Bad Medicine (5 page)

Jesse opened his mouth to speak, and then wisely closed it again. Martine would not appreciate his protective instincts.

* * *

Martine studied her reflection in the bathroom mirror and pouted her lips to apply a coat of dark red lipstick. Her black hair hung straight, and with an iron she'd fashioned a pair of horns like spikes at her temples. She'd coated her face with white pancake, lined her eyes with black kohl, and sprinkled silver sparkles over her gaudy purple lashes.

"My God," she groaned, "I look like Morticia Addams."

Makeup finished, she pulled on a pair of fishnet stockings, zipped up her black leather mini and laced her feet into combat boots.

Giving herself a last minute once-over in the mirror, Martine picked up her bag and let herself out of the apartment.

At the Java Hut she pulled open the door and stood inside, getting her bearings. There were a few couples seated at tables and two people seated at the bar. Martine walked up to a young girl and pulled out a stool. "You a regular?" She asked.

The girl, thin with orange blonde hair, tilted her head to meet Martine's eyes. "Why?" Her bright red lips parted to show a double row of metal braces.

"I'm looking for my cousin. Her brother said she hangs out here."

"What's her name?"

"
Shannon
. Shannon Perrault."

"Sure, I know
Shannon
. Haven't seen her for awhile. What's your name?"

"Martine. You?"

"Diana. You from around here?"

"The
Island
. I'm at a reunion thing— bo-r-ring. I figured to find
Shannon
and hang out."

"Les. Over here." Diana called out to a skinny boy with green hair who'd just walked in the front door. "If anyone knows where to find
Shannon
it's Les," she said when the young man joined them at the bar.

"Hi." He stopped in front of Martine and looked her up and down.

"Hi yourself." Martine met the young man's gaze and held it for several seconds.

"
Shannon
's been holding out on us." Les leaned against the bar beside Martine.

"Do you know
Shannon
?"

"We're what you might call friends."

Diana tossed her head and laughed. "They're a bit more than friends. Where have you been all week?" She turned back to Les.

"The
Island
. Why? What's it to you?"

"Don't be touchy. Martine's a cousin of
Shannon
's. I figured since the two of you were such a hot item you'd know where to find her."

"Nope. Haven't seen her." He turned to Martine and smiled again. "Diana's got too much mouth. Shannon and I called it quits a couple weeks ago —by mutual agreement. I've been on the
Island
—trying to save the environment from a bunch of parasite developers."

"Any idea where
Shannon
's been staying? Her brother hasn't seen her since Monday."

"Sorry. I've no idea." Les shrugged. "She'll turn up. Maybe you'd like to come to a project meeting tomorrow night.
Shannon
's a supporter. She'll probably show."

"Where are you meeting?"

"We have a house behind the Britannia Recreation Centre. Tell the receptionist at Britannia you're part of Eugene Guthrie's group. She'll point you in the right direction."

"Thanks. I'll see how it goes. Nice meeting you Diana." Martine slid off her stool and waved at the couple as she headed out the door.

"Nice meeting you." Diana called back.

Chapter Four

Once inside her condo Martine went straight to the shower. After scrubbing all the paint off her face and changing into jeans she grabbed a loose knit sweater, tossed it over her shoulder and headed for Jesse's place.

She knocked softly and waited until she heard a muffled, "come in."

She opened the door and heard water running. The sound came from the vicinity of the bedroom and good sense told Martine she should wait in the kitchen.

What the heck. She tossed her head as if to toss away good sense and started toward the sound.

"Are you decent?" She poked her head through the doorway and scanned the dimly lit room.

"Depends." Jesse stepped out of the bathroom sporting a towel wrapped loosely around his waist and lots of bare brown skin. Water drops glistened on his flat belly and strands of jet-black hair clung to his shoulders.

A sizzling current zipped through Martine's belly. "Sorry, I'll wait outside."

"No don't go. Hand me those pants on the bed. I want to hear about your trip to Java House."

Martine shut off her internal alarm and grabbed the pair of well-worn
Levis
off the bed.

"Here." She stepped to the bathroom and held them out. "I'm turning my back."

"If you insist." Jesse's fingers covered hers and she let go of the jeans, jerking her hand back as if she'd been scalded.

"You can turn around now." His voice whispered against her earlobe. "Why don't we sit?"

Martine shook her head. "You know how I feel about personal relationships between co-workers. I’ll wait outside.”

“I’m sorry, she said, when Jesse joined her on the porch. I love my job and I don't want anything to change.”

"I understand. Speaking of the job, want to take a ride?"

"Have you found out something?"

"I'm not sure, but there are a couple of curiosities I want to check out." He reached into his pocket and pulled out Ed Parker's check. "This is one of them."

Martine took the check and read the signature "That's
Shannon
's foster father. I wonder why he would give her a check. From what Alex said they were barely on speaking terms."

