“Why do you think that?”
“That bastard started the fire. He could have been trying to cause some other accident if he wanted insurance money.”
“I know him a little bit. I don’t think he’s the type to risk his employees’ safety.” Even as Kalin said the words, she wished she’d kept her mouth shut. Cindy was grieving and needed her support not an argument.
“You’re taking his side. I can’t believe that. Jason was your friend.”
“He was. I want to find out the truth, not blame Pete because he’s been charged with arson.”
Cindy turned away from Kalin. After a moment she got up and returned to the reception desk. “I’ve work to do.”
Why couldn’t she just have agreed with Cindy? Ben left, a truck hit her, Reed told her to fire Fred and now she’d made Cindy feel bad. How much worse can this get?
Alex shifted in his seat and stared at his hands in his lap. Kalin imagined he wished he wasn’t there. They waited in silence for the RCMP officer to arrive.
The officer entered and scanned the room as if he was taking in every detail. With his baby face, he could still be in high school. He had the quads of a skier, and his muscles pressed tight against his blue pants. He took a statement and said he would head to the hotel suite the coach was staying in.
Kalin wanted to ask about her accident and find out if the cops had any new information, but instead asked, “What are you going to do?”
“Arrest him and charge him with assault.”
“Thanks,” Cindy said.
The officer nodded and left.
“I’m sorry,” Kalin said to Cindy.
Cindy stared at a blank computer screen, ignoring Kalin’s apology.
Alex escorted Kalin back to her truck and said, “You know Reed won’t be happy.”
“I do. I can’t ignore the incident just because the guy’s a coach.”
“I know, but Reed’s still going to be pissed. I’ll make sure my report is in his inbox before he gets to work. I’m sure the coach or his lawyer will call him tomorrow.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Susan Reed parked her silver Audi A4 wagon in front of the Motel 8. The last time she’d been there, she’d been spying on Janet Wood. Pete had asked her to help the woman, and she’d spent the previous night working up her courage. Susan didn’t have close female friends. Her experience in relationships was with her ex and her kids. None of those had gone well. How was she supposed to approach a stranger, one who murdered her own child, and talk to her?
She was doing this for Pete. He hid a lighter, thinking it was hers, thinking he was protecting her. Too much time had gone by since someone had taken her side, and she missed that.
Susan clip-clopped across the parking lot toward Janet’s ground floor room. Before she had a chance to knock, the door opened. Janet Wood stepped through, dressed in her deli uniform, obviously on her way to work. A cigarette pack had formed a permanent rectangle in the front pocket of her skirt. Her thick nylons screamed cheap. Her shoes probably came from Payless.
Janet pulled up short.
Neither woman spoke for a moment.
“Hello,” Susan said.
“Hello.”
Susan’s skin felt dirty just looking at the woman. “Pete Chambers asked me to come here.”
Janet waited, her eyes filled with suspicion.
She’s looking at me the same way Nora does with her catlike eyes. “I’m Susan Reed. Pete’s girlfriend.” That was the first time she’d called herself his girlfriend.
Janet bit her lower lip and continued to stare at Susan.
“You are Janet Wood, aren’t you?”
Janet nodded. “I haven’t done anything.”
Susan looked at her fingertips. A small chip at the tip of one nail irritated her. Time for a manicure. “This is awkward. Pete’s been arrested.”
“What for?”
“Arson.”
Janet’s bony shoulders drooped. “That figures.”
“What do you mean? You think he did it?”
“No. It figures someone offers to help me, then their life turns to shit. That’s how it goes for me.”
“He asked me to come see you. He didn’t want you to think he’d abandoned you.”
The first hint of a smile appeared on Janet’s cracked lips. “Is that true?”
Susan tapped the toe of her Bandolino pump on the pavement. “Of course it’s true. I didn’t come all this way to make up stories.”
“I’m sorry. That’s not what I meant. I’m surprised, that’s all. Did he tell you about me?”
“He did.”
“Yet you still came to see me. Why?”
