Little Boy Blues (28 page)

“We all have superiors. Even civilians. Even adolescents. Teachers. Coaches.”

“Hmm. Let’s follow up. And if something happened with someone like that, it might explain why the family decided to move so quickly after the father’s death. To get her away from whomever.”

“Yep. Makes sense. There would have been rumours. Maybe I can get one of the Ferguson girls to find out what’s what. Vince is worse than useless.”

“Let me call Loretta and Donald Donnie,” Mrs. P. said. “I’ll check with the Ferguson girls too, unless you want to. They’ll probably be arriving at your sister’s soon. Young Ferguson tells me they had quite a full day combing the city.”

On my way out the door, I said, “No Fergusons for me tonight. I feel like death, and I haven’t fed your cat.”

“Or walked your dog,” she said.

“Wait a minute. I thought of something.”

“What is it, Ms. MacPhee?”

“It’s another reason to talk to Father Blaise. He’s done a lot of work with the youth club. Even though the Redmores aren’t Catholic, he probably knew all these kids.”

Mrs. Parnell’s forehead creased. “He hasn’t returned any of the messages I left at St. Paul’s.”

I checked my watch. “Too late tonight, but I