6 Maple Leaf Hunter (2 page)

We both laughed, and I felt a hand slide across my back.

“Excuse me,” a guy said as he squished himself between my chair and the chair of the person behind me.

“No problem,” I said, but I was wary. He didn’t have to walk behind me to sit at the table next to ours, and I definitely didn’t like that he had touched me.

“When are you due in Toronto?” Samantha asked.

“Monday morning at ten o’clock,” I said. I could barely contain a squeal of delight. “I’m having brunch with both my agent and the editor of Rainbow Kids Publishing. I haven’t met either in person, so I’m nervous, but I’m excited, too.”

“I can’t believe you wrote a book,” she said shaking her head. “And it was accepted the first time you sent it out.”

“I know,” I said. “Especially a picture book. Mick thinks-”

My words were stopped short by a hard bump from behind. A guy with his hands full of shopping bags and food dropped one of the bags. Small tools clanged out onto the floor.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “Sit still. I’ll get this picked up and get out of your way.”

The guy who had brushed my back with his hand stood from his chair and took the food from the guy squatting down to pick up the tools.

Samantha scowled at both of them. “Why didn’t you go around in the first place?” she asked.

The second guy bumped me again as he squished through to the table. They were obviously construction or road workers. Both were wearing hard hats, and although they were wearing shorts, they were also wearing work boots. They settled down to their food and began texting on their phones.

“Geez,” Samantha said loud enough for the two guys to hear. “Where were we?”

“We were talking about my meeting with my agent and editor on Monday,” I said. “But there’s nothing more to tell.”

“Are you spending one night or two in Niagara Falls?” she asked before sucking up the last of her smoothie. I couldn’t help giggling at her noises. I still had over half of my drink left.

“Just one,” I said. “Mick booked a room for us at the Marriott on the Canadian side. We’ll go up to Toronto then on Sunday. Rainbow Kids Publishing is putting us in a room at the Ritz-Carlton.” I leaned back and let out a happy sigh. “I can’t tell you how much I’m looking forward to this. Between work and Lizzie, I feel like I haven’t had enough sleep for a couple of years now.”

“What?” Samantha snapped at the two construction workers beside us.

They both flinched. I had no idea what caused her outburst.

“You’ve been listening to us talk ever since you sat down,” she said. She pointed to the guy closest to me and said, “I saw you roll your eyes when she said she hadn’t slept for a couple of years.”

“Hey, it was nothin’,” said the eye-roller. “It’s kind of hard not to hear ya since you’re so close to us, and I was rollin’ my eyes in agreement. I got a baby at home, and I never sleep.”

Samantha said something to both of them, but I didn’t hear her. My attention was taken by a man running from the center of the mall into the food court. He wasn’t trotting. He was running full tilt. My first instinct was to laugh. He was running like an old-time football player with his left arm tucked up to his body and his right arm outstretched in front of him like a ramrod.

The laughter died in my throat as I realized he resembled a crazed man from a horror flick, and he was running directly at us. I had to snake my way between tables when I went to Smoothie Delights, but it was if the tables had parted so this man had a direct path to ours, and he wasn’t slowing down.

I was barely able to squeak out any warning sounds, and I had just started to rise from my chair with the intent to move out of the way, when the man hit me full force. His momentum carried us several feet before we hit the ground with him lying on top of me. I was aware of shrieks from shocked patrons, tables scooting, and chairs falling around us.

With the wind completely knocked out of me, and his weight on top of me, I was gulping for air.

“Susan. Susan!”

With my hands at my throat, I looked up. Detective Bentley stood in front of me with a frown on his face. I began to shiver in the cool lobby of the police station.

“Is everything ok?” he asked. “You didn’t hear me call your name, and you’re acting like you can’t breathe.”

I was embarrassed, and I felt a warm flush come into my face. I had actually felt as though I couldn’t take air into my lungs when thinking about the incident again. I was apparently more affected than I originally thought. My back was starting to hurt, and the goose egg on my head throbbed harder.