"Exactly, so why would Parker give her five hundred dollars?"

Martine shook her head. "I have no idea, but I can see why you'd find it curious."

"Yes and then there's this." Jesse pulled out a matchbook and napkin. "According to Amy one of
Shannon
's roommates, she met a man Monday night."

"I take it you mean someone older than her boyfriend from the Java Hut."

"According to Amy, Shannon said men paid for her company, but Amy wasn't sure if
Shannon
was telling the truth. Apparently
Shannon
liked to brag about her exploits."

"Poor Alex, I hope it isn't true."

"I know, but we'll need to find out. Meantime do you mind if we stop by the Fish House?"

"Not at all, in fact, I'm really hungry." Martine slanted a look in Jesse's direction, but he wisely refrained from comment.

"Good. We can kill two birds, as they say, get some food and quiz the wait staff. I'm not too optimistic, there are a lot of tourists visiting the Fish House this time of year, so finding someone who remembers one particular couple will be a long shot."

Martine grinned. "Since we have to eat anyway, it's worth a try."

"Sold." Jesse opened the door of the condo for Martine to pass through and followed her down to the truck.

"Would you like to drive?" Jesse held out the keys, "and do you mind if we stop at UBC first. I'd like to show Alex this check."

"Sure, and thanks, I'd love to drive." Martine buckled herself into the driver's seat, set the GPS for UBC, and pulled smoothly into traffic.

Jesse took out his cell phone and selected Alex's number. His sleepy voice answered on the third ring.

"Alex? This is Jesse. Did I wake you?" Jesse asked, guessing he'd caught the young man still in bed.

"It's okay. I need to be up anyhow. I've got exams this week and I studied most of the night. Is there news?"

"I have a couple of questions. Can you spare fifteen minutes?"

"Sure as long as it's soon. I've a class at noon."

"I'll be there in ten minutes."

Jesse hit the call end button. "If you go around to the museum of anthropology side, you can pull into the drop off zone and I'll cut through the path behind the longhouse. It'll only take a minute or two if you don't mind waiting."

"That's a great idea. Every time I come over here I go nuts trying to find parking. I'll remember this in the future."

"Their parking is expensive – like everything else over here – but at least it's easy in and out and there's usually room in the lot."

At the museum, Jesse left Martine parked under a spreading maple tree, while he took off down a narrow pathway barely clear of brush and brambles and made his way to Alex's section of student housing.

Alex stepped out of the doorway of his building just as Jesse started up the steps.

"I figured I'd meet you out here and save you the climb." The young man offered his hand and a grin.

"Thanks," Jesse chuckled. "I guess my years are showing. I wonder if you know anything about this." He handed over Ed Parker's $500.00 check.

Alex took the check, looked at the signature and did a double-take. "That's our foster dad. But I sure don't know why he'd give
Shannon
a check for $500.00."

"Could he be paying her tuition?"

"I don't believe it. Ed wasn't exactly a fan of Shannon's, especially after she ran away from the
Island
. No way he'd give her $500.00 for tuition."

"Okay, so that's something I need to find out."

"Do you want me to call him?"

"No. I'm planning a trip over to the
Island
this weekend. If you don't mind I'd just as soon drop in unannounced."

"That suits me. I called Mina, my foster mom, to tell her about
Shannon
. She didn't mention Ed and I didn't ask."

"I also found this." Jesse held up the Fish House matchbook cover. "I don't suppose
Shannon
mentioned this place?"

Alex shook his head. "That's not
Shannon
's type of restaurant."

"She probably just picked it up somewhere." Jesse put the check and matchbook back in his pocket.

"I wish I could be more help."

"No sweat. I'm just looking for inconsistencies. Most of this stuff is meaningless, just details that don't quite fit the picture. I'll call you when I get back from the
Island
. If you think of anything, give me a call. I'll have my cell."

"Thanks. I appreciate it."

"How's he doing?" Martine asked when Jesse got back in the truck.

"He's okay," Jesse replied, "busy with exams."

"That's good, it'll keep him from worrying. Did he know anything about the check?"

"No. He was mystified. He said there wasn't any love lost between Shannon and Ed Parker and he couldn't think of a single reason why Parker would give her money."

"Even before this happened, I wondered about
Shannon
's relationship with her foster family. She never talked about that family and if anyone questioned her about life on the
Island
, she ignored them."

"I have an idea," Jesse said, fastening his seatbelt and turning in his seat to face Martine.

"What's that?"

"Didn't you say you'd like to visit
Vancouver Island
?" Jesse fixed an innocent grin on his face.

"It's at the top of my 'must do' list."

"Since Shannon's foster parents live in
Victoria
, I figured we might take a kind of busman's holiday."

Martine fixed her eyes directly on Jesse's. "Separate rooms?"

"Unless you decide otherwise." Jesse lifted his eyebrows in a lecherous twist and Martine smothered a laugh.