Melanie placed two meals on a table and turned. She stopped when she saw Connor, straightened her shoulders and headed for the kitchen. She had to pass within his reach.
He stuck out his leg, resting his work boot on the closest chair, and blocked her way.
Kalin couldn’t see her face, but imagined she didn’t carry a happy expression.
“You haven’t returned my calls,” Connor said. “What’s up with that?”
“Nothing. I’ve been busy.”
“Too busy to talk to me?”
The edge in Connor’s voice alerted Fred, and he stood.
Melanie shoved Connor’s leg, and he grabbed her arm. “Don’t walk away.”
“Hey, Connor,” Fred said.
Connor kept his eyes on Melanie, but spoke to Fred. “Fuck off.”
Fred positioned himself to the right of Connor and Melanie. “I think it’s time you left.”
“I don’t care what you think.”
“I’m asking you nicely to let go of Melanie and leave.”
“Please don’t make a scene. I work here,” Melanie said.
“Like I care,” Connor snapped back.
Using his radio, Fred called for backup. “Get up.”
“No.”
Fred slipped his hand underneath Connor’s arm, grabbed his thumb and wrenched it backward, forcing him to stand.
“I’m not doing anything,” Connor whined.
Fred stared at him.
“Fine. I’ll go. I’ll be waiting for you when you get off work,” Connor said to Melanie.
Fred let go of Connor’s thumb and gave him the space to leave. “No, you won’t. I’ll be escorting Melanie after work. You need to stay away from her.”
Connor sneered at Melanie, then shoulder shoved Fred as he walked by him.
“You okay?” Fred asked Melanie.
She nodded. “Thanks. He can be a jerk.”
“Call me when your shift ends, and I’ll drive you home.”
“Don’t worry about it. I’ll get my brother to pick me up. I’m staying with him for a while.”
Fred handed Melanie a card. “That’s my cell. Call me if you ever need help with Connor. It doesn’t matter what time. I’ll come. Okay?”
Melanie gave Fred a quick hug and ran to the kitchen.
Kalin saw her boss had entered the restaurant and was smiling at Fred. She’d hold off on firing him until she had a chance to see if this changed Reed’s mind.
“Well done,” she said when Fred returned to their table. She nodded at Reed. “I’m glad he saw that.”
Reed followed his daughter into the restaurant kitchen.
“Let’s postpone our talk,” Kalin said.
* * *
After lunch, Kalin returned to her office for Chica, finding her curled up under the desk. She checked for messages, hoping Ben had left one. She swallowed her disappointment and snapped the clip from Chica’s leash onto her collar, and an enthusiastic Chica trotted beside her down the stairs to Tessa’s office.
Tessa was prepared for their meeting with a notepad and pen in hand.
“It’s warm out. Want to walk while we talk?” Kalin suggested.
“Sure.” Tessa left her pad and pen on her desk and followed Kalin through the administration door and onto the path leading to the forest. In winter, snowshoers filled the trails. In summer, hikers replaced the snowshoers.
“Let’s take the easy trail. I don’t want to arrive back at work sweaty.” Kalin’s ribs still ached from the hit-and-run, but if they stayed on the milder terrain, the damaged bones wouldn’t bother her too much. Any jarring from Chica caused pain to shoot through her shoulder, so she held her leash on her uninjured side.
Kalin let Tessa update her first. Tessa reviewed what she’d worked on in the last week, ending with a status update on hiring for the winter.
They were halfway around the trail by the time she finished.
Kalin tripped over a root and gasped.
Tessa reached out to steady her. “Is it your shoulder?”
Kalin nodded and caught her breath. “I wish the RCMP would find out who was driving that truck.”
“Do you know if they suspect anyone?”
“This is confidential, but I think they’re looking at the Olsen family.”
A man on a downhill mountain bike ignored the merge sign and burst across the path in front of them. He wore body armor and a helmet, and was unrecognizable.
