Deadly Accusations (34 page)

“She was a greedy evil bitch who wanted everything I'd saved for our baby!”

Casey scampered to a Jeep Cherokee. Behind her, a police cruiser roared closer.

“Freeze!” a cop shouted on the other side of the Cherokee.

Another shot rang out. Casey felt a hand on her shoulder and screamed.

STAN'S OLD CHAIR SQUEAKED AS
he leaned back and grinned at Casey. “So, you nabbed your rockhound and Jasmine's killer on the same night. Impressive, kiddo.”

“I didn't actually nab Paval. He came after me.”

Casey adjusted the sling supporting her injured arm. Noel sat on her left, nearest Stan's door. Marie was on her right, uncomfortably close to the sling.

“How bad is the damage?” Noel asked, gazing at her arm.

“The bullet took a chunk of flesh, but it's not so bad, thanks to some heavy-duty painkillers.”

“Thank god that's all he hit,” Noel said.

Casey appreciated his concern, but didn't want to say so in front of Marie. “Paval said he could have killed me if he wanted. I guess I should be grateful he was hell-bent on telling me how misunderstood he was.”

“Noel's lawyer found out that he used to belong to a gun club,” Marie remarked.

“Shit, Casey, you could have been hit in the crossfire between him and the cops,” Stan said.

“There wasn't really any crossfire. A cop shot Paval once in the shoulder, and game over.”

Except it wasn't a game. Casey remembered the shot, and Paval falling as a cop approached her from behind. She'd screamed from pain when he'd touched her wounded arm. Casey squirmed in the hard wooden chair. The hip she'd fallen on was sore, and she wished this meeting was over. She hadn't planned to tell Marie what happened, but Marie had barged in to say that Noel insisted on thanking her in person. She'd then had the gall to chastise Casey for not answering her phone all weekend. Casey had neither the energy nor desire to explain that she'd been too tired to talk to anyone but Lou and Summer. She'd also managed a brief chat with Hannah O'Reilly while Lou had taken Summer to see Winifred in the hospital.

“You still look pale,” Stan said. “Now that your report's done, take a few days off.”

“Thanks.” Oh sweet heaven, back to her comfy bed.

“The reason Noel was trying to call you,” Marie said, giving her an exasperated look, “was to let you know that a guy who lives on the other side of Como Lake saw a rusty white Honda Civic parked in front of a neighbor's house the morning Jasmine died. The cops confirmed that it was Paval's.”

Casey turned to Noel. “How did he remember?”

“It seems he's one of the more fanatical members of Neighborhood Watch. When he was getting ready for work the morning of the twenty-eighth, he noticed the Honda parked in front of a neighbor, who's a senior. Apparently, the neighbor never has visitors at 5:00
AM
, so he wrote down the plate number. The car was gone by the time he came home from work later that afternoon.”

“He didn't report the vehicle to the police?” Casey asked.

“There was no reason to,” Noel answered. “He checked on the neighbor and she was fine. No crimes happened in his area that week, and he didn't know about my van.”

“Did Ursula know what Paval had done?” Casey asked.

“She claims she didn't,” Marie replied. “The lawyer said Ursula totally lost it when she heard why Paval was arrested, although I wouldn't be surprised if it was an act. And she told the cops that Paval was the one who stole from tenants.”

“Paval also confessed to killing Gabrielle,” Noel said. “Worse, he admitted having two babies in the van when he shot Jasmine.”

Casey flinched. “He brought kids to a murder?”

“Ursula was at work.” Noel's face was grim. “He said he couldn't leave them alone.”

“I think Gabrielle wanted to tell you about Paval,” Marie said to Casey.

“Why wouldn't she have told the cops?” Stan asked.

“She wouldn't want her mother finding out that she saw Jasmine's killer and said nothing.” Casey rubbed her forehead. Rehashing events was giving her a headache. “I told Hannah about Paval's arrest.”

“She must have been relieved,” Noel said.

“And angry, although I'm not sure who she was most angry with. Hannah confronted Gabrielle about her affair the morning Lou and I left Parksville. She actually accused Gabrielle of conspiring to kill Jasmine, and then told her to move out of the house,” Casey said. “Since the free ride was over, we figured the confrontation prompted her to come to Vancouver and demand money from Paval.”

“Meanwhile, Birch gets what he wanted all along,” Noel said. “No alimony and Jeremy.”

“Not necessarily. Hannah's lawyers are filing for custody this week.”

“So, is the landlord a pervert or not?” Stan asked.

“My lawyer says there's no evidence of child molestation yet,” Noel said. “The police are talking to tenants and trying to locate former ones.”

“It turns out the freak has quite a collection of photos,” Marie said, crossing her arms. “A few were pictures of naked kids. The rest were candid shots of them and their parents. Some people knew they were being photographed and smiled for the camera.”

“She must have found the photos of her and Jeremy some time over the weekend,” Casey said. “Possibly Sunday evening.”

“That makes sense.” Marie paused. “I never made the connection until now, but when they called me to come get Jeremy at the church that morning, I was approached by an older lady who was really upset. She said she'd been looking after Jeremy the day before and was worried about what would happen to him.”

“Which must mean that Jasmine hadn't wanted Paval near her son on Monday,” Casey said.

No one said anything for a few seconds.

“Jeremy seemed so happy all the time,” Marie murmured. “If he'd been abused, you'd think there would have been some kind of sign when Jasmine left him with Paval. Still . . .”

