Broken Faith

by Lois Cloarec Hart

  They'd spent the afternoon exploring Banff and riding the gondola up Sulpher Mountain. On the return drive, the women had taken the old, slower, more picturesque highway north of the Bow River, passing Ghost Lake where boats and sailboards abounded and stopping in the small town of Cochrane for supper.

  Since Marika had picked up lunch and the gondola tickets and wouldn't let Rhi put any gas in the car, Rhi had insisted on buying her driving instructor dinner. She'd wanted to take her friend somewhere nice, but the lawyer had insisted on a 1950's style diner, complete with an authentic soda fountain. The younger woman had to admit they'd had a wonderful time, especially as the hilarious soda jerk, dressed in a white shirt, black bow tie and red and white striped hat, had flirted outrageously with both of them, but she still regretted not getting a chance to treat her companion to someplace special.

  Arriving back in Calgary by eight, Marika had casually suggested that Rhi stay at her place for the night, and her assistant had equally off-handedly accepted. Completely comfortable now in each other's company, Marika had loaded five CDs on the stereo and they'd settled on opposite ends of the couch to read.

  With a start, Rhi realized that the foot she'd been resting her hand on was nudging her thigh. Glancing up, she saw Marika smiling at her.

  "You look like you're a thousand miles away, and you haven't turned a page in ten minutes. I know you can read faster than that, Rhi."

  Rhiannon grinned at the teasing tone and squeezed her friend's toes as she used her own foot to nudge the lawyer back.

  "I was just thinking about what a good day it was. Kinda started wool-gathering."

  Warm gray eyes regarded her affectionately. "It was a good day, wasn't it? Hey, maybe we should drive to Lake Louise next weekend. Give you some more practice."

  Liking the thought of that very much, Rhi was about to respond when the phone on the end table behind her began to ring. Raising one eyebrow inquiringly, she responded to Marika's nod by picking up the receiver.

  "Havers' residence," she intoned formally, smirking at her friend's exasperated expression.

  There was an instant of dead silence, and then a voice asked hesitantly, "Um, is Marika there?"

  "One moment, please." She tossed the cordless to her grinning friend.

  "Hello?"

  "You have a maid now, Marika?"

  "Oh, hi, Terry. Nope, that was just Rhi goofing around. So what are you up to?"

  Terry chuckled. "I might ask you the same thing."

  Marika rolled her eyes. "Teeeerrrrry," she drawled warningly.

  "Okay, okay. Look, I was just calling to see if you, and Rhi if she's interested, wanted to come with Jan and me to the zoo tomorrow. We're babysitting my nieces and thought that might be a good way to kill a couple of hours. I know it's not normally your thing, but I haven't seen you in ages and it will be a beautiful day for it. I promise you won't have to do anything with the rugrats. Just look at it like a walk in the park with an unusual amount of wildlife around," Terry wheedled.

  "Just a sec. I'll check with Rhi." Covering the receiver, Marika asked, "Are you interested in going to the zoo tomorrow with Terry, Jan and Terry's little nieces?"

  Rhi, who'd been following Marika's end of the conversation with interest, nodded amiably. "Yeah, if you want to go, I wouldn't mind tagging along. Haven't been to a zoo since I was a little kid."

  Marika smiled happily. "Great." Taking her hand off the receiver, she said, "Sounds great, Ter. What time and where do you want us to meet you?"

  "You'll come?" Terry's surprise was audible in her voice.

  The lawyer chuckled. "Well, why'd you ask if you didn't think I would? I can always turn you down, if you'd rather."

  "No, no, I'm glad you guys are coming," Terry said hastily. "Why don't we meet at the entrance about 10:30 then. That'll give us a couple of hours to wander around before the girls start getting cranky and need their nap."

  "Take after their aunt, do they?" Marika teased.

  "Ha, ha! Besides, I have much better uses for naptime than sleeping these days," Terry shot back laughingly.

  Marika gave a genuine chuckle. "Yes, I guess you do at that. We'll see you at 10:30 tomorrow then."

  "Great...and Marika, I'm really glad you're both coming." Terry hung up before the lawyer could respond.

