Ike shook his head. “No power that far out.”
“I’ll set up solar-powered camera rigs today.”
Ike sent teams off to the various gates, then said to Lacey, “If I hire in some hands to spell off my men, can you give that speech again in the morning?” She nodded. He said, “Ben, you mind taking this lady out to the gates? Take a farm truck. Better clearance than her city half-ton.”
“I’m on it,” said Ben. “And put me on a gate for graveyard shift.”
“Yes, sir,” said Ike and began rolling up the maps.
When they were in the main machine shed, looking over a cupboard full of keys, Lacey’s voice echoed around the big metal threshers and tractors. “Why did you remind them about Earl? It sure changed their attitude.”
Ben selected a key ring. “The men all know what to expect if they cause Earl a problem he’ll have to explain to Orrin.”
“He’ll fire them so blame won’t fall on him?”
Ben laughed. “You’ve got us nailed, all right. We’ll do anything to avoid Orrin’s wrath. If it was up to us, we’d have waited another whole day to even consider calling the RCMP. But Sloane’s more scared for Ty than of Orrin. Come on. We’ll drive up and collect your camera gear from your truck.”
She followed him to a jacked-up Jeep with immense knobbed tires. Its body was neon green, so bright it looked like a kid’s toy on steroids. “We really need something this gnarly to reach a gate on a road?”
“No.” He grinned. “But this is way more fun. Climb on up and strap yourself in.”
Soon they were lurching at speed along a narrow downhill track. Lacey kept flinching as tree branches slapped her window. In the back, her equipment bounced and jostled. She spared a grateful thought for the padded cases all Wayne’s new equipment travelled in and clutched her tool belt, with its fragile iPad, tighter in her arms. At last — although it was probably less than ten minutes — they burst out of the trees onto the open valley floor.
Ben gave a whoop. “Awesome, eh?”
Lacey’s teeth were still rattling. She wiggled her jaw before saying, “Sure.”
He wasn’t fooled. “No fear, it’s all road to the south gate now.” The big Jeep ran remarkably smoothly once it was on the gravel. It stopped in a swirl of dust. “Okay, what do we need to unload from back here?”
He proved very helpful, following her with the gear and climbing the gate pole to secure the camera bracket around it. He balanced up there easily, leaning back against his harness like he had all the time in the world, while she checked the camera’s angle on the iPad. He made a couple of adjustments at her request, and once she was satisfied with the camera’s field of view and the strength of its Wi-Fi signal, he tightened the screws and easily backed down the pole. It wouldn’t have surprised her to find that he could go up without bothering about the harness.
“Is it all road to the next gate, too?” she asked hopefully. He only grinned and climbed back into the Jeep.
They rigged the remaining cameras with no more difficulty than finding a good spot for the west gate’s solar panel, where it would get sun most of the day. The shadow of the mountain would fall over it early in the evening, though. She should probably bring a second battery for this one to keep it working through the dark hours. Then it was another nerve-jangling race back to the machine shed.
Ben jumped down with a laugh. “See what I mean? Much more fun than driving a standard half-ton.”
“Thanks for your help,” she said. “I’d better get into the security room and check that all the other cameras are working.”
“This way.” He led her to a door at the back of the machine shop and waited with his hand on the knob while she flashed her fob at the keypad. Once again he held the door for her to step through. On the other side was another huge space, the air cool on her bare arms, with a roof that sloped upward. Skylights eased the gloom high above, and other lights came on with loud clicks as she took a few paces inside. The back wall was natural rock, with carabiners dangling from many cracks. The wooden walls to either side bulged irregularly and were dotted with brightly coloured handholds.
“Wow.” She craned her neck to follow a taped climbing route all the way up.
“Yeah,” he said. “It’s every kid’s dream. There’s a workout room off to the left, with all the usual equipment, and this door leads back to the elevator.” Again he held the door for her to pass through. The corridor beyond doubled as a cloakroom, with coats in various weights hanging from hooks, and bins full of work gloves, ball caps, toques, and other outdoor wear on shelves. A second door led back to the elevator lobby and the stairs. This time she noticed a door beyond those, leading to a path along the base of the bluff. It passed the bottom of the outside staircase and continued into a copse of scrawny aspens. “That’s how you’d get to the cabins from here?”