As he passed, he shoved Kalin on her injured shoulder. His wrist guard caught on her sleeve and twisted her sideways. She fell, landing on the edge of a tree stump. Chica barked as the rider sped by, crashed through branches and disappeared.
Tessa squatted beside Kalin. “Shit, are you okay?”
Kalin’s shoulder throbbed. She rubbed her hand across her joint, checking if her collarbone had been dislocated again. “I’m fine. Did you recognize him?”
“No. Did you?”
“No. But I’ll bet my next paycheck that wasn’t an accident.”
“Can you get up?”
Kalin steadied her breathing and took the hand Tessa offered. “Let’s get out of here.”
Tessa returned to the subject of Kalin’s bike accident. “Why do you think one of the Olsens hit you?” She stopped and looked back to the stump Kalin had fallen on. “The driver and that rider could be the same person.”
“Did he look like an Olsen?”
“It happened too fast and with all that gear, it’s impossible to tell, but he couldn’t have known you’d be here.”
“So what then? He came across us by accident and took advantage of the opportunity to hurt me?”
“Maybe.”
“I want to talk to you about something personal. I thought since you dated Connor, you might know something about the family. What I hear isn’t positive.”
“How do you know I dated him?”
“It’s not a secret, is it?”
“I guess not. I don’t like to think about that time in my life. Connor’s not a great guy. Did Gavin Reed tell you about evicting Connor?”
“I know about that.”
“I was in his apartment when it happened.”
Tessa picked up a stick and gave it to Chica. Chica trotted with the branch in her mouth and her tail held high. “It was a bad scene. Connor really hates Reed.”
“Enough to set the resort on fire?”
“I think so.”
Typical of unpredictable mountain weather, clouds moved in and without warning rain pelted them. They hurried for the building, trying to reach cover before the downpour hit, but with Kalin’s injury she couldn’t run full speed.
As she tried to hustle without jarring her shoulder, Kalin said, “Connor’s been bothering Melanie. Nora and Ian are worried about her.”
Tessa put her hand over her implant, protecting it from the rain. “They should be. What’s he doing?”
“She doesn’t want to see him, and he’s not taking the hint.”
“I can’t get my battery pack wet. I’m going to run ahead. Okay?”
“Of course.”
Over her shoulder, Tessa shouted, “You should tell Melanie not to be alone with Connor.”
* * *
The caller ID on Kalin’s phone displayed Holden Press, and she answered after the first ring.
“You won’t believe what I found out,” Charlotte Summers said.
Kalin laughed at her enthusiasm. “Hi to you too.”
“I found out a lot of stuff, but before I tell you anything, I want to know if I can have an exclusive on this one.”
Kalin shut her office door, shook rain water out of her hair, and grabbed a pen. “An exclusive on what?”
“Interviewing Nora and her mom, of course.”
Chica nudged Kalin, pushing her under the desk. “How can I promise that? I can’t speak for them.”
“I’m just joking. It makes me feel like a big city reporter to say things like that.”
Kalin t
ucked her phone between her left ear and shoulder, winced and switched to her speakerphone. “So what did you find out?”
“How much do you know about Janet Wood?”
“Hang on. I’ve got a call waiting from my boss.” Kalin hit the toggle switch and answered Reed’s call.
“I’d like you to thank Fred for stepping between Melanie and Connor.”
“I will, but it’s his job. He’s trained to deal with aggressive people in bars. I’m not.”
“I get your point. You’re not trained to do his day-to-day job, and the resort needs him.”
“He’s a professional. He knows what you said to me about him and understands that he needs to improve his performance. I don’t think he’ll be a problem.”
“He can keep his job for now.”
Relieved she didn’t have to fire Fred, Kalin toggled back to her call with Charlotte. “You still there?”
“Yeah. So do you know anything about Janet Wood?”
“Just that she was convicted of murdering her son and spent eighteen years in prison. I know Pete Chambers thinks she could be innocent.”
