The resulting chorus of objections made him smile and raise a placating hand. “Okay, okay, you guys!” He turned back to me. “Give me the list of names. Even without my usual resources, the social media sites are a great place to start. I’ll just hack in…”
It was my turn to hold up a restraining hand. “I didn’t hear that. All I heard was that you’re going to spend the evening messing around on Facebook.”
Spider grinned and rose. “Right. Let’s get that list.”
In only a few minutes he was comfortably ensconced in my office, his laptop and my computer both in use while his fingers flew over the keys. I hovered behind him for a few minutes, but he clearly didn’t need anything I could offer.
“Spider?” I asked tentatively.
“Mmhm?” His gaze never left the screen and his fingers didn’t cease their rapid tapping on the keyboard.
“Do you need anything from me?”
“Nope,” he said without looking up. “Thanks, though.”
“Then I think I’ll drive down to Calgary tonight. If I go, I’ll leave my cell phone here but I’ll take a secured phone with me so you can call me if you find anything.”
“’Kay,” he mumbled, still typing. “Give the number to Linda.”
I left him to his work and went back to the living room where Linda, Moonbeam, and Karma were discussing the wedding. They broke off and looked up as I came in.
“I’m probably going to leave for Calgary in a few minutes,” I said. “Arnie and I are going to try to convince John to get some sleep.”
“But, Aydan…” Linda looked suddenly small and fearful huddled in my big chair. “What if… something happens here? What will we do?”
“You’ll be safe here,” I reassured her, preventing myself from glancing at Moonbeam and Karma. “The perimeter cameras will catch any movement, and you can call the police right away. They’re nearly twenty minutes closer here than to your place in Silverside. And I’ll leave you with my shotgun and rifles…”
“Oh, no!” Linda drew up her knees to hug them, beseeching me with the eyes of a frightened child. “I hate guns, and so does Spider! Neither of us has ever fired one, and we’d never, never be able to shoot a person. That’s just horrible!”
“Don’t worry,” Karma rumbled in his fatherly bass. “I’m comfortable handling firearms. And I’m sure we can make it through the evening without bloodshed. Nobody knows you’re here and there’s never been a direct attack on either of you, so there’s no reason to believe that will happen now. We’ll be perfectly safe.”
Linda surveyed him anxiously, her fearful posture slowly relaxing as she took in his powerful build and the serene confidence in his broad seamed face. Reassurance radiated from him, making me wish I could lay all my troubles at his feet and let him protect me, too.
“He’s right,” I agreed. “You’re safe here. And I’ll be home by…” I consulted my watch and suppressed a sigh. “Two AM at the latest.”
“Moonbeam and I will sit up until you return,” Karma promised, then squirmed as Moonbeam prodded his ribs with a playfully remonstrative knuckle. “Moonbeam Meadow Sky,” he amended, his eyes twinkling. “We’ll keep watch and everything will be fine.”
“Okay,” Linda said in a small voice. “If you say so.”
“Try not to worry,” I urged. “I’ll just call Arnie now. They may not even need me there.”
“Okay,” she repeated.
Slipping into the kitchen, I dialled Arnie’s cell from my burner phone. He picked up on the first ring, obviously recognizing the number on his call display. Must be nice to have his flawless memory.
“Hey, darlin’,” he greeted me. “I’m puttin’ ya on speaker now.”
“Aydan?” Kane’s voice rasped over the speaker a moment later. “Do you have anything?”
“You sound like hell. When did you sleep last?” I chided.
“Never mind that. Do you have anything?” he demanded.
“No, I’m sorry. I spent the afternoon looking but there’s nothing yet. Spider’s working on it now. If there’s anything to find, he’ll find it.”
“Oh.” Kane sounded slightly pacified. “Good. We’ll keep digging here, too.”
“Okay, but only for another couple of hours,” I warned. “I’m leaving now, and when I get there I expect you to take some sleeping pills and go to bed.”
“Don’t bother coming if that’s your only reason,” he said flatly.