“Uh-huh. But not today.” He pointed to the elevator pad. “Get used to using your fob. You can’t go anywhere without it.”
She flashed her fob and the elevator doors opened. At the top he directed her to the main garage. The lights came up automatically as they entered, showing three cars, two SUVs, and an empty space at the far end.
“Security room is upstairs,” he told her and turned to an open staircase up the near wall. “After you.”
The heat rose as they climbed, turned at the corner, and went on up to an L-shaped hallway covered in utilitarian beige panelling and sturdy brown carpeting. The door on the short arm of the “L” read Security. Lacey looked around the corner to orient herself and saw a long passage with doors on both sides, ending in another fire door. “What are all these doors for?”
Ben pointed past her shoulder. “On the left, Cheryl’s apartment, then the house staff’s common room with their bedrooms and bath opening off it, then Ike’s apartment. On the right is storage.”
She checked her phone messages for Wayne’s entry code and let herself into the security office. It was faintly dusty, as if used very little, and cooler than expected from the extra air conditioning needed to counter the computer equipment’s heat.
“Thanks for showing me around,” she told Ben.
He gave a quick glance over a trio of monitors that showed scenes around the house and grounds. “When you’re done here, come back to the main house. Andy can take you to her place to unpack.” He put his hand in his pocket and took it out again. “I didn’t bring a fob. Can you let me into the house so I don’t have to disturb anyone?”
She followed him across the baking lawn, flashing her fob at a pad as he reached for the door handle. Teamwork already. She’d once been in sync with Dan like that. As Ben entered the house, she turned away quickly, hiding a frown. He seemed decent enough, respected by the ranch hands, and undeniably eye candy, from the dark, wavy hair to the very firm ass in his faded jeans. Too bad he reminded her physically, if not psychologically, of Dan. And so far, he seemed the most likely son to have done his horrible father a mischief.
The garage’s interior lights hadn’t gone out by the time she collected her backpack and tool belt from Wayne’s truck. While she refilled her water bottle at the garage sink, she spotted a staff contact list by the wall phone. She snapped a photo of it so she could call Ike or the kitchen as needed and climbed the stairs. Before settling into the security office, she scoped out the long hallway. It smelled stale, like any interior corridor that never got fully aired out. Doors on the left were all locked. At the far end was another staircase down to the garage and to the staff parking lot. On the right was an interconnected series of storerooms, half their doors open. Their shelves held everything from auto parts to Christmas decorations. She left them as she found them and retreated back to the office.
The security room seemed even dustier. Probably nobody came in here between Wayne’s monthly maintenance checks. After opening the lone window, for all the good it would do with no cross-breeze, she started a scan of the old and new gate cameras. They were all closed and guarded b
y Ike’s men. Good to know.
Her phone chimed. A text from Jan. Sorry didn’t get back to you. Michael was here. Rob just took him home. Any chance you can phone me when you get this?
CHAPTER TWELVE
Jan had just gotten fully cocooned on the chaise when the phone rang. She stuck one hand out and slid the screen toward her. Lacey. She pushed the speaker button. “Hi.”
“You sound exhausted.”
“Yeah, I’d forgotten just how much noise video games can make when one player is an excitable kid. I don’t think I’d cope with children of my own yet.” She was sinking into lethargy when Lacey spoke again.
“So, you have things to tell me.”
Jan struggled to remember what those things were. She had known five minutes ago. Now her overstimulated brain was just so tired. Her whole body felt like it had sprouted bruises in the rebound from Friday. Even with the new meds letting more nutrients into her cells, that postexertional flu-like reaction was a real kicker. Bruises. That was it.
“When Mylo dropped Michael off this morning, he said the police questioned Georgie because of bruises on Kitrin. I remembered you pulled her from the swim machine a few days ago and thought you better tell them that so they don’t think she was attacked.”
“Oh. Good call,” said Lacey. “I can ask about her heart at the same time.”
“What about her heart?”