“I can see why. The forensic pathologist who testified at her trial had his license suspended. There have been questionable findings in three autopsies where he was the expert witness. He pleaded no contest to professional misconduct and incompetence. And get this, all the cases involved single women on trial for murdering their infant son.”
“Just like Janet.” Rain pelted her window and seeped through the bottom crack. Kalin pressed the window down but failed to stop the inflow of water. The rain fell in sheets and blocked her view of the mountain on the other side of the parking lot.
“Yeah. So I got curious about the guy. It turns out his mother was a single mom, and he had an infant brother who died of SIDS. I got hold of the court transcripts, and they said he’d actively mislead his superiors and hid evidence.”
“That’s unbelievable. I need to tell Nora.”
“There’s more. He worked at the Toronto Hospital for Infants in the pediatric forensic pathology unit where the babies were brought. Same as Janet Wood’s son. All three women in the other cases have had their convictions overturned.”
“Maybe Janet is telling the truth.”
“If I was her, and I was innocent, I’d get a lawyer.”
Kalin hung up and called Nora.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
Constable Miller tucked the warrant between his arm and his side, checked his belt and strode to Connor Olsen’s front door. Miller’s new partner, Julia Wagner, walked in silence beside him. She was a rookie, and he wanted to see how she performed.
Wagner’s RCMP cap hid her short hair, but not her heart shaped face. Her muscled arms bulked against her shirt. The Kevlar vest gave her a square look, but Miller knew underneath she had a very feminine frame. In uniform, Wagner appeared masculine, but he’d seen her at a work party and was surprised how elegantly she carried herself. One look for work, one for her private life. Smart.
They walked shoulder-to-shoulder toward the front porch.
Chambers told Miller that Neil Olsen almost ran over him the day they’d arrested him. Chambers said there was blue paint on Neil’s bumper, the same blue as Kalin’s bike. Chambers had been answering questions, being polite and helpful as he had been in every interview. He said he noticed the paint because the rest of the truck was immaculate. The Olsen boys were into their trucks but not their pigsty of a home. Miller asked him how he knew the color of Kalin’s bike. Chambers said he was into biking and had seen Kalin’s bike at her house. He only remembered because the bike was high-end. The story rang true.
Miller knew Neil’s Dodge Ram was red, and combined with statements from Chambers and from the Holden Press he had enough for a warrant. He hoped he wasn’t making a fool of himself, believing the alleged arsonist, but had decided to take the risk. He was sure Kalin hadn’t been hit by accident, and he didn’t want the driver to take another crack at her.
He was about to knock but stopped before his knuckle hit the door. Inside, someone was yelling. He put his finger to his lips, indicating to his partner she should remain quiet. He strained to hear, but couldn’t make out distinct words. He placed his cap underneath his elbow and knocked.
“Constable Miller. RCMP.”
The contrast between the yelling and the silence was startling.
The door flew open and Connor glared at him. “What?” Connor leered at Wagner. “You brought a girl with you. I guess we have time for a party.”
Wagner straightened and didn’t blink. Miller thought by now she was probably used to the abuse she got as a female cop.
“Is Neil here?” Miller asked.
Connor used his foot to shift a mesh bag full of gear behind the door. “No.”
Miller wondered why Connor didn’t want him to see his downhill mountain biking gear but threw the thought aside. “I heard yelling. Who were you talking to?”
“Myself.”
“Sure you were. Can you ask Neil to come to the door?”
“He’s not here.”
“I have a warrant. Get him out here.” Miller felt Wagner brace herself, preparing for a fight. Her body squared off with Connor’s. “Easy,” he said to her.
“Warrant for what?” Neil shoved Connor out of the way. A snake tattoo began at Neil’s wrist and twisted to his shoulder, with the fangs positioned to bite the top of his sleeveless white T-shirt. He smelled as if he hadn’t showered in a few days, and Miller wondered when he’d last worn anything other than the boxer shorts hanging below his paunch. The filth on them disgusted Miller, but he’d seen worse.