“Speaking of unanswered mysteries,” Casey said, turning to Marie, “did you tell Paval that I was on the M6 the night he shot at me? And did you give him my cell phone number?”

Marie's freckled cheeks turned bright pink.

“Answer her, Marie.” Noel stared at his sullen sister.

The pink turned an unattractive red. “He called me once, sounding all choked up, and asked for your number because he wanted to adopt a couple of Jasmine's pets.”

Noel glared at her. “After three husbands, why are you still so gullible about men?”

“Paval fooled a lot of people,” she shot back. “You thought he was a good guy too.”

“Because Jasmine thought he was. I really didn't know him.”

“Anyway,” Stan said, “it's over.” He turned to Casey. “Summer must be glad.”

“She is.” And looking forward to the weekend. On Sunday, she'd be visiting Rhonda for the first time. Casey was already nervous about it. Given Summer's last emotional and argumentative phone conversation with her mother, who knew what would happen?

“By the way,” Marie said, “I found homes for the rest of Jasmine's pets. Our aunt Delia has a farm in the Okanagan. I'm taking the kids there this weekend.”

“I want to keep one of the guinea pigs, if that's okay.” She'd grown rather attached to Ralphie.

Marie grinned and was about to say something when there was a knock on the door.

“Come in,” Stan said.

Lou opened the door and bumped into Noel's wheelchair.

“Oh, sorry.” His puzzled glance at Noel turned to recognition after Casey made the introductions.

“Good to meet you.” Lou shook his hand, then turned to Casey. “I thought you might be here. Are you free for coffee?”

“Sure, and then I'll head home. Stan's giving me some time off.”

“She deserves it,” Noel said. “Casey's one hell of an investigator who helped us out a lot.” He turned to his sister. “Didn't she, Marie?”

Marie's lips twitched. “You did a great job for Noel, Casey, and I thank you for that.”

But it changed nothing between them. Casey saw the resentment. “You're welcome.” She struggled to her feet.

As Noel backed up his wheelchair, Marie followed them.

“Marie, wait a sec,” Stan said. “I have an assignment for you.”

Bless him. The last thing Casey wanted was more time with her. Seeing Marie's disappointment, she tried not to smile.

“I really don't know how to thank you properly, Casey,” Noel said, joining them outside Stan's office. “Not many people would go out of their way to help strangers, like you did for me and Hannah.”

“I bailed on you, remember?”

“I think you tried to, but you wanted answers as much as I did.”

“Yeah, well, I was born with an inquiring mind.”

“And a compassionate heart,” Lou added.

“If you two are ever in Coquitlam,” Noel said, “drop by, okay?”

“Absolutely.” Casey put her arm around Lou, knowing it wouldn't happen.

“Want to join us for coffee?” Lou asked Noel a little too politely.

“Thanks, but Marie's giving me a ride to the dealership so I can lease another van. The police will have mine tied up a while.”

“Good luck,” Casey said.

“Same to you.”

Lou and Casey didn't speak until they were in the stairwell.

“It looks like things can finally get back to normal around here,” he said.

“Yeah, maybe, but with Jasmine gone, they'll never be the same.”

Lou stopped on the steps and squeezed her hand. “They could be better, right? At work and at home.”

Casey kissed his cheek. “Better would be good.” In fact, better would be great. “A lot will depend on how Sunday's visit with Rhonda goes, and who replaces Jasmine.”

“Then we'll have to wait and see, won't we?” He wrapped his arms around her.

“Yeah.” Casey sighed. “Wait and see.”

 

Thanks and gratitude to members of Port Moody's Kyle Centre Writers' Group for their insightful comments and for patiently reading every chapter over many months. I always came away with new ideas for improving my manuscript. It was, and still is, a wonderful experience. I'm indebted to every writer and editor at the table.

Thank you to Ruth Linka for believing in my work and for her collaborative approach to publishing. Also, huge thanks to Frances Thorsen and Lenore Hietkamp for their amazing editing skills. I've learned a great deal from them.

Endless thanks and much love to Bark, Elida, and Alex for their continued support while I plunged into the world of fiction and forgot about everything else.

Although I use real cities and street names (with one or two exceptions) in this novel, structures and businesses within the cities are often fictional. Mainland Public Transport is a product of my imagination, as is the Silver Groove night club, Cedarbrook Estates trailer park, Barley's Gym, and Grantwood Manor.

DEBRA PURDY KONG
was born in Toronto but has spent most of her life in British Columbia. She has a diploma in criminology from Douglas College and has worked in the security field as a patrol and communications officer. She is the author of three previous mysteries:
Taxed to Death
,
Fatal Encryption
, and
The Opposite of Dark
, the first book in the Casey Holland mystery series.

Debra has also written more than one hundred short stories, essays, and articles for publications that include
Chicken Soup for the Bride's Soul
,
BC Parent Magazine
, and the
Vancouver Sun
. Her short stories have won first place in competitions sponsored by
NeWest Review
and other publications, as well as honorable and finalist mentions at the Surrey International Writers' Conference.

For the past twenty-five years, Debra has lived in Port Moody with her husband, children, and more pets than she can count. More information about Debra and her work can be found at
debrapurdykong.com
and on her blog at
writetype.blogspot.com
. You can also follow Debra on Twitter at
@DebraPurdyKong
.