“Andy said eating disorders can weaken it. When she first heard Kitrin died suddenly, that’s what she assumed: heart failure.”
Jan shuffled around to make her legs more comfortable. She should have brought hot rice bags in with her. “I guess I should tell the police about her eating disorder, too. Mylo pretends it doesn’t exist.”
“The coroner probably spotted it already.” Lacey paused. “I’m sorry if Chad is a friend of yours, but he’s caused a lot of extra work for the investigators, and annoyance for me. If he hadn’t turned off those security cameras around the pool, there’d be no need to question everyone, hunting for that one person who might have seen her tip over without realizing she couldn’t get back up by herself.”
“Chad did what?” Jan listened in horror as Lacey filled her in.
Lacey finished, “I don’t understand why he’d do that unless he was hiding that he approached Kitrin despite orders. Was she famous enough to attract stalkers?”
“No, but I can tell you what he was hiding. He’s Kitrin’s ex. She dumped him for Mylo when we lived in Vancouver.”
Lacey swore. “If Wayne or I had known that, we’d never have left him on that job. You have to call the police and tell them that right away.”
“Do I have to?” Even to herself Jan sounded whiny. “I’m so exhausted right now.”
Lacey’s voice sharpened. “He was dumped, and badly. Do you realize how many men kill their exes, even years later?”
“All right. I’ll just lie here for fifteen minutes with my eyes closed to gather up some reserves.”
Lacey softened. “You do need the rest. Tell you what, I’ll explain to them about Chad, then you’ll just have to confirm it later.”
“Thanks so much.” Jan yawned again. “Rob’s coming back to make me supper. He’ll stay until Terry gets home, maybe overnight if he doesn’t have a date. Terry’s out with Search and Rescue. I never know when he’ll be back from those.”
“I saw him at the SAR base on my way here.”
“Where are you, anyway?”
“Orrin’s ranch.”
Jan rolled over to the other side. Her legs still hurt. “Are you coming back tonight?”
“Nope. Two, three nights at least.”
“Sounds like a big job.”
“Didn’t Terry tell you what it was about? The search, I mean?”
“No. Is it someone we know?” When Lacey hesitated, Jan added, “Tell me. Wondering is going to drive me crazy now.”
“All right. But I don’t want you to lose sleep over this. Orrin and his son, Tyrone, went for a drive yesterday afternoon and haven’t come back. That’s the search Terry’s on. The other Caine brothers say their father might have taken Tyrone off somewhere without telling anyone. He’s got history that way.”
Jan hung up the phone a few minutes later, feeling completely defeated. Kitrin dead, Michael as good as an orphan, and now Tyrone, Michael’s new friend, was missing. She wasn’t in shape to do anything about any of it. She dropped the phone and pulled the blackout mask over her eyes, ignoring the tears that crept down toward her ears.
Rob came back while Jan was still lying there like a mummy. She poked her hand out to show she was awake. The armchair by her head creaked.
“How’d Michael take going back?” she murmured. “Was Mylo there to meet him?”
“No,” said Rob. “Fucking Lord High was off doing some film business. His wife is dead barely a day, and his son is completely in shock, and he goes off to work on his fucking movie. He doesn’t deserve either of them.” After a bit more language, he said, “Sorry. It just pisses me off. Kitrin’s mom can’t get here too soon for Michael’s well-being.”
“Mylo won’t let her be with Michael, either. Remember, he threatened her with legal action to get him back last year.” As Rob swore again, she added, “I wish I knew how Kitrin felt about it. So much I can’t even guess about her life. You’re supposed to tell me what happened that last year she lived with us. When she was looking so wrecked, I mean. All my drawings of her from October and November are just haunted.”
“If she was alive, it would be her business to tell you or not.” Rob got up. “I need a drink for this. Do you want anything?”
“My rice bags heated up, please.”
When he came back and they were both settled, he began. “That fall, when she moved back to school, her parents started marriage counselling. Twenty-five years of nastiness all came out at once. On Thanksgiving, they had a big blowout over the third bottle of wine, which was when Kitrin found out her mom had been screwing her dad’s business associates for years. Her dad said straight out he’d always believed she wasn’t his daughter.”