  Shaking her head in bemusement, Marika handed the phone back to Rhi to hang up. Rhi accepted it and replaced it in the cradle.

  "So we're off to the zoo, are we?" Looking down at her shorts ruefully and fingering the milkshake stain there, Rhi said reluctantly, "I should really stop by my place to change first."

  Marika grinned. "Sorry 'bout that. The kid made me laugh so hard..."

  "That you just had to spit your shake all over me," Rhi finished in amusement. "Yeah, I know. I'm not bothered, but I don't want to go to the zoo in these."

  "You could borrow some of mine," the lawyer suggested lightly.

  Rhi eyed the long, slender legs stretched out the length of the couch on the outside of her much shorter ones and laughed. "No, thanks. I don't feel like wearing pedal pushers." Calculating rapidly, she said, "It should work out fine. If we're due to meet them at 10:30, we could swing by my place about ten. My aunt will have gone to church, and the neighbourhood is really quiet on Sunday mornings."

  Nodding, Marika swung her legs off the couch and stood. "Sounds like a plan. I'm going to make some tea. Interested?"

  "Sure." Rhi watched her companion walk towards the kitchen, followed quickly by a hopeful cat that had been curled up under the piano. She didn't even try to deny her admiration of the woman's graceful movements, just shook her head softly at the direction of her thoughts.

  On the street outside where the women were enjoying their quiet evening, an older model Honda had been parked discreetly between an SUV and a truck for over an hour. The slight, dark-eyed Oriental man, whose gaze had been flickering constantly between the entrance to the condo tower and the adjoining garage, started at the ringing of his cell phone. Flipping it open, he growled, "Yeah?"

  He listened to his caller for a few moments and groaned. "Great, that's just what I wanted to do. Go to the damned zoo. All right. Does it sound like they are settled in for the night?" He jotted a time on his notepad as he listened. "Fine. Give me a call if it looks like she's going to be changing her plans, Perry. I'm going to call it a night."

  Gao's brow darkened as he listened to his caller's grumbling. "No, I don't have any idea how long we have to do this. Until she says to stop-you know that." His lip curled up in a sneer. "Oh, no doubt. Well, why don't you include that in your next report? Let her know how bored you are. I'm sure she'd be very interested in your opinion."

  When there was dead silence at that, Gao snorted and flipped his phone shut. He was just as discontented with his current assignment, but unlike the electronics whiz, he'd seen the evidence of the Chameleon's displeasure up close and personal, and had no intention of crossing the woman. If she wanted him to spend the next year tailing the unremarkable lawyer, he'd do it unquestioningly. He still hadn't seen anything out of the ordinary. The woman went to work and went out with her small friend. He couldn't understand what his boss' interest was.

  Starting his car, Gao pulled out of his parking spot. Glancing at his gas guage, he decided to stop at the first available station. He hadn't counted on the unexpected trip to the mountains and was nearly on empty. Making a mental note to be back at his post by nine the next morning, Gao yawned and drove away down the quiet street.

  * * *

  Marika was mildly surprised that Rhi pulled up right in front of her aunt's house, though she noticed that her friend surveyed the neighbourhood closely first. Once the car was parked in front of the seedy yellow house, she got out and followed the young woman up the walk, accepting the car keys she was handed.

  Rhi unlocked the door and, casting an uncertain look over her shoulder, pushed her way in. Forewarned by Lee's succinct description of her assistant's home as "a dum
p", the lawyer wasn't at all surprised by the dark, shabby interior and kept her face expressionless. Responding to her companion's mumbled, "Upstairs," she followed close on Rhi's heels.

  Trailing her friend down the narrow upstairs hall, she was surprised to see the padlock that Rhi unlocked to get into her bedroom. Raising one eyebrow, she got a noncommittal shrug from her small companion who opened the door and let her enter first.

  Marika's initial reaction on seeing Rhi's living quarters was to recoil from the impoverished room, but then a more considered second glance revealed fragments of her friend's personality stubbornly visible throughout. The furnishings were old and worn, but the room was neat, clean and well organized. A bright rag rug added a splash of colour, and the lawyer's eyes were drawn to the walls.