Susan shrugged. “I trust Pete. He must see something in you. It might just be that you’re Ethan’s grandmother, or it might be something else.”
At the mention of Ethan’s name and being called his grandmother, a full-out smile appeared. Her nicotine stained teeth took away from the smile, but Susan could tell she once had a lovely face, a face similar to Nora’s.
“You know Nora and Ethan?” Janet asked.
Susan nodded in amazement. How could she be related to this woman? Not by blood, of course. It was bad enough when Lisa Hudson had been Nora’s mother. Now it turned out the adoptive mother was a better class than the birth mother. “I’m his grandmother too. Ian is my son.”
“Pete told Nora about me, but she doesn’t want to see me. Do you think you could speak to Ian? Maybe he could persuade Nora to talk to me.”
“Ian doesn’t listen to me. Ever. We don’t have that kind of relationship.” She took in Janet’s deflated expression. Susan reminded herself of the Sunday service, and that she should treat others with compassion even if they were beneath her. “It’s not that I don’t want to help you. I don’t think I can.”
“I’m going to be late for work. Thanks for passing on Pete’s message.”
Janet walked across the half-full parking lot toward a beat-up car in her rubber-soled shoes and her one-size-too-big deli uniform. A skeleton wearing clothing.
“I’d help if I could,” Susan said.
Without looking back, Janet shook her head and waved.
* * *
Kalin and Nora strolled along Black Bear Drive. Nora pushed Ethan, who snuggled in the baby carriage. Farley’s leash was tied the carriage, and he trotted happily between the baby and Chica.
Nora had been talking about Pete’s arrest, reliving the moment. “I can’t believe how fast it happened. The RCMP came and arrested him. Farley was running around their legs in circles, wagging his tail. Pete looked alarmed, and I could tell he was worried about Farley. Before he asked, I offered to take him.”
“That was generous.”
“Not really. I like dogs, and I didn’t feel like I had a choice. Like I would leave Farley alone in the office or take him to the pound. Anyway, it’s temporary. I don’t believe Pete started the fire.”
Kalin was curious about Nora’s feelings for Pete. It had to have been a shock, discovering she had a father. “Why not?”
A golf ball arced through the trees and dropped onto the road in front of them, rolling onto a nearby lawn. Trees that used to hide the golf course stood barren of branches as if they were blackened totem poles. The area was damaged, just like her relationship with Ben.
“It doesn’t make sense. The fire can’t be good for his business. He seems like such a decent man. I just got my head around Ethan having two grandfathers. We know for sure he didn’t run you off the road. He was with me and then in jail, so he wasn’t the driver.”
“You really think I was run off the road on purpose?” Kalin removed her sweater, stripping to a tank top, and let the sun soak into her bare arms. It had been cool when they started walking, but the clouds that threatened rain had blown over to the next mountain range.
“Yup.”
“I’ve been trying to recreate the accident in my mind. Maybe I can come up with some detail that will help
. The thing is, I heard the truck come up behind me. I was on a straight part of the road. The weather was clear. There’s no way the driver couldn’t have seen me.”
Nora pushed Ethan’s carriage over a speed bump and let the wheels roll gently down the other side. “I don’t get what’s going on, but I don’t like it. It hardly seems fair I find out who my father is, and he gets arrested right while I’m talking to him. I spent the entire night before deciding what I was going to do about him. Ian persuaded me to see him and look what happened.”
Kalin whistled for Chica to keep her from straying too far. “I keep thinking about Jason’s accident. Maybe it’s related somehow.”
“Or maybe it’s not.”
“Assuming something I said to Charlotte triggered one of the Olsens to come after me, it was either about the fire or Jason’s accident. They were the only two things I talked about. It’s possible the Olsens are responsible for one and not the other.”
“We’re going in circles,” Nora said.
“You don’t want Pete to be guilty, do you?”
“No. I wish he’d been around when Lisa was still alive. Maybe things would have turned out differently. Have you heard from Ben?”
“No.”
