Jared picked up the photograph and stared at the grave stone. “This grave is all I have of my mother,” he said, softly. “It’s bothered me my whole life that she decided to leave me. I want so much to believe that she may have desired to see me grow up. If her choice was taken away from her then I want to know. I want… no I need to know that she would have stayed with me if she’d been given the chance.”
Elizabeth’s heart went out to Jared as she suddenly understood what he was going through. Losing a mother as an adult was hard, losing a mother’s love as a child must have been devastating.
“So you’re going to try to find who sent this?” Paul asked. He finished his beer and went for another one.
Did he sound worried? Elizabeth wondered. She could feel the uneasiness building in the air.
“I want to find out if what they put on the back is true,” Jared said.
“And how do you plan to do that?” Willy asked, scornfully.
Elizabeth wondered what type of childhood Jared had had with a father who didn’t show any emotion towards him and a half-brother who seemed so rude.
“I’m not sure,” Jared said. If his brother’s mockery bothered him he didn’t show it.
“Is that why you’re here now?” Paul asked. His voice was tight.
“Yes.”
Elizabeth was caught by surprise when Paul turned to her. “Did you know about this?” His eyes were narrow and furious. She could only nod her head.
“And you still agreed to come?”
“I think he has a right to know what happened to her.” What else could she say?
Susie, who had been quiet until now, said. “I think he does, too. She was his mother and if someone took her away from him, then he should be able to find out who did it.”
“Thank you,” Jared said to her. She smiled at him “Will you be staying for supper tonight?”
That broke the tension in the room. Jared looked at Elizabeth and she inclined her head. This was his decision.
“Yes,” Jared said.
* * * *
“Grandma showed me Mom’s suicide note,” Jared said, when they were eating dessert.
“What did she do that for?” Paul yelled angrily. He banged his beer bottle on the table. He and Willy had drunk a lot of beer during the meal. Elizabeth wondered if this was a regular occurrence.
“Because, with this message, her death can be looked at differently. She might not have committed suicide,” Jared said. “Maybe she was in fear for her life and that’s why she wrote it.”
Elizabeth noticed he was using her words.
Paul snorted. “That’s stupid.” he said derisively. “She was a farm wife. No one wanted to kill her.”
“According to her mother, you beat Anna,” Elizabeth said. This man was irritating her and it was time to bring him down a bit.
At least he had the grace to redden and look away. He didn’t answer.
“Did you, Dad?” Jared asked.
“You don’t know anything about what was happening back then,” Paul said, his voice suddenly quiet. “Why don’t you just leave things alone?”
“I can’t,” Jared said, just as softly. He wheeled away from the table towards the door. Elizabeth quickly stood and followed.
They went outside to the van. The only one who came with them was Willy. He leaned on the window as Jared locked his wheelchair into place. “You know, things in our family were fine until you were born.”
“What do you mean?” Jared asked, his voice shocked.
“I mean Dad was a nice guy until you came along, then he changed. He was angry all the time and he began to drink a lot.”
“Are you saying that was my fault?”
“I’m saying that something happened to him after you were born.” He turned and headed back to the house.
“That was a terrible thing to say,” Elizabeth said, quickly. “I don’t think he meant it like he said.”
Jared stared at his hands resting on the wheel. “Oh, I’m sure he did.”
“But why would he say that? It’s almost like he is trying to hurt you.”
Jared nodded. “And I can’t blame him. After all, this is a terrible thing that I’m dumping on them.”
“It’s a terrible thing that’s been dumped on you,” Elizabeth said, quietly.
* * * *
At the B&B, Brandon was welcoming more guests as they entered the house. Too bad, Elizabeth thought. She would have liked to talk to him about the house and the trees. Oh, well, they were there for a few days. She might get a chance later.
There really wasn’t much to do in the way of helping Jared get ready for bed. He could look after his own toileting and evening rituals like brushing his teeth and putting on his upper pyjamas. He had brought along his lifting system which consisted of a metal bar and a triangle. Elizabeth had attached it to the hook in the tracking on the ceiling and then locked it in one place.
Jared positioned his chair in front of the bed and put on the brakes. Using the arm rests he pushed himself into a standing position then when he was balanced properly he quickly placed one hand on the bed for support. When both hands were on the bed he pulled himself forward and twisted to get his bottom on. He rolled onto his back. While he grabbed the triangle to pull himself to the pillow, Elizabeth raised his legs onto the bed.
It was once he was in bed that Elizabeth felt awkward. She had watched Sally, and as his caregiver, Sally had been impartial and clinical while putting an adult product on Jared for the night. But Elizabeth was a woman who had feelings for him and it was a little more difficult for her to remain detached.
She rolled Jared to the far side and pulled down his pants and underwear. She pushed half of the adult product under him. Then she rolled him towards her to pull it out the other side and to remove his clothes.
However, in her effort to keep everything on an emotionally neutral level, she had laid out the product backwards so that the do-up tabs were in the front instead of the back. What a newbie thing to do! She apologized profusely as she rolled Jared off it, turned it around and lay it down again. He laughed heartily while she did it up and drew his covers over him.