I swallowed a twinge of hurt and held my voice level. “John, you’re being unreasonable again. You know as well as I do that depriving yourself of sleep is a sure-fire way to get sloppy in your investigation. Spider will do more good with those names than all three of us put together. As your friend, and as your colleague, I’m telling you that you need to get some sleep. I’ll see you in a couple of hours.”
“No, don’t come.” His sigh carried over the line. “I’m sorry for the way that came out earlier. I just meant you don’t need to come all the way down here just for that. I promise I’ll go to bed.”
“Promise?” I questioned suspiciously. “You promise you’ll go to bed in two hours or less?”
“Well…” A conciliatory note slid into his voice. “Not in two hours or less. But I promise I’ll go to bed by midnight. Is that good enough, Mom?”
His last sentence was delivered with a slightly sarcastic inflection, followed by a small grunt as though Hellhound had socked him.
Sure enough, in the background Hellhound’s voice growled, “Don’t be such a fuckin’ peckerhead. She’s lookin’ out for ya ‘cause she loves ya. Christ only knows why.”
“I was just teasing, for God’s sake!” Kane snapped. The long slow hiss of a controlled breath floated over the line before he spoke again, his tone softer. “I’m sorry. I’m being a jerk again. Thank you for your concern, both of you. And Aydan, thank you for offering to come down, but it really isn’t necessary. I give you my word that I’ll be in bed before midnight.”
“Okay, if you promise,” I relented. “Arnie, can you act as the jailer there? Or should I come down with a trank gun just in case?”
His gravelly chuckle tickled my ear. “We’ll be fine, darlin’. Get some sleep, an’ we’ll see ya tomorrow. ‘Bout what time d’ya think you’ll get here?”
I did a rapid mental calculation. If I picked up the weapon from Dr. Chow at ten and everything went smoothly…
“Sometime after lunch,” I said. “I don’t know exactly where I’m going yet, but I could probably make it down to the condo between one and one-thirty if everything goes well. If not…” I shivered and swallowed hard to keep my voice level. “Well, if there are any complications, I’ll see you when I see you. I’ll give you a call tomorrow when I’m closer.”
“Okay.” Hellhound didn’t sound happy. “Be safe, darlin’.”
“Call us if you need help,” Kane put in. “Take care.”
“Thanks. You, too.” I put on a scolding-mother voice. “And get to bed, you rotten kid!”
Their laughter warmed me as I disconnected.
Chapter 36
As I laid down the phone, Linda peeked around the corner. When she saw I had finished my call, she came in carrying her empty mug.
“Sorry, I didn’t want to interrupt anything,” she apologized. “I just wanted a refill.” She crossed to the counter to and picked up the kettle.
“It’s okay, you weren’t interrupting.” I motioned her toward the tea drawer. “And I guess I don’t have to go down to Calgary tonight after all.”
“Oh.” Her word came out on a little gust of breath and she steadied herself against the counter. “Oh, I’m so glad,” she said breathlessly. “I mean, Karma Wolf Song is wonderful, but… I feel so much safer knowing you’re here to protect us.”
Moonbeam drifted into the kitchen with her mug, saving me from a reply, and the three of us stood waiting for the kettle to boil in silence. When our mugs had been refilled I turned to go, but Linda reached out to t
ouch my arm.
Pink rose on her cheeks and she studied her toes briefly before raising a guilty gaze to mine. “I feel like such a hypocrite,” she confessed. “Criticizing firearms one minute and then hiding behind you and expecting you to protect me the next.”
My heart squeezed. “It’s all right. I don’t ever want you to be the kind of person who thinks it’s okay to shoot people. Here.” I handed her the kettle. “Go and see if Spider needs a refill, too.”
She departed with a shaky smile, and I propped myself against the counter and morosely swirled the tea infuser inside my mug.
Moonbeam’s slender arm slid around me in a gentle hug. “That’s what we work for,” she said softly. “If we do our jobs right, all our citizens will have the luxury of condemning what we do.”
I sighed and rested my head briefly against hers. “I guess you’re right. Thanks.”
As Linda returned with the kettle Moonbeam stepped away and put on her usual smile. “So, there are four of us. Shall we play some euchre?”