“Give him time. I can’t believe he won’t come back.”
Kalin and Nora were one house away from Nora’s when a car pulled to the curb.
Susan Reed twisted sideways, set her feet on the pavement and elegantly rose from the seat of her Audi. Her hair swooped from her face, held in place with two pearl hair clips. Her tight skirt hampered her stride, but she pressed toward them.
Nora tensed. Kalin wasn’t sure if Susan and Gavin were divorced yet but felt she had to be friendly. She didn’t want to be on the wrong side if the couple got back together.
After a round of greetings, Susan asked, “How’s Ethan?”
“Fine,” Nora said.
Farley tucked behind Nora’s legs without giving Susan his usual enthusiastic greeting. Chica sniffed at Susan’s skirt, and she shoved her snout away.
“Can I speak with you?” Susan said to Nora, but eyed Kalin. “Privately.”
“I’ve got to go,” Kalin said. “It was good seeing you, Susan.”
“Wait,” Nora put her hand on Kalin’s elbow. “Please stay.”
Susan sighed. “That’s fine with me. Pete told me you were with him when he was arrested. I see you’re taking care of that dog for him.”
“Do you want him?” Nora asked.
Susan took one step away from Farley. “No. Pete feels terrible about being arrested in front of you. He asked me to tell you that. It’s not the way he wanted to get to know you.”
“I’m sure it wasn’t.”
“He’s been waiting for eight years. You can’t imagine what this is doing to him. He didn’t start that fire.”
On the day of evacuation, Kalin had been worried about Ben, Chica, their home, but she’d had no idea how the fire was going to affect them in different ways. Ben in the worst way, but even Nora was suffering by having found her father right before the RCMP accused him of arson.
“Then who did?” Nora asked.
“I don’t know. I’m not sure how much you want me to say in front of Kalin.”
“She knows everything that’s going on.”
Susan used a manicured finger to straighten her designer sunglasses. “Did you read the file he left you?”
“About Janet Wood?”
“Yes.”
“I read it. So did Ian.”
“I met with Janet,” Susan admitted.
Nora rocked Ethan’s carriage. “Why would you do that?”
“Any chance I could hold him?” Susan touched the side of the carriage.
Nora looked to Kalin, and Kalin shrugged.
“Sure.” Nora lifted a drowsy Ethan to her chest and handed him to Susan.
Susan cradled him, oblivious to the drool seeping onto her suit jacket. Kalin looked from Nora to Susan and was struck by how different the women were. Nora, as close to a tomboy as a woman could get, would never wear nail polish, pearl hair clips or stilettos.
With her chin resting on Ethan’s head, Susan gently rocked him. “Have you seen Melanie lately?”
“A little bit. I think she likes being an aunt,” Nora said.
“Can you tell her I asked about her?”
Kalin felt sorry for Susan. Passing a message to her daughter through Nora had to be hard.
“Sure. Why would you meet Janet?” Nora asked, clearly unwilling to let the topic slide.
“Pete asked me to. He thinks she was wrongly convicted.”
Nora kept her eyes on Ethan, looking like a mother ready to pounce if the atmosphere changed. “What did you think of her?”
“I spoke with her for a few minutes. She’s lower class of course. She couldn’t be anything else after spending so much time in prison. I did feel sorry for her. I don’t think she has much in her life that’s positive. She works at the deli, you know.”
As if that’s a terrible sin, Kalin thought.
“Why are you here?” Nora asked.
“I want to know what you plan to do if Janet asks to see Ethan. I don’t want that woman to have anything to do with my grandson. It’s not safe.”
* * *
“How long are you going to keep Farley?” Ian asked.
“Until Pete gets out of jail.” Farley put his head on Nora’s knee with his eyes turned up adoringly at her as if he knew she was his human for the time being. Ethan snuggled on her other side, and she couldn’t remember feeling this happy. If she had her way, she’d keep Farley. Then a thought from nowhere blossomed. She’d like to keep Ian too, but that was impossible. He was only going to stay until they sorted out if Janet was a threat or not.
