Cornwall and Redfern Mysteries 2-Book Bundle (54 page)

He looked from Dwayne to me, then back again. “This stops now. Hear me? Dwayne, a bayonet is not listed as a prohibited weapon. The legality is in the intent. She's not using it as a weapon of defence or with intent to harm. Carrying a bayonet as part of a costume is not illegal. To charge Ms. Cornwall under these circumstances will most likely earn you a reprimand from a judge for wasting his time.”

He looked at the bayonet. “Take that and put it in the back of my Cherokee.” Dwayne trudged away without one word out of his stupid mouth.

When Redfern turned back to me, his voice was taut with anger. “Will there ever come a time when you treat an officer — any officer — with respect? And not make a public scene?”

When I opened my mouth, he overrode me. “Well, Bliss? Is expecting you to conduct yourself with even a modicum of decorum a hopeless objective?”

What an arrogant asshole! My head was going to explode with rage. I held my index finger under his nose. “We already had a discussion about the bayonet, remember? Now, instead of sticking up for me, you side with your half-witted constable. Again. But that's fine, okay? You don't need to have my back. From now on, I rely on myself and nobody else. And another thing, don't call me Bliss anymore, okay,
Redfern
!”

I whirled away, but turned back. “Just bite me! Okay,
Redfern
?”

I stomped back to the atrium. People stared at me but I didn't care. Chico took a few more pictures of me with kids and dads, but it was clear the party was winding down. Redfern returned and called for attention.

“Folks, the weather has worsened. I've been in touch with the OPP, and they're planning to close Highway 21 shortly. Within the next few minutes, I suggest that everyone make their way to their vehicles and head back to town. Drive slowly and you should be fine. We have a snowplow waiting at the corner to lead the way. Thank you.” His face was brick red and I suspect my own displayed a similar shade of anger.

I gathered up the money while Chico packed up his gear. People didn't exactly stampede through the exit, but there were one or two body jams and more than a few exotic plants crushed before they even left the atrium.

Glory thrust a free
yellow-blossomed plant into a customer's arms and ushered him out the door.

“Thank God that's the last one,” she said, pushing her red curls away from her flushed face. It wasn't clear whether she meant the last plant or the last customer. It was true either way. The plant table was bare, and we were alone at last. The storm had picked up strength and hurled curtains of sleet at the glass, rattling the panes as if trying to find a way inside.

“Let's get out of here, too,” I said. “We have to drive on the highway for a half-mile before we get to the town limits, and if the OPP closes it, we could be stuck here for days. Can one of you drop me and Rae off? Where is she, anyway?”

“Rae went home with some fat guy with a broken arm.” Dougal looked at me as though I should have known this. “She left about a half-hour ago.”

“Rae left with Mr. Archman? Why didn't she wait for me?”

“That's Mr. Archman, our math teacher from high school? The dude has seriously let himself go.”

“But Rae …?”

“She didn't have her car and he offered her a ride. Guess she figured you'd get home okay. You have the whole police force in your back pocket.”

“Not so much as you'd think. Well, doesn't matter. You can drive me home.”

“I'm meeting Holly in Toronto, remember? I got dropped off here this morning with my bag. I hired a car and driver for the trip and he should be here any minute. So, sorry, can't help you.”

I looked at Glory. She was surveying the chaos around us with narrowed eyes.

“What about you, Glory. Are you going home before you meet Tony?”

“No, sorry. I have my weekend bag in my office. I'm getting out of here now. If I can't outrun the OPP closures on the highway, I'll have to take the back roads. Luckily my Land Rover has winter tires and an excellent navigation system.”

Dougal's phone dinged, and as he answered, I said to Glory, “So, both of you are going to leave me here alone?” This was not a good idea.

“Phone Neil. He'll come back for you or send someone. Don't be such a baby. You won't be here for long.”

No way would Redfern come back to get me. No way would I ask him to. I could be storm-stayed in this house of breakable glass for days.

Dougal shouted into his phone, “What! I already paid you. I don't care about a refund. I need to get to Toronto tonight. Get here in twenty minutes …” His blue eyes were slits in his face as he pounded the end key.

He looked at Glory. “My cowardly driver isn't coming. He's afraid of the storm. Can I ride shotgun for you? I'll get a taxi from your hotel to Holly's condo.”

Say no, say no
, I silently pleaded. Even Dougal was better than nobody if I had to spend the night at the greenhouse.

I really thought she'd tell him to drop dead. She wouldn't be able to tolerate his company for however many hours it would take to drive out of Bruce County's snowbelt and into the so-called civilization of Toronto.

She prodded him in the chest. “Two conditions. You take a tranquilizer before we leave. And you don't make a sound. I don't care if we slide through a guard rail into a river, you are not to whine, scream, or worse, babble. One word and I'll leave you by the side of whichever godforsaken road we end up on. Got it?”

