’d stolen and disseminated police data…

  I shifted uncomfortably and Hellhound grunted and opened bleary eyes.

  “Wha’ time izzit?” he mumbled.

  “Nearly one.”

  “Shit.” He groaned and rolled over, then sat up and brushed the grass off his T-shirt. I joined in, whisking my palm over his bulky shoulders and back, and he grinned. “Givin’ me the brush-off?”

  I leaned in to kiss him. “Never. Think of it as a hand job.”

  He laughed. “Bad news, darlin’. You’re doin’ it wrong.” He rose and reached down a hand to pull me up. “I gotta get goin’, but I’m gonna grab a milkshake for the road. Want one?”

  “No,” I said absently. “I’m having ice cream with a gunrunner in an hour.”

  “You’re what-the-fuck?” Hellhound demanded.

  I blinked. “Damn, I’m getting too comfortable around you. You didn’t hear me say that. I’m going for an ice cream cone and a nice walk in the park with a nice man and we’re going to talk about his nice legal brokerage and investment business.”

  “Jesus, Aydan.” Hellhound folded me into his arms. “Call me soon’s as you’re clear so I know you’re okay.”

  “I will. Drive carefully.” I reached up for a quick kiss, but he laced his fingers through my hair and turned it into a slow one. Softly, his lips explored mine while he held me against his solid body.

  I sighed in bliss and pressed against him while he unhurriedly deepened the kiss, sending tingles to every nerve ending. My hands slid around to knead the muscled ridges of his back and I gave a small moan of appreciation when he did the same. Warm pleasure softened every bone in my body, and when he ended the kiss with a smile and whisker-tickly kisses on my nose, cheeks, and forehead, I tucked my head under his bearded chin to cuddle close for a moment.

  “Be safe, darlin’,” he whispered into my hair.

  “You, too.” I stole one last quick kiss before heading for my car.