“What if he doesn’t get out?”
“Don’t say that. I just found out he’s my father. I don’t want to lose him before I get to know him. I’m going to see if I can visit him.”
“Are you sure that’s a good idea?”
Nora cupped Ethan’s tiny foot in her hand, and his toes wiggled. “I want the chance to find out. I’ve got to get my life sorted, so when he’s older, Ethan’s life is settled.”
Two new dog dishes, one for water, one for food, sat on the kitchen tile. A dog leash hung in the front hall. Ethan’s car seat crowded the foyer. His carryall bag took over one corner of the living room. Ian’s suitcase was crammed between the couch and the wall. Every corner was filled with something, and Nora loved the life brought into the room.
“It’s not fair, you know. I can’t have a murderer for a mother and an arsonist for a father. I want to believe the cops arrested the wrong man. I can’t face the alternative.”
The front door opened, and Melanie strode in.
Ian laughed at his sister. “Don’t feel like you have to knock or anything.” He stopped laughing when she sat down beside him and sobbed.
Melanie’s black eyeliner dripped underneath her eyes. She wiped at it, smudging black goo further across her cheek. She wore a T-shirt that showed too much cleavage, along with low-cut jeans that bared her midriff. Her belly button hosted a silver and black skull piercing. “I need help.”
Ian smoothed her hair off her forehead. “What happened?”
Melanie twisted each of her five silver rings, one after the other. “I can’t do this on my own. I need help. This is all Connor’s fault. I used to go to his house. His slob of a cousin lives with him. He’s a total jerk. He walks around in his underwear, blaming Pete Chambers for everything that’s wrong in his life. I don’t know why I went there. I haven’t been since, well, for a while. But I’m sliding. I don’t want to go back, but he’s the only one who’ll get me what I need.”
“Oh, Melanie.” Nora didn’t know how to help her. Her own history with Ian hadn’t been great. She’d cheated on her boyfriend with Ian. A one-night stand, nothing more. Got pregnant. But now she had Ethan, and he was worth any amount of hassle. She had
her own history of loser relationships, but she’d never been an addict.
“What can I do?” Ian asked.
Nora handed Melanie a tissue.
“You know I do bad things when I’m wasted. I don’t want to be what I was before. I don’t want rehab again. If I go back, I know it doesn’t work in the long run. What’s the point of living?”
“Don’t say that. We’ll help you,” Ian said.
Melanie’s lips trembled. “How can you?”
Ian held Nora’s gaze as if willing her to understand what he was thinking. He glanced from her to the couch and back. She understood. She thought about her adoptive sister, Rachel, committing suicide. She wouldn’t let that happen to Melanie.
“You should move in here. You can have the couch,” Nora said.
“I thought Ian slept there.”
Ian smirked. “It’s not what you think. We made Ethan a bedroom in the pantry and put two beds in the master, so the living room would be clear. We can make room.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Kalin had been lying on her living room floor for thirty minutes trying to ease the pain in her shoulder. She gave up and lifted herself off the hardwood. She had work to do and shouldn’t be lying around thinking about Ben. He didn’t even know she was injured. Damn him.
Chica carried her leash between her jaws and wagged her tail, making Kalin smile. The yellow Labrador could never get enough walking in a day and had no problem communicating it was time to go.
“I’ll take you for a car ride instead.” Since Kalin couldn’t ride her bike to town, she’d have to take the Ford, and that pissed her off. Everything in the truck reminded her of Ben, even the funky smell of sweaty ski gear left from the winter season. She placed her hands on the steering wheel where he usually put his. His ball cap sat on the middle console, and she put it on. Twenty minutes later she pulled into the Holden Press parking lot. This time, she’d talk with Charlotte outside of her office. No reason to let Leanne Olsen overhear her.
“Got time for coffee?” Kalin asked.
Charlotte locked her computer screen, closed the lid and stood. “Sure.”
Blaze (A Stone Mountain Mystery Book 2) Page 21