Our card game was an exercise in futility. I was so tired I couldn’t keep the rules of the game straight, and Linda was too distracted by her worries to concentrate. When a faint buzzing sound emanated from Moonbeam’s caftan and she withdrew a cell phone, I laid down my cards gratefully.
My relief was short-lived. Moonbeam’s spine straightened, her dreamy blue eyes sharpening as she listened to the phone. “Have they arrived yet?” she asked crisply. “…You did? And?”
She listened for a moment, her lips pressing into a grim line. “I see. Well, you should have waited for the police to arrive. If you see anything else, don’t investigate on your own.” The corners of her mouth twitched when the caller spoke again, but Moonbeam’s voice was grave as she replied, “Nevertheless, if it happens again, leave it to the police. Old Bessie with a rock salt load might have been all right seventy years ago, but these days you could be convicted and imprisoned for that. Please don’t take the chance.”
After a few more admonitions, she disconnected and sank her face into her hands, her shoulders shaking.
Alarm tightened Karma’s face and he leaned in, closing a protective arm around her shoulders. “My love! What’s the matter?”
“Oh…” Moonbeam looked up, wiping tears away, but her body still vibrated with mirth. “Oh, Spirit save us all!” She lay back in her chair and laughed until she was limp. “That was Lola’s friend Pearl, from the erotic literature club. She’s ninety-three years old and utterly fails to understand why it’s not a good idea to pull out her shotgun and fire a load of rock salt at an intruder.”
Karma sank back in his chair, grinning. “Pearl is a formidable lady.”
“Yes, indeed,” Moonbeam agreed feebly, still dabbing her eyes.
“But…” Linda perched on the edge of her seat, her eyes wide. “There was an intruder? Where? What happened?”
Moonbeam sobered, sympathy softening her face. “Yes, dear. I’m sorry. Pearl and her patrol partner were watching your house.” At Linda’s gasp of fear, she hastened to add, “It was just a shadowy figure that hurried up to your front step, dropped an object, and then fled. There was no attempt to break in.”
I reflected that a stinging load of rock salt from Old Bessie would tend to take the fun out of breaking and entering, but I kept that opinion to myself and instead asked, “What did the intruder drop? It sounded as though Pearl went to check it out herself instead of waiting for the police.”
“Yes, she did.” Moonbeam grimaced. “I do hope she’ll heed my warning next time. But it turned out to be harmless.”
“What was it?” Linda whispered through trembling lips.
“Roses painted black.”
“Oh…” Tears filled Linda’s eyes and she wrapped her arms around herself.
I knelt beside her chair and enclosed her in a hug. “Don’t worry, you’re safe here. We’ll keep you and Spider safe.”
She pressed her lips tightly together, somehow preventing her tears from falling. “I know you will, Aydan,” she said tremulously. “But maybe we should just cancel the wedding. Somebody really doesn’t want us to get married, and I’m scared. If it was just Spider and me, that would be one thing, but what if somebody hurts one of our guests… or… or worse? I’d never forgive myself.”
“No, you’re going to get married right on schedule,” I said firmly. “We’re going to get Spider out here and we’re going to brainstorm about who might be doing this, and then you’re going to get on the phone and tell your guests that both the wedding and the reception will be held here at my farm. The weather’s supposed to stay nice, and you can have an outdoor wedding under that rose arbour that’s in full bloom. It’ll be beautiful, and more to the point, it’ll be safe.”
Moonbeam and Karma were already nodding approval. “Perfect,” Karma agreed. “The gate provides a choke point so we can control traffic to the yard. Vehicles can be parked on the road to keep them away from the guests…” He trailed off at Linda’s wide-eyed expression and coughed uncomfortably. “Sorry,” he mumbled. “Bit of an armchair strategist.”
Linda nodded slowly, and I nudged her in the direction of my office. “Go and get Spider, and let’s figure this out.”
“Okay…” she said uncertainly, and headed down the hall.
“Do you have any imaging systems for weapons or explosives?” Karma asked quietly. “A wrapped wedding gift is the perfect cover for a bomb. And one person with a weapon could turn it into a massacre.”