I stood up and felt some overall stiffness. “I’m ok, Chuck,” I said. “It’s nothing.”

It was obvious he didn’t believe me, but he turned on his heel and said, “Walk this way.”

I couldn’t hold back a smile as I followed him down the hallway.

Detective Bentley’s office was brightly lit, but the room felt cold and impersonal. On previous visits to his office, the blinds had been open, allowing natural light to fill the room. Today, the fluorescent lighting only served to enhance Mick’s frown and the scowl on Alex’s face.

Alex slouched in a chair in front of the detective’s desk, while Mick leaned against the low windowsill with his arms folded across his chest.

“What’s she doing here?” Alex blurted out. The scowl remained firmly fixed on his face.

“Alex,” Mick growled under his breath.

The tension was thick in the room, and I knew whatever was going on here was not going well. I turned to Mick and asked, “What’s happened?”

Detective Bentley motioned for me to sit in the chair next to Alex. My purse made a loud clunk as I let it drop to the tile floor. Mick appeared puzzled by the noise, but I didn’t explain. Instead, I reached over and put my hand on Alex’s arm. He jerked his arm out from under my hand and turned away from me.

“I wanted Susan to come down here, because she might have some information that will be helpful,” the detective told Alex. He looked at me and asked, “Are you friendly with Helen Moore?”

“No,” I said with a shake of my head. “We’re not friends.”

“But you do talk with her?” he asked.

“No, I don’t,” I said. I suddenly knew where this was going, and I realized I might have inadvertently pointed the finger at Alex in the cow incident. I started to fidget in my chair.

Detective Bentley’s irritation showed on his face and was reflected in his voice. “Well, what is it, Susan? She said you came to her office and talked with her. Did you or didn’t you?”

“I did,” I said.

He seemed exasperated and raised his voice. “What did you talk to her about?”

“Nothing much,” I said. “Just that her drivers were maniacs and she needed to settle them down.”

Alex sat up in his chair and shouted, “What did you have to go and talk to her for? It’s none of your business, and I told you to stay out of it.”

“Alex!” Mick snapped. The muscles in his jaw flexed, and I knew it was taking everything he had to control his anger.

“Listen,” I said to the detective. “Alex, Jeff Collier, and Scott Baker ride their bikes around town and out at the bike park. The guys who drive for Moore Landscaping deliberately drive their trucks as close to these guys as they can and try to brush them. Jeff was knocked off his bike two weeks ago. It’s been going on all summer, and Jeff could have been killed. I decided to have a talk with Mrs. Moore.”

“What’d she say?” the detective asked.

“She didn’t say much of anything at all,” I said. “She wasn’t sympathetic, and I don’t think she believed me. She said her sons were driving their two trucks this year, and they would never intentionally hurt someone.”

Alex let out a loud “harrumph” sound.

“Ok, Alex,” Detective Bentley said. “I understand this. I can see you wanting to get back at the Moore boys. Is that why you and your pals put the dead cow on their front lawn?”

Alex jumped up from his chair. “I told you a hundred times. We didn’t put the cow in her yard, and I don’t know who did.”

They must have been at an impasse for quite a while. My back hurt more now than it did earlier, and I was starting to think I needed to see a doctor.

“Chuck,” I said. “No matter what you think about all of this, Alex isn’t a liar, and if he says he didn’t do it, then he didn’t do it. Unless you’re planning on charging him with something, we’re leaving.”

Detective Bentley stared at me for a moment before looking over at Mick. Mick clenched his lips together and slowly nodded his head in agreement with me. Finally, the detective said, “It’s a criminal mischief charge, and if I find out Alex was involved, I’m going to bring the charge against him. I thought we could talk this through and work something out today, so if you leave now, he could be facing charges later.”

“Come on guys,” I said. “We’re leaving.”

I stood and walked from the room without waiting to see if they followed. In the lobby, I saw that Alex was right behind me. We waited in silence for a few minutes before Mick came up the hallway. I noticed how tired he looked. The lack of sleep since Lizzie’s birth, and now the escalating tension with Alex, was taking a toll on him.

