by Linda Moore
Aurelia’s computer was gone and all I had was the one file I had managed to send myself. My bag had been dumped out into the armchair, but nothing seemed to be missing. The Klein book was lying open on the floor. I picked it up and turned it over. It had fallen open on pages 346 and 347 in the midst of a chapter on hydraulic fracking. Aurelia had folded down the corner of the page and in pencil she had underlined a sentence that began, “In 2012, the industry created 280 billion gallons of wastewater….” I closed the book and set it on the porch table. I decided to leave the mess for later. I got into Old Solid and headed for the hospital.
Just as I was about to take the Canard Road shortcut to Kentville, I spotted Björn’s Volvo coming towards me on the highway from Wolfville. I pulled onto the shoulder and beeped as he passed me. He did the same on his side and I got out and ran across the busy road. He rolled down his window.
“More Nova Scotia telephones?” he said with a wry grin.
“One adventure after another, Björn. Did Corporal Monaghan catch up with you?” I asked.
“I just came from a short meeting with her.”
“And?”
“She was surprised to learn that you and Jacob were on the beach this morning when we found McBride.”
“I expect she was,” I said. “She knew about McBride’s situation because of the EHS ambulance call. The report would likely only include the caller and the patient, and possibly Sophie.”
“So, you didn’t fill her in?”
“I’ll do that when she fills me in. She has information that I want. I was hoping we’d each come forward with everything we know, but so far she’s not willing to do that.”
“Well, Roz, I told her the truth as best I could.”
“Of course, Björn. You did the right thing. And I’m sure she’ll be back to see me very soon.”
“It’s been a long day. I’m heading home. How’s the invalid?”
“That’s where I’m going now. Sophie says he’s sleeping a lot. He’s a lucky guy, thanks to you.”
“Don’t hesitate to stay in touch. Try and get some rest.”
Half an hour later I was in the elevator going up to McBride’s floor. Sophie had her favourite wool shawl wrapped around her and was curled up in the armchair beside McBride’s bed, sound asleep. Clint from Gateway was seated outside the room on a bench. I asked him if there had been any untoward activity.
“They approached earlier this afternoon, but they didn’t get past me. Now it’s all quiet. I believe they’ve left the building.”
I nodded. “I saw them in Kingsport about an hour ago, ” I said.
“Then the question is when will they be back. I’ve got a replacement coming in for the night. Will you need us tomorrow?”
“I’ll see if I can find out what the prognosis is.”
“Unless I hear otherwise, I’ll be here.”
I made my way down to the cafeteria, but it had just closed and the staff was cleaning up. “Not even a crust of bread?” I said plaintively.
One of the women shook her head. “All done for the day.”
“Story of my life,” I said.
Then from behind one of the stainless steel counters I heard another voice.
“There’s a little soup here, dear. Beef with barley. If you don’t mind it in a Styrofoam container.”
“I’ll take it gladly,” I said, walking towards her. She was looking down, a kerchief around her hair, spooning out the soup, but as she looked up I saw the telltale sapphire eyes. “Are you Jacob and Katie’s mother?” I asked, as she handed me the soup and a white plastic spoon.
“That’s right, dear. I’m Darlene. Now how do you know my kids?”
“I met Jacob at the arts centre. And I saw Katie today out at your place—she told me you work here. I’d stopped by to leave a note for your tenant. I have something I want to return to her.”
“If she doesn’t come back soon, I’m going to have to turf her things. She only paid me to the end of last week. Where is she—do you know?”
“I wish I did.”
“Well, truth be told, I’m glad she’s not there.”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
She leaned towards me over the counter. “Between you and me, dear, Jacob was getting in too deep. And she’s a lot older than he is. You know what I mean. Nothing but trouble, for the pittance I charge for the place.”
“He had a crush on her?”
“Oh my heavens, I’ll say. Up late with her every night in that cabin. And then when her car gave up, he started driving her everywhere—I mean you can’t really live up there without a car. And then he took it down to his mechanic buddy on Parker Road. Jacob will probably end up paying her bill because that car is fixed and just sitting in our garage now, and we don’t know if we’ll ever see her again. I tell you—do anything for her.”
“So I wonder where she went,” I said.
“I didn’t see her leave. Jacob said he drove her into Kentville to get the airport shuttle—that she had to go somewhere for a few days. But then the heartbreak—oh yes! Crying in his bedroom, can you believe it? I don’t know. Maybe she went to see her real boyfriend—or her husband, who knows? Or maybe she just told him she wasn’t interested. But oh my gosh, the tears!”
“When did she go, exactly?”
“A few days back, it was. Less than a week. What’s your name, dear?”
“Roz,” I said. “I’m staying in Kingsport. I’ve got a friend in the hospital here.”
She nodded. “Well, I gotta get all this stuff put away. I’ve got a ride coming.”
“Thank you for the soup, Darlene. I was starving.”
“Better you eat it than us throw it out.” She disappeared through the swinging doors into the back area.