  Fascinated by the multitude of drawings that covered every inch of space, Marika examined them closely as Rhiannon changed. Quickly noting the recurrence of the same couple in many of the pictures, she traced a finger over the laughing dark-haired man and the woman who looked so much like her friend.

  "My parents."

  Marika turned to see Rhi fastening her clean shorts. The younger woman nodded at where the lawyer's hand still rested against the picture. "Those are my parents."

  "Kind of thought so," the blonde said as she let her hand drop. "You look a lot like your mother."

  "Yeah," Rhi agreed, as she began to peel off her shirt. "Got Dad's eyes though."

  Wanting to use the opening to ask after their fate, but unwilling to risk upsetting her friend, Marika crossed to where Rhi had pulled a clean shirt out of the legless bureau.

  "Here, let me take a look at your shoulder before you do that."

  Rhi held still while Marika examined the healed wound with approval. Pushing the bra strap a little to the side, she lightly traced a finger alongside the scar, which had faded to a dull pink, causing a shiver to run through her friend's body.

  Quickly pulling her hand away, she apologized, "I'm sorry. Did I hurt you?"

  "No." Rhi's answer was muffled as she pulled her t-shirt over her head. "Not at all. In fact, I saw the doctor at the walk-in clinic on Friday, and he cleared me to start swimming again. Thought I'd go Monday after work."

  She turned, tucking her shirt in, and Marika was puzzled by the flush on her face. Before she could say anything, Rhi grabbed her ancient backpack and said brusquely, "Let's go."

  Marika followed wordlessly, as Rhi opened the door for her again. Stepping out into the hall, the lawyer gasped, startled at the fleeting impression of a bulky, malevolent presence scant feet away. She heard a repressed growl from behind her, and Rhi stepped out of the room.

  "Hettie," she said flatly. "Would've thought you'd be in church this morning."

  "I'm sure you did," the elderly woman said with a nasty glee in her voice.

  Marika studied Rhi's aunt, conscious as she did so of her friend's palpable tension while she locked her room. Hettie was a large woman, almost as tall as Marika but twice her weight, with small piercing eyes and doughy features that seemed to have run together. Her complexion was sallow, and her hair had been dyed an inappropriate and unflattering platinum blonde.

  Deciding to try and defuse the hostile atmosphere, the lawyer stepped forward and offered her hand. "Hi. I'm Marika Havers, Rhiannon's boss."

  For a moment she thought the woman would refuse to take her hand, but then it was enfolded in a weak grip for an instant. "Hettie Walker, Anne's aunt."

  Blinking at the emphasis on the different name, Marika was going to attempt to make polite small talk when a firm hand took her arm and hustled her by the large woman. She just had time to call, "Nice to meet you," before Rhi was rushing her down the stairs.

  An insincere, "Nice to meet you too," floated after them, and they were back out in the morning sunshine.

  Marika had to work to keep up with her companion's rapid stride as Rhiannon covered the distance to the Lexus in seconds. Knowing better than to try and get her friend to talk before she was ready, the lawyer simply keyed the remote to open the door and walked around to the driver's side, not even offering to let Rhi drive.

  It was over twenty minutes later when they took the exit for the zoo when Rhi finally spoke.

  "I'm sorry. I thought she'd be gone. She never misses church."

  The lawyer shrugged. "No problem, Rhi." Pulling into a parking spot in the huge lot, she turned the engine off and twisted slightly to face her companion. "Hey," she said softly, laying a hand on her friend's tense shoulder, "don't let her ruin our day, okay?"

  She left her hand in place until she felt Rhi relax and saw a tiny smile cross the young woman's face. Defiantly, the stubborn chin tilted and her friend said, "You're right. No way am I going to let her mess up our day."

  Marika gave the shoulder an approving squeeze and undid her seat belt. Climbing out of the car, she and Rhi walked towards the main entrance, spying Terry, Jan and two active toddlers waiting for them. She smiled as she watched the little girls scrambling in and out of a large red wagon.

  "I don't think I envy Terry," Marika whispered in an aside.

  Rhi grinned at her. "But they are cute. Gotta love those glasses."

  Both children were sporting bright pink sunglasses under white and yellow sunhats. As they got closer, they saw Jan kneel and push one of the girl's glasses back on her tiny nose.