“Oh, that poor girl. Why didn’t she tell me?” Thanksgiving was only a few months before Kitrin leaped into bed with Mylo, a man old enough to be her father. It made sense now, in a terrible way.
“She was afraid it might be true,” Rob went on. “He wanted her to take a DNA test. She thought she’d be cast out of the family if it came out wrong. Lose her tuition and living allowance, be forced to get a loan, learn to survive on her own. She was paralyzed. And her parents sent her back to school without even thinking that she might need help dealing. Those fucking self-centred clowns. I tried to get her to talk to someone in Student Services about counselling, maybe ask for a deferment on the semester, but she wouldn’t. Then she got that extra slot on Mylo’s movie and the rest, well …”
“She saw an escape route and dived into it.” Jan hugged her warm rice bags. Poor Kitrin. No wonder she’d clung to that marriage, that man who barely spared a thought for her. “Did she ever get her DNA test?”
“Not that she told me about.”
“I wonder if she told Chad.”
“Who’s Chad? Wait, you mean that guy she dumped that Christmas?”
“Yeah, and picked up again in January, and then dumped again when she took up with Mylo six weeks later.”
“What’s he got to do with anything?”
“You didn’t recognize him up at Jake’s, then.”
Rob shook his head. “Haven’t been up there lately.”
“New security guard. I saw him when I went up the other morning.” She shook her head. “God. What a disaster this weekend has been. Did you know this search Terry’s on is for Orrin Caine and his son? The youngest one, Tyrone. We absolutely can’t tell Michael his new best friend is missing.”
As Lacey finished her camera survey, she added up the tally. The cameras covering the bluff staircase and staff parking area were dark. Two more, in the gym area, were misaligned,
pointing at upper walls and ceilings instead of entrances or exits. She’d been surprised at how many other indoor spaces were being recorded: the machine shop, garage, stables, and the hallways in the main house. Maybe the gym cameras were someone’s protest against the pervasive surveillance. Earl’s daughters, for instance. They might not have been comfortable being spied on from up here.
The garage camera … was Orrin’s Range Rover kept in this building, or down in the machine shed? She called up the external disk drive where the backup images were stored and found the old green Range Rover parked in that empty slot at the far end of the garage. She zoomed in. Beat up it undeniably was, with dents and scrapes along the driver’s side and a crack in the window over the back fender. Not that seeing it got her any further forward. What had she expected? A sign taped to the window that said, Off to St. Louis for a ball game, back Tuesday? Still, for completeness, it was worth a closer look at the last place the truck had been seen. She strapped on her tool belt and left the room, hearing the office lock click as she pulled the door shut.
The garage’s overhead lights came on when her foot hit the landing, glaring down on the row of expensive vehicles. The spot where Orrin’s Rover usually sat was a testimony to the vehicle’s age, the only place where fluid leaks marred the concrete. There were two: a faint trace of something clear where the left front wheel would be and an oily yellow slick under the engine compartment. That wasn’t old; rather, a fairly fresh leak that hadn’t been cleaned up. She touched one finger to the puddle and raised it toward her face. Light amber oil that smelled sweetish, like marshmallows? Lacking an evidence kit with its assortment of bags and bottles, she dipped a bit of paper towel into the yellow stuff and folded that corner into the middle of several layers. Wayne might know what it was. The clear oil, which smelled very faintly of fish, got the same treatment. Where the sun hit the floor, she could make out faint gleams in a tread pattern; the Rover had tracked the clear fluid while backing out.
As she took phone photos of both substances from different angles, for the first time she seriously considered whether someone had sabotaged Orrin’s vehicle. On hands and knees, she played her phone flashlight beneath the other vehicles but found no stains or drips. Repairing the cameras could wait. First she had to check back on the garage recordings to see if someone had been working on Orrin’s Rover. Back upstairs she went and left Wayne a message about her discovery. She forwarded the photos, too, switched the Dan-phone update on her phone to Silent lest it go off at an inconvenient time and noted with relief that he was still five mountain ranges to the west of her.
Why the Rock Falls Page 10