He nodded vigorously … and silently.

They rushed for the door and raced into the hallway to gather their bags. I stood in the middle of the atrium.

What the hell?

Glory turned back. “Bliss, since you'll be here for a while yet, gather all the garbage into bags and set them by the door. But don't put them outside. We don't want to attract animals. Tidy up a bit, and mop the floor in here. You can even make a start on packing up the decorations. If something happens and neither one of us returns by late Monday, turn the misters on in Plant Rooms A through D. For five minutes only, got that? Don't worry if there's a power failure. The generators will come on and provide heat and light to the plant rooms. If it gets cool in here or the office areas, you may have to wait with the plants. But don't touch any of them.”

What the fuck is happening?

Dougal stuck his head back in. “Almost forgot. Bliss, the lights are on a timer. They're programmed to switch off at seven o'clock. The plant room lights stay on, of course. You'll be out of here before then, though. I'll say hi to Holly for you.”

“It's already six o'clock,” I called after them. “How do I bypass the off-switch?” But they were already running for their luggage. Glory didn't even change out of her silk outfit.

They ignored my pleas and, in less than a minute, raced out to the parking lot, where Glory warmed up her vehicle while Dougal used his hands to sweep the snow from the windows. Then they were gone, fishtailing out of sight. The snow was falling so fast and thick that I caught only a glimpse of the red tail lights as they disappeared onto Concession Road 10.

I looked at my watch. Only fifty-five minutes before the lights went out. I located the light timer in Glory's … Ivy Belcourt's office. But I had no clue how to bypass it. I was afraid if I messed with it, the lights would go off right now.

I called Rae. She answered on the first ring. “Bliss! Where are you? I was getting worried.”

“Well, don't stop. Worrying, I mean. I'm still at the greenhouse. Alone. Glory and Dougal are trying to get to Toronto.”

“Chief Redfern is coming back for you, isn't he?”

“We had a fight, a bad one, and I think we broke up. So, nobody's coming back to get me. I just wanted to let you know what's happened in case my dead, dehydrated body is found a week or two from now when the roads are open again.”

“Bliss, you're not supposed to be by yourself until the murderer is caught!”

I hung up on her. It was her fault I was alone. And it hadn't occurred to me until she mentioned it that I was in protective custody. Really? I looked around. Alone!

Everyone on the suspect list, past and present, had been here this afternoon. And all had followed the plow home. I had to surmise that only a totally unhinged psychopath would venture back out. Luckily, only my insane cousin, my so-called friend, and the Royal Pain knew I was here alone.

I looked at my watch again. If the lights in the plant rooms stayed on, I could find my way through the hall. It wouldn't be dead dark anywhere in the greenhouse. One thing about thick, falling snow. It turned the black of night into the white of — night. I could sleep under a desk with my coat wrapped around me, and if the power failed, I could crawl into one of the plant rooms and cozy up to something tall, damp, and green.

I had a plan and I would survive. I wasn't Bliss Moonbeam Cornwall for nothing.

First, I should go back to the atrium and forage for any leftover food. And Glory could kiss my heinie before I'd clean up the place.

The coffee and hot water urns hadn't been unplugged. I shook the coffee urn. Maybe a third full. The other one, maybe half. Good, at least I could drink coffee and make myself tea until they ran dry. A few drying cookies and date squares remained on the trays.

A stray, unwelcome thought flitted through my mind. I could call Redfern. He wouldn't leave me stranded. I quickly banished the idea. I'd rather be stranded. Another thing about Bliss Moonbeam Cornwall? I'm “cut off her nose to spite her face” stubborn. Even if it killed me.

Now that the body heat projected by dozens of people had dissipated, I was chilly, especially my chest. I rubbed my bare arms and decided to change into my civvies before the lights went out.

A faint scraping sound came from somewhere, outside I thought. I went still and listened. There it was again. While the outside door of the atrium was solid, the walls were glass — fortified glass, I trusted, although I had never cared enough to ask.

A large shadow moved along the path, close to the greenhouse walls. Where did it come from? If it came from the parking lot, it could be human, either my salvation or my death. If the figure had slogged through the line of pines outside the atrium, it could have originated in the forest on the other side of River Road. In that case, I had a bear outside. It was strong enough to swipe its paw through the glass and gain entrance. The fucker should be hibernating, but hell, this was Bruce County. Enough said.

I had nothing to protect myself with. Redfern had taken my bayonet. Hornet spray could work, but Pan had returned it to the storage room at the end of the long hallway. Hot water from the urn? These paltry defence options whizzed through my mind, but were all rejected as ineffectual to a determined predator, whether human or animal. I could run, but could I hide well enough to elude whatever was outside? I wasn't going quietly, or easily, that's all I knew.

A fist pounded on the door. “Bliss? Open this door, damn it. I saw you through the window.”