I was gobsmacked! So Jacob had been in love with Aurelia? A few days back would be around the time I’d seen the girl in the tree out in the basin. But when was she in the cave writing her name on the rock wall? Did he really drive her into Kentville to get the shuttle? And did she run into trouble after that?
I finished the soup and got back into the elevator. I nodded at Clint and tiptoed into the room.
Chapter 19
I was surprised to hear McBride’s voice. “Hello, stranger.”
“You’re awake!”
“Which is more than we can say for this one here,” he said, looking over at Sophie, who was still curled up in the chair, dead to the world.
“She had a busy night,” I said. “As did we all. How are you? I thought you were a goner, McBride.”
“You’re not the only one…and Roz, I lost Molly.”
“No, no. I got her! She’s at the vet. She’s recovering. Didn’t Sophie tell you that?”
“Maybe she did…it’s all a blur. I knew you both found me…I remember that. But I don’t recall anything about the dog. That’s good news.”
“Sophie and I think you and Molly are living parallel lives as invalids. Anyway, I’ll be picking her up from the vet tomorrow, and hopefully we’ll get you out of here too, right?”
He had drifted back to sleep. I decided to head back to the cottage. I leaned over, and put my hand on Sophie’s shoulder.
“Hey…” I said softly. “Soph?”
She opened her eyes and pushed herself into a sitting position. “Everything okay?”
“Yeah. I just thought you might like to get a decent rest—come back to the cottage. McBride’s fine. He was just awake and alert for a few minutes.”
“Oh no! I missed it,” she said.
“I think he’s on the mend. There’ll be an overnight guard in place, so we don’t need to worry. Anyway, you can take Ruby in the morning and be back here bright and early,” I said.
“Okay—you’re right.” She stood and gathered her things. “It feels weird leaving,
though.” She put her hand on McBride’s shoulder, and then leaned over and gave him a little kiss on the forehead. “Good night,” she said.
I walked out into the hall. “Okay, we’re getting ready to go,” I said to Clint. “What time are you expecting your replacement?”
“Soon. I’ll fill him in.”
The sun was setting, creating a soft orange glow all through the halls. I walked along the corridor to the nursing station, and asked the nurse if McBride might be released the next day.
“The doctor wanted to wait on the decision. There’ll be test results to consider as well,” he said.
“Right, so what’s the best time for me to see the doctor?”
“She’ll be around most of the morning. It’s Dr. Beattie.”
“Here’s my number if you need to reach me.”
I walked back down the hall and met Sophie at the elevator.
“Let’s find a restaurant,” she said. “I’m starving. You never eat, Roz.”
“How about the Port Pub?” I said. “Best pulled pork. Twenty minutes away.”
“Done!”
“I can catch you up on the latest.”
“Never dull.”
“It’ll be good to relax a little. It’s been pretty intense.”
The elevator doors opened. “Oh, thank God!” I said.
“What?” Sophie asked.
“I just had a mini-nightmare that the doors would open and those two thugs would be standing there gaping at us. I had a very unpleasant visit from them this afternoon.”
“Really, Roz? There’s just no getting rid of them.”
“They’re like shit on a shingle, Sophie.”
“That’s exactly what McBride would say! Like shit on a shingle.” It was good to see her laugh.
She was still giggling as we stepped out through the front door of the hospital—just in time to see Jacob’s mother, Darlene, climbing into the SUV.
“That’s Jacob driving, isn’t it?” Sophie said.
“So Jacob was her ride—but, Sophie—does this mean…”
“That the other two just got dropped off ? Your nightmare vision of them on the elevator! Maybe they were on their way up as we were coming down.”
We whisked back through the doors. “I didn’t really want that pulled pork dinner,” Sophie said as we raced towards the elevators.
When we reached McBride’s room, Clint was in conversation with his Gateway replacement, Andy. The floor was calm.
“We’re not sure they’re here,” I told them. “It’s possible that Jacob drove them somewhere else, and then used their vehicle to come and get his mom. Let me know immediately if either of them appears,” I added, confirming that Andy had my contact information in his phone.
“I’ll do a quick scout around before I leave—see if they’re lying low in any of the usual waiting areas,” Clint said.
“Dinner, take two?” I said to Sophie.
“I’m staying,” she said, with that stubborn tone I knew so well.
“Up to you, Soph. I guess I’ll be dining alone.”
“I can’t leave, Roz. Will you be okay?”
“Of course, you know me—tough as nails. Don’t worry. Besides, I’ve got the cat. See you tomorrow.”
I picked up a small pizza in New Minas, and made my solitary journey back to the cottage. It was dark but there was a full gold-tinted moon just rising over the Minas Basin, its reflection reaching across the calm surface towards me. The cat, still outdoors, was sitting on the back stoop when I arrived, and the crickets were in full voice.
“Well, Smarty Pants, at least I won’t have to organize a late-night search party for you,” I said. “Bet you’re hungry. Want some pizza?”