  "Hi, guys," Terry called. Jan waved a greeting and then took off after the other twin who'd gotten tired of waiting and was heading solo for the entrance.

  Terry sighed and shook her head. Picking up the remaining twin, who'd started to howl because her sister had left her behind, she thrust the handle of the wagon at Marika. "Here, take this for a minute will you?"

  She hurried after Jan, reuniting the twins and calming the traumatized toddler. Marika looked at Rhi wryly. "It's not too late. You could save yourself, you know. Take the car and meet me later?"

  "Nope, can't drive without a licenced driver, remember?" Rhi cheerily reminded her friend, taking one side of the handle and helping to pull the wagon.

  They caught up with their friends at the entrance and paid their admission fee. Once through the gate, Terry settled the girls back into the wagon and retrieved the handle from Marika. Shrugging, she gave a small laugh. "They have a lot of energy."

  Marika grinned at the understatement, falling into step with Rhi as they walked behind the wagon.

  "How do they tell them apart?" Rhi asked, eyeing the excited toddlers who were bouncing eagerly in the wagon.

  "Kelly-red shirt, Kerry-blue shirt," Terry called back over her shoulder.

  Rhi looked up Marika and said under her breath, "So what happens if they mix up the laundry?"

  The lawyer chuckled and whispered back, "I'm pretty sure their parents can tell them apart."

  They sauntered on, never noticing the slight man with a camera slung at his side, blending with the crowd, but following the same meandering trail that the women and children took through the exhibits and flower gardens.

  Marika found herself enjoying the outing immensely, even with the occasional dash to catch up with a fleeing child. She often caught the same look of wonder on Rhi's face as on the twins' faces, when they watched the imposing hippopotamus rise out of the water, the graceful giraffes reach for the leaves on the highest branches of the trees, and the magnificent tigers pace their forested compound. Best of all was the primate house where they spent half an hour watching the antics of the spider monkeys.

  Rhi convulsed with laughter at one male brazenly playing with himself. Amused as much at her young friend's reaction as by the monkey, Marika winked and said, "Boys will be boys."

  Terry laughed and then nodded to where a small female sat in a bigger female's embrace. Smiling at Jan, she added, "And girls will be girls."

  Marika saw the loving look exchanged between the two, realizing casually as she did that all she felt was unadulterated affection for her friends. Her eyes turned instead to the woman standin
g right beside her, entranced with one swiftly moving monkey swinging across the large cage on ropes and vines. Lost in a study of Rhi's laughing profile, she barely noticed when a hand patted her shoulder.

  "Hmmm?" Marika asked, turning slightly to see Terry and Jan grinning at her knowingly. "Did you say something?"

  "We were wondering if you two were up for some lunch," Jan said as she shifted a squirming Kelly in her arms. "I think the kids are starting to get hungry."

  "Sure," Marika agreed, turning automatically to get Rhi's nod of agreement.

  They left the primate house and made their way to the picnic area. Terry and Marika stayed with the twins at a table while Jan and Rhi went to the snack bar for hot dogs and drinks. Once the children were pacified with juice boxes and cookies that Terry dug out of her backpack, she turned to Marika with a smirk.

  The lawyer raised an eyebrow at her friend's self-satisfied look. "What?"

  "You remind me of me," Terry informed her smugly.

  "What are you talking about?" Marika asked, uncomfortably suspecting where this conversation was going.

  Terry nudged her with an elbow. "You're smitten, my friend. You've got that same goofy look on your face that I can feel on mine every time I'm around Jan."

  "I do not," Marika scoffed, half-heartedly. "For heaven's sake, Ter, are you and Lee conspiring together or something?"

  "Nope, haven't talked to Lee recently, but if she figures you're smitten too, then she's obviously a woman of equal insight and keen powers of observation," Terry asserted emphatically. "Though, to be fair, a blind man could see what's going on between you two."

  "Terry! There's nothing going on. We're just friends." Marika shook her head in exasperation. "Why won't anyone believe me?"

  Terry regarded her affectionately. "Because we can see what's in your eyes, and the way you look at her? Rika, I think it's wonderful. Why are you trying to spurn something that's making you so happy? Why not relax and see what happens?"