I sighed. “I know. I don’t have anything like that in place, but I’ll see what I can do. If we keep all the vehicles outside the yard and limit it to foot traffic through the gate; maybe set up an arbour or something to hold the detection gear and funnel everybody through it…”
I broke off as Spider and Linda returned, their arms wrapped around each other.
“Okay, let’s figure this out,” I said as they took seats at the table. I shot a questioning look at Moonbeam. “I forgot to ask, did Pearl or her partner get a good look at the intruder?”
“No, he or she was masked and wearing dark-coloured clothing,” Moonbeam replied. “But Pearl did say that it could have been a woman or a slightly-built man. Definitely not tall or bulky.”
“Okay, there’s our starting point.” I turned back to Spider and Linda. “Think of absolutely everybody that might have been upset by the idea of you getting married. You’ve been living together since last fall, so it has to have been the wedding that triggered this.”
Both of them shook their heads. “I can’t think of anybody,” Spider said. “Who would care if we got married? But…” He paused and regarded Linda thoughtfully. “If it was somebody who was jealous, they’d have to be connected to you, Sweetie.” A flush rose on his cheeks. “It’s not like there was any lineup to get married to me.”
Moonbeam reached across the table to pat his hand. “Don’t sell yourself short, dear. You’re a marvelous person and any girl would be lucky to have you.” She hesitated, then went on, “Or any man, if you happened to be gay. Could your friend Tim be jealous?”
Spider’s mouth dropped open. “No! No, of course not! Tim’s my best friend and he loves Linda like a sister. He’d never do anything like this!”
“Are you quite sure?” Karma prodded. “The fact that Tim is completely off your radar makes it possible that if he does have feelings for you, he might be hurt enough by your disregard to act on his jealousy.”
“No! Absolutely not!” Spider insisted. “Even if he was feeling that way… he just wouldn’t. He’s so anti-violence he won’t even watch a movie unless it’s a romantic comedy.”
“Did you ever resolve your hostilities with Tyler Brock?” I asked. “He swore he was going to get revenge four months ago, and this would be a perfect opportunity for him.”
“I talked to him,” Spider said uncertainly. “I apologized for the discord we’d had and asked him if we could start over. He…” Pink rose in his cheeks. “He, um… was
his usual self over it…”
“An obnoxious little shithead,” I filled in.
“Well, yeah, kind of, but don’t tell him I said so.” Spider gave me a beseeching look. “I know you don’t get along with him and I don’t blame you, but as his supervisor, I need to. So anyway, after he got his digs in he settled down and we’ve been working together all right since then.” He gave me a slightly sheepish look. “It helps that he’s in Calgary two hundred kilometres away. Anyway, I can’t see him doing this.”
“I can,” I muttered darkly.
Spider sighed. “Well, maybe we can eliminate him from the suspect pool. Hang on.” He got up and hurried down the hall, returning a few moments later with his laptop. After a short interval of typing at light-speed, he let out a breath. “Nope, it’s not Tyler.”
“How do you know?” Karma demanded.
“Um… I tracked his cell phone,” Spider admitted.
My heart rose. “You’ve been monitoring him since April?”
“Well, no, not really. I haven’t looked at the logs since then, but…” Spider gave me a look that was equal parts shame and triumph. “It was just too good an opportunity to test my skills. So I left the hack in place. And he’s been in Calgary ever since Saturday. It couldn’t have been him.”
“What about any ex-girlfriends?” Moonbeam asked. “I’m sensing a feminine energy around this somehow.”
Spider blushed scarlet. “I… never really had a girlfriend before Linda. I mean, I went out a few times in university, and I’ve got lots of friends who are girls, but…”
“What about one of your female friends, then?” I prompted. “Maybe somebody who wanted to be more than friends…?”
His face went so red that even the tips of his ears glowed. “Um, I really don’t think so. They’re all married or in relationships. And even if they weren’t…” He made an awkward gesture. “Well, I mean… I was single. They could’ve just asked me. It’s not like I ever turned anybody down.”
The Spies That Bind Page 29