It was a relief to be in for the night, though the June bugs slamming themselves against the porch windows kept my adrenalin flowing. After we ate, I tidied up the chaos from the afternoon invasion and sat down on the couch with my phone, anxious to finally peruse the folder I had downloaded from Aurelia’s computer.
My phone bleeped and I jumped. It was Mark from the Beckett troupe.
“Hey, how are you?” I said, surprised and delighted to hear from him.
“No—how are you?”
“What do you mean?”
“There was a little local news item about McBride being rescued from a cave on the Bay of Fundy, and taken to hospital. I had to call.”
“Yikes, the media? That’s all we need. I’m okay, Mark. It was nerve-wracking, but luckily we found him in time and he’s recovering, so all is well. Sophie’s camped out at the hospital. Listen, I’ve been meaning to get in touch with you guys. I think we should go ahead with our workshop idea for next week.”
“Are you sure, Roz? Because we’d really like to do it.”
“I’m sure. This is official!” I said, committing to the plan. I could feel the all too familiar pull between my two separate lives. “I’ve actually put a deposit down on one of the performance studios from Wednesday through Friday of next week. So you and the others could maybe drive up on Tuesday evening. That would give us three solid days to work.”
“This is great news, Roz! We’ll get everything rolling then.”
“Maybe bring some mock-up props—always useful.”
“Good idea. I’ll go through the scripts and gather some stuff.”
“Excellent! See you in a few days…and listen, Mark, thanks for checking in. I really appreciate it.”
“We love you, Roz. We’re not doing this project without you.”
We rang off. I felt my spirits lift. “Really, life is short, Pussycat, and it’s nice to have something to look forward to.” She purred in agreement, and promptly fell asleep beside me.
“Must be all that outdoor exercise,” I said.
I was just back to my phone files when I was startled by a sharp rap on the porch door. Looking through from the living room, I could see Corporal Monaghan standing on the stoop. “Not yet, Aurelia,” I said softly as I set the phone down on the coffee table.
“You’re working late,” I said, opening the door.
“Some days are like that.”
“Come on in, Corporal. What’s on your mind?”
“You knew I was meeting up with Björn Sorensen this afternoon.”
I nodded, and gestured towards the chairs around the porch table.
“Well, he told me all about the early morning rescue of Mr. McBride. And I understand you were there as well. You hadn’t mentioned that when I saw you earlier, so I’d like to get your side of the story.”
“Where should I start?” I said, taking the seat across from her.
“Just tell me what happened in your own words.” She opened her notebook.
“Okay. Björn picked Sophie and me up here at 5 A.M. and he drove us out to the Fundy shore near Caroline Beach. You probably know the road is tricky to find. It’s barely a road—more like a track—and that you pretty much have to go when the tide’s out if you want time to see anything on the beach. That’s why we went so early.”
“Go on.”
“Björn knows the caves in that area from a project he did with some students a few years back. So he led us along the shore until we came to the Caroline shipwreck monument and in the centre of the cove we could see a narrow crevice in the rock—like a fissure. Anyway, when we got up to the opening, someone was backing out through it—it was Jacob. I’d met him a couple of times up at the Jasper Creek Arts Centre.” I hesitated, unsure about how many details to give her about Jacob.
“Then what happened?”
“McBride was in there all right. Jacob said he’d brought him some water. Björn called an ambulance and then went back up to the road to wait for it, and Jacob went with him.”
“And what did you do?”
“I went into the c
ave to see how McBride was doing and sat with Sophie. She said that he’d come round for a moment when they took the restraints off his feet and hands. We waited for the ambulance.”
“Okay. That all lines up. Except that Björn Sorensen told me the kid tried to run away when he saw you, and you ran after him, tackled him, and had an argument with him”
“Look, Corporal, the previous day, when I found Molly injured on the beach, I stopped in at the arts centre to ask him if he’d seen McBride. He claimed to know nothing. So when I saw him coming out of the cave and he bolted away like a startled deer, I was furious that he hadn’t told me sooner where McBride was. I mean, for all I knew at that moment, it might be too late. So, yeah! I chased him down.”
“What did he say?”
“He said he hadn’t any idea that McBride was there until that morning, that he’d gone out early to check the caves along the shore. I asked him why he ran away from me. He didn’t have an answer for that. But I do.”
“What do you mean?”
“Okay, Riley—can I call you Riley?”
“Sure.”
“When Jacob’s not working part-time at the arts centre, he’s working for those two so-called investigators that accosted me the day you and I saw the girl in the tree through your binoculars—the two ‘Americans’ that are somehow connected with the ‘higher-ups’ in your organization. He’s chauffeuring, doing errands, and who knows what else! He’s on the payroll! He might even be with them right now, because the three of them paid a little visit here this afternoon just after you left, and they tossed the place.
“And as I mentioned earlier, McBride must have stumbled on something incriminating the afternoon he went back up the mountain and disappeared, because those two have been skulking around the hospital waiting for a chance to get at him. The sorry state we found him in on the beach would indicate they don’t mess around. They wanted to shut him up for good—and still do!