“To impound your truck.”
Neil flexed his biceps. “What for?”
“We’re looking for a paint match to Kalin Thompson’s bike. Did you run her down?”
“Kalin who?”
“Nice try. We know you stole her dog.”
“I walked the mutt. I didn’t steal it.”
“And yet, you don’t know her. That’s an interesting trick. We don’t care about the dog, but we do care if you hit her with your truck.”
“Get off my property,” Neil said.
“Not a problem. I was notifying you as a courtesy.” Miller stepped out of the way. Neil’s eyes widened as he took in the tow truck connecting to his Dodge Ram. Miller handed Neil a receipt. “I’ll let you know when you can have it back.”
On the way back to the SUV, Wagner asked, “Any idea on the diary date for the samples?”
Miller smiled at her use of the cop lingo. She was trying hard to fit in. “Forty days maybe. The priority won’t be high at the forensics lab, considering Kalin’s injuries were minor.”
* * *
“You sent the cops after me,” Neil Olsen stammered.
“I did not.” Kalin stood in the empty parking lot, wishing she’d brought Chica to work with her. Reed had kept her late, meeting about the staff levels again. She’d created savings in the HR budget by cutting two summer staff parties and canceling a band. Reed had agreed the reduction was enough for now, and she wouldn’t have to cut jobs. He’d headed for home five minutes before her. She’d gone back to her office, tidied up and left the building. She’d locked the outer door, knowing she was the last to leave for the evening.
Neil stepped between Kalin and her truck. She turned and walked in the direction of the administration building. He had no way of knowing the building was empty.
“Don’t walk away from me. I’m talking to you.”
Kalin didn’t acknowledge him. She lengthened her stride, but he ran in front of her, thrusting the snake-arm across her path, blocking her way. She jerked backward as if the tattoo could bite. Behind her, she was surrounded by forest. In front of her, an empty building.
“What’s with you?” he asked.
“Nothing. I don’t know what you think I’ve done, but I certainly haven’t talked to the cops about you.”
“Why did they take my truck then?”
/>
“I don’t know.”
“You told them I ran over you.”
“I told them a red truck hit me. I didn’t see who was driving.”
Neil fisted a set of keys, letting one key poke between each of his fingers. “You’re lying.”
“No, I’m not.”
He stepped closer to Kalin, and she smelled his body odor.
“I want my truck back.”
The material over the toes of his work boots had worn through. The steel glinted at Kalin, and she stepped out of kicking range. Her open-toed sandals wouldn’t do any damage. “I can’t help with that.”
“The cops said it could be weeks before they get results. Whatever that means. So I’m stuck borrowing Connor’s truck, and Connor doesn’t like to share.”
Kalin turned and started toward her Ford, keeping herself angled so she could see him. Her tulip skirt flittered in the breeze. She pulled her denim jacket tight across her chest as if it would protect her.
“Hey, Bitch. I want you to tell the cops I didn’t hit you. Then stay out of my life.”
“They won’t listen to me. They’re going to investigate regardless of what I say.”
Neil mimicked Kalin. “Regardless of what I say.” He grimaced as he spoke. “Don’t talk posh to me. I know you’re friends with Miller. Do something.”
“Or what?”
“I’ll make your life miserable.”
Chica barked, and Kalin heard the sound of bike tires spraying gravel. Ben rode up on his mountain bike with Chica running beside him. Relief spread through her.
He skidded to a stop between Kalin and Neil. “What’s going on?”
Neil pushed his hands into the pockets of his jeans. “None of your business. Kalin and I are having a friendly chat, so piss off.”
Chica’s hair bristled from her head to the base of her tail, and she emitted a low rumble.
“Don’t think so, Dude. Time for you to go,” Ben said.
“I’m not finished with her.”
“Yes, you are.” Ben dropped his mountain bike and squared off with Neil. “Get in your truck and get lost.”
Blaze (A Stone Mountain Mystery Book 2) Page 24