To me, he was still as gorgeous as he was the first day I met him at the racquetball club, and he still made my heart flutter. At thirty-six, he didn’t have a gray hair on his head, and his 5’10” build was still rock solid from racquetball and handball. His brown hair usually had a hint of curl, but now it was wavy, and I knew he had been running his hands through it. It was his hazel-green eyes that gave him away today. There was a bit of darkness and puffiness under them. The trip away this weekend would be good for him.

“What in the world do you have in here?” he asked as he held my purse out to me. “You could use this as a weapon.”

I knew I had forgotten to pick up my purse, but I had no intention of going back into the office to get it. “Money,” I told him. “I haven’t put my coins in the change jar for over a month.”

“Alex, go out and wait for me in the car,” Mick said, handing the keys to him. “I want to talk with Susan for a minute.” After Alex stomped off, he said, “I’m sorry he’s been so disrespectful lately. After the tire fire, and now this cow thing, I don’t know what to think. We never should have agreed to let him have the summer off without working.”

“Mick,” I said tenderly. I knew this was painful for him. “I know he’s always seemed so mature and grown up, but he’s still a teenager. It’s a phase. Once he starts college, he’ll be ok.”

Truthfully, I could only hope Alex would be more like his old self once he started school. His attitude toward me had changed dramatically, and I suspected it had more to do with his mother moving out of the area than it did with me personally.

“Do you believe him? About the cow?” Mick asked.

“I do,” I said. “Alex has never lied to us, and he didn’t lie about the fire, so we need to stand behind him and support him. We have to be on his side.”

He nodded his head. “You’re right,” he said tiredly as he glanced at his watch. “Are you coming right home?”

“I was going to, but I think I’m going to swing by the MediCare first,” I said. “Some guy knocked me down in the mall. I have a bump on my head and my back hurts, so I think I should get a quick checkup.”

Alarm was now added to the fatigue on his face. “What happened?” he asked.

“A man knocked me over and fell on me when he had a heart attack,” I told him. “I think I’m ok, but I want to be sure before we leave tomorrow.”

“You’re kidding,” he said incredulously. “Let me drive you. Alex can take my car home.”

“No,” I said shaking my head. “I’ll be ok, and you need to talk to him on the way home. Let him know we’re supporting him on this. He needs you now. And will you please go over to Darby and Nate’s and pick up Lizzie? I was supposed to pick her up at four o’clock. Darby’s making dinner for us tonight, and I’m already fifteen minutes late. I’ll be fine and should be home in about an hour or so.”

As we walked out together, I gave him a few more details about the incident at the mall. I knew the words coming out of my mouth sounded farfetched, and if Samantha hadn’t been there to see it happen, I don’t know if anyone would have believed me.

It was a good thing I was walking with Mick, because he automatically went to the corner to cross at the light. It reminded me of the jaywalking ticket in my purse. The courthouse was open until five o’clock, so there was time to run in and pay the fine. I probably had the fifty dollars in change in my purse, but making someone count coins at the end of the day wasn’t the nicest thing to do. It could wait until after the weekend, and I would pay it on Monday.

I said good-bye to Mick and waved to Alex. He didn’t return my wave.

Mick’s ex-wife, Alex’s mother, had remarried in May and moved to Cincinnati. Alex then wanted to stay with his dad for the summer until he started college at Ohio State. Everything was fine when he first came to live with us until one Saturday night in late June. He and his two friends were in a wooded area on the outskirts of town. They built a fire in a makeshift pit, and one of the boys tossed two old tires into the flames. It wasn’t long before thick black smoke filled the sky over that section of the woods and made it appear on fire. Four patrol cars and three fire trucks showed up on the scene.

The tires were a mistake, but as Jeff Collier’s father owned the tract of land, the guys were legally allowed to be there – fire and all. Alex was apologetic to everyone, but the police officers weren’t interested in apologies and had since been harassing the three boys about riding around town anywhere but at the bike park.