The OPP had closed
Highway 21 at 17:00 hours. The barriers had been placed on either end of the town limits so nobody was coming into, or leaving, Lockport. Locals could still traverse the main street and access businesses and stores, or reach their homes. Or the hospital, if necessary. The wind continued to blow the snow into whiteouts, reducing visibility to zero at times. A minivan exiting the Wing Nut had lost control and slid across both lanes of the highway, initiating a twelve-vehicle accident.

There were no serious injuries, but some of the motorists were furious, and a few fights had broken out. Neil was called to the scene from the greenhouse and stayed to help sort out the mess. Two squad cars, lights whirling to warn oncoming traffic, defined the perimeter. Dwayne had made at least half a dozen trips in the 4 X 4, shuttling passengers and children home while the drivers waited to be processed. Like vultures, tow trucks belched exhaust into the air and waited for the go-ahead to hook up a disabled vehicle and drag it away for costly repairs.

This was Neil's third winter in Lockport, and he was used to civilians refusing to stay home when the weather was bad. They thought winter tires or four-wheel drive should get them through anything. He whirled around as another snowmobile crossed not ten metres from where he was standing in the centre of the road. What was with these people? You couldn't see a metre in front of your face, yet they jumped on their sleds and roared all over the side roads. If another one crossed close to this scene, he was going to ticket their ass.

He called Thea over. “Were you able to get a discarded cup at the greenhouse this afternoon? From either of the subjects?” He had to shout to make himself heard over the howl of the wind.

“I got two coffee cups, one from each. Dutifully bagged and labelled. Now locked up at the station and ready for me to compare prints to the partial thumb from the Mauser we found at the swamp. Chain of evidence guaranteed.”

“Good job, Thea. Excellent.”

Her cell rang and she excused herself to dig it out of her heavy nylon coat. She listened for a minute. “Are you sure? Okay, I'll tell him. Thanks for letting me know, Rae.”

“Rae Zaborski,” she told Neil. “She got a ride home earlier, thinking Dougal or Glory would give Bliss a lift. However, Dougal and Ms. Yates have scarpered away to Toronto, apparently, trying to drive out of the storm, I guess, using the back roads. In any case, Bliss is alone at the greenhouse.”

Neil's first thought was that Bliss would be extremely pissed at him. He had placed her under guard, refusing to let her drive her own car. Now she had no protection, and no way to get home. The only consolation was the weather. To reach the greenhouse, anyone who meant her harm would have to edge around the OPP barrier and drive on a closed highway. And the killer had no way of knowing she was there alone.

She would be safe, but she might be terrified, alone in a glass building with the wind buffeting the panes and the snow obscuring anything beyond its walls.

Had she broken up with him? Her parting remark of “Bite me” had been shouted at full volume. Everyone in the atrium must have heard her. Shit. She might be loud and obstinate, but she had a point to her anger — this time. She had been patient with his issues concerning Debbie, and yet he took Dwayne's side when it was apparent Dwayne was wrong. He knew she had problems of her own — trust and abandonment, mostly. Her husband left her for another woman, and her parents seemed too busy with their lives to keep in touch. She had bounced back from that, and yet he didn't even support her on a simple legal issue. She must consider him no better than her ex-husband. Yeah, he was pretty sure she had dumped him.

Maybe it wasn't too late. He should drive over there and get her. They were just about done here anyway. He was about to wave Thea over when he heard a metallic crash. Peering through the whiteout, he spotted a new vehicle added to the pileup: a large SUV. It had exited the Wing Nut parking lot. Hadn't the fool seen the collection of dented vehicles in front of him?

“What the hell.” Thea ran up to Neil.

“Get the Breathalyzer for this one,” he told her. “I'll be with you in a minute.”

Dwayne sat in the cruiser, ostensibly using the radio to call dispatch, but more likely warming up. Who the fuck wasn't cold? Neil wrenched open the door.

He thrust the keys to the 4 X 4 into Dwayne's hands. “Go back to the greenhouse and pick Bliss up. Take her home and wait with her until I get there. All night if necessary.”

Dwayne's eyes slid to the left, then forward again. “But Chief, what if she won't come with me?” He climbed slowly out of the cruiser.

“I'm quite certain she'll be ready to leave with anyone, even you. She may harangue you on the trip out, in which case suck it up. Don't answer back, and don't threaten to arrest her. In other words, don't piss her off. Got it, Dwayne?”

“Got it, Chief. Uh, you know I'll have to drive around the OPP barrier.”

“That's why you're taking the 4 X 4, Dwayne. Take it easy and you'll do fine. Wait; give me the keys to the cruiser.”

He tried to call Bliss, but she didn't, or more likely wouldn't, answer. He walked over to help Thea administer the Breathalyzer to the clearly inebriated driver who had just rear-ended the pileup. There must be a full moon up there behind the falling snow.