Did he realize what kind of effect he had on her or did he think she was incompetent? She wasn’t sure which one she preferred.
Once Jared was settled, Chevy jumped up beside him. Elizabeth went to sit in the overstuffed chair wondering how to get past this embarrassing moment. There were lots of things she still wanted to know about him. Maybe she could divert his attention.
“Tell me more about wheelchair basketball,” she said. “I played basketball in school and, judging from that practice I saw, there is quite a difference.”
Jared pulled the second pillow on the bed so it was behind his head and smiled at her. “Well, as you saw there are five players per side and the purpose of the game is the same, to score points in the opponents’ net. The size of the court and the height of the baskets are identical.”
“It must be harder to score since the basket is so much higher for the players.”
“As in a regular game it’s a matter of hand/eye co-ordination but we do need strong arm muscles.”
“How are the rules different?” He didn’t seem to mind so she kept asking.
“There isn’t too much difference. Travelling in wheelchair basketball is when a player touches his or her wheels three times after catching or dribbling the ball. The athlete must pass, dribble, or shoot the ball after pushing their wheels twice to prevent being called.”
“How did you get into it?”
“Well, I was always active so after I’d adjusted to the fact that I wouldn’t walk again I began looking around for something to do. Everyone knows about Rick Hanson and I used him as incentive. It’s only my legs that don’t work. There’s nothing wrong with the rest of me. So I joined a team and it went from there.”
“Sally said you’ve been in a couple of Paralympics. That must have been exciting.”
&nbs
p; Jared grinned. “It was. And now I’m hoping that some of my students will have the same experience.”
“I noticed that there were varying degrees of movement in the players. How does that work?” This was beginning to sound like an interrogation but she was finding it very interesting.
“There is a classification system for the players. The most disabled is a 0.5 and the most highly functional is 4.5. At any one time during play the total point value of the members of each team mustn’t be higher than 15.”
“How does this classification work?”
“It takes into consideration the player’s ability to perform in the game such as dribbling, shooting, rebounding, and passing. Class 1 means the player needs both arms to raise their torso after leaning forward. They cannot rotate their trunk to catch an over-the-shoulder pass. Class 2 athletes also need their arms to raise their body but they can rotate their trunks so they can turn to see more of the court and they can receive and shoot the ball in different directions.
“Class 3 players can turn their trunk as well as return to sitting position after leaning forward without the use of their hands. They can dribble the ball out in front of them. However, their side to side movement is limited because they don’t have the leg power to stabilize their chair and return to the upright position.”
He stopped. “Am I boring you with too many facts?”
Elizabeth shook her head. “No, carry one. I’ve seen clips of wheelchair basketball on television but this is something that was never explained.”
Jared smiled. “Class 4 athletes can move their trunk in all directions and lean forward and side to side without difficulty. However they are different from Class 4.5 in that they cannot lean equally in both directions because of leg power to return to the upright position. I’m a 4. My leg power is not very good.
“My turn to ask a question,” Jared said. “How many countries have wheelchair basketball teams?”
Elizabeth didn’t have a clue. She shrugged her shoulders. “Twenty, thirty?”
“Seventy-seven.”
“Seventy-seven? Wow, that’s a lot,” Elizabeth said, impressed. She looked at her watch. There was more that she wanted to know but she needed to take Chevy out again.
She kissed Jared good night. This time their kiss lasted longer than usual and she could feel it throughout her body. She had the hots for Jared and she knew it. She reluctantly pulled back. With his politeness and upbringing she wasn’t sure how he would act if she threw herself at him. “I’ll see you in the morning,” she said.
As she headed outside with Chevy she suddenly realized she was tired. She just wanted to crawl into bed. Sometimes it seemed as if she was walking her dog all the time. But she didn’t really mind. She loved him and he was worth any work she had to do. On the way back she called her father to let him know she was okay.
When she got to her room she read one brochure to appease the research gods. She wrote some notes for her article before getting ready to turn in for the night.
Chapter 10
The next morning Elizabeth rose at six o’clock to get ready for her first tour. She had all her equipment together along with extra batteries. She wasn’t stopping for breakfast. Jared had said he wanted to get up early also, so after loading Chevy and her things into her Tracker she went and knocked gently on his door.
“Come in.”
Jared had his head propped up on the two pillows and was reading his new book of poetry. He set it aside and smiled at her. Her heart lurched. Damn, she had it bad. After last night, she was glad that Brandon was getting Jared up and giving him his shower.
“You do like to rise early,” Elizabeth said.
“Well, to tell the truth, I haven’t been sleeping very well since receiving the photo. I spend a lot of time thinking about my childhood with my mom. And it’s amazing how much stuff is surfacing, considering I was only four when she died.”
“Like what?” Elizabeth asked with interest. His conversations about his upbringing had been mostly about school. It would be nice to learn something from his early childhood.
“Mom tried to build me a tree fort. We found some old lumber and went to the largest tree we had and nailed it up. It was just a platform but when it came time for me to climb up onto I got scared and refused. It seemed so high. So Mom climbed up with me and we sat and looked out over the yard.”