His attitude had worsened as the summer wore on, but it seemed being blamed for the cow incident was bringing everything to a head.

I climbed into my car and headed back over toward the mall area. The emergency care facility was only a few doors down from the local Slimmers Weight Loss Center. I had planned to stop in and talk with the manager, Angela, before leaving for the weekend, but the trip to the police station had left me with no extra time.

As I drove, a nagging thought in the back of my mind started to become clear. It was something about the dead man in the mall. Who runs through the mall before a heart attack? Something wasn’t right.

Another image flickered in my mind. I saw the scene again with the man running toward me, but this time, there was something more. He was holding something in that tucked up arm of his. I didn’t really see anything. It was more of an impression. But my instincts were usually right, and I was sure he was holding something.

The flicker became a flash. There was a memory. I broke out into a cold sweat, and the goose egg moved past throb and began pounding. This had happened to me before. I needed to find out the identity of the dead man.

I pulled into the MediCare. The pain in my arm had intensified, and I couldn’t hold back an “ouch” as I grabbed my ridiculously heavy purse.

Over an hour later, I left with two prescriptions. One was a muscle relaxer for my back, and the other was for pain. By the time the prescriptions were filled, and I was pulling into our driveway, it was nearly six o’clock.

Pretty pear trees lined both sides of the long, sweeping driveway to the house. It always cheered my mood to drive between the trees at the end of a long workday. I was excited for spring when the trees would grace us with an explosion of pure white flowers. Tension further melted away as the beauty of our new home came into view.

As much as we enjoyed living in our apartment building, running up and down three flights of stairs with a baby and all of her belongings was tiresome. A little over a year ago, we began shopping for land to build on. When Mick brought me here one evening at dusk, the property felt completely enchanted, and I instantly fell in love. The small, unoccupied house wasn’t a consideration, but the twenty acres, a blanket, a bottle of champagne, and a dozen red roses were. It was a magical couple of hours, and we properly consummated the land deal.

Mick’s company, Raines Construction, started work on the house a few weeks later, and the project was completed this past May – just in time for Alex to move in with us for the summer. It was still hard to believe I was living in the beautiful, sprawling Spanish style home.

I pulled in front of one of the two-car garages and parked the car. The minute I stepped out, I heard the joyful commotion of voices and barking.

“Mommy! Mommy!”

Looking over to the smaller house next door, I saw Nate watching as Lizzie and Joe ran to greet me. Lizzie ran as fast as her little legs could carry her, but Joe was coming at a full gallop. I braced myself for his enthusiastic greeting.

“Hi boy,” I said excitedly as I leaned over to rub the hound’s head and scratch behind his ears. “How are you today? Were you a good boy? Did you chase any rabbits today?” He returned the affection by rubbing his head hard against me and licking my face.

“Mommy!”

“Hi, Baby!” I squealed as I picked her up mid-stride and swung her around. A sharp pain shot up my arm, and my back jerked with a spasm. I let out a loud “oomph” and set her down. We held hands as we made our way over to Darby and Nate’s house.

“Hi, Nate,” I said cheerfully. “Is everyone here?”

“Alex is still over at your place, but Mick said he’d text him when you arrived.”

The four of us walked the stone path to the rear of the house and entered through the kitchen. The smell of homemade pizzas filled the air. Two bottles of wine were decanted and breathing in carafes on the counter.

Darby looked up from the oven and said with a beaming smile, “Hi, Sunshine. How’d your day go?”

Mick stood from the stool at the island counter and walked over to give me a kiss. “What did the doctor say?” he asked. “Are you ok?”

Darby frowned and asked, “Doctor? What doctor? Are you sick?”

“I’m not sick,” I said. “I’m ok, and I only have a few bumps and bruises.”

“What happened?” Nate asked.

“A bizarre incident at the mall,” I said. “I’ll fill you in later. Right now, I’m starved.” I turned to Mick and asked, “Did you text Alex?”