“That’s so sweet.”
“Yes, we’d go up there when Mom had the time and play I Spy With My Little Eye.” Jared turned away and wiped his eyes.
Elizabeth waited a few moments then asked. “What are you going to do today?”
“I thought I would work on my poetry and then take a drive around the area and see some of the places I used to go to when I was little.”
When Elizabeth started to leave, Jared reached out and took her hand. “I really hope you realize how much I appreciate what you are doing for me.” He ran the tip of his tongue gently across her palm.
Elizabeth was at a loss for words. This little romantic show was what she’d been waiting for. They’d never discussed if he could be sexually active and so she’d never made any advances. But with this, it was obvious that he was taking the first step in her seduction.
In the movies the woman would have purred something like. “Honey, I’m sure I’ll think of some way you could make it up to me.” but in her startled state she couldn’t think of a smart comeback. She knew she was totally bungling the moment when all she could say was. “Okay.” Oh, how embarrassing, she thought as she fled the room.
While she drove to the site of the oil derrick, her mind went over and over the scene and each time she came up with a more appropriate response in her most sultry voice. “I’ll hold you to that, Big Guy.” “I’ll definitely make sure you do, sweetheart.” “I have lots of fun ideas, Darling.”
She wished she could do it over again.
Elizabeth had to stand back to get pictures of the tall derrick, then she walked around it. When she was ready to leave she called to Chevy.
Elizabeth knew that there were going to be many villages and hamlets that wouldn’t be mentioned in her article, plus not everything to see and do at each place would be in it. So at the beginning she was going to state that the article in no way claimed to cover all that there was to see and do along this route. What it was intended for was to get the reader out and exploring this part of the province.
The first communities missed would be those between Redwater and Smoky Lake along Highway 28. Instead of following the highway to Smoky Lake, she had decided to drive the old Victoria Trail to Fort Victoria and then carry on to Smoky Lake.
Elizabeth drove out of town to the Victoria Trail sign. She turned onto the gravel road as Jared had done the night before, looking into the yard as she drove past Paul’s place. What secrets were hidden there? she wondered.
In her research she’d learned that the Victoria Trail was almost sixty kilometres long and the final part of an overland route from Fort Garry (Winnipeg) to Edmonton dating from the 1820s. Although the road now didn’t always follow the exact trail, as some of it had been ploughed under for farmland, it did head in the same direction using as much of the original trail as possible.
* * * *
Anna’s Story
“I want my supper,” Paul bellowed, as he came in the house.
Anna groaned. Couldn’t he see she was tired? Yes, she answered silently, he could. She stood and went over to the counter where she pressed the button to start the coffee pot. She’d already sliced the potatoes left over from the night before into the frying pan. While his steak was searing she put the bread and butter and salt and pepper on the table. She set the steak beside the potatoes on a plate and placed in front of him.
She poured him a cup of coffee. He took a quick gulped, then another. When it was empty he demanded more. She never understood how he could down the hot coffee without burning his mouth or insides.
While Paul ate, Anna took Jare
d’s hand and led him to the bathroom for his evening bath. She ran the water, put in a bit of bubble bath, and let him pick out his toys.
“Coffee!”
“I’ve got Jared in the tub,” she called back.
“I don’t give a rat’s ass what you are doing. I want more coffee!”
Anna knew better than to argue with Paul when he was in this mood. He was angry about something and looking for a reason to fight. She rushed to the kitchen, seized his cup from the table and refilled it. She was so tempted to dump the hot coffee on his head.
“I want some dessert.”
“Jared’s in the tub by himself,” she said, anxious to get back.
“Then you’d better hurry.”
With a sigh she opened the fridge door and grabbed the apple pie she’d made earlier that day. She sliced him a generous portion and put it on a plate. It seemed to take so long.
“And ice cream,” he growled.
She snatched the container out of the freezer compartment of the fridge, looked frantically for the scoop in the drawer, found it and scooped out the ice cream onto the pie. She dumped the plate in front of him and hurried back to the bathroom.
Relief filled her when she saw Jared playing with his plastic dinosaur in the bubbles.
“I’m going to town,” Paul yelled.
Anna heard the chair scrape on the floor as he stood and then the kitchen door slam. She felt some relief; she had freedom for the evening. But, she thought grimly, that would only last until he came home.
Chapter 11
Elizabeth couldn’t believe the good time she was making. She’d driven the Victoria Trail to Fort Victoria and saw the clerk’s quarters which had been constructed by the Hudson’s Bay Company in 1864. It was supposed to be Alberta’s oldest structure still on its original foundation. The quarters had been restored and she’d seen where the Hudson’s Bay employees had carved their initials on the inside walls.
She’d stopped in at Pumpkin Park in Smoky Lake to see the giant pumpkins that volunteers from the town had made. Then she’d gone to Vilna to find what were claimed to be the world’s largest mushrooms. This is the land of big food, she thought as she stared up a mind-boggling six metres of mushroom. They had been built in honour of a traditional upscale mushroom used in Ukrainian cooking in the area.
The Travelling Detective: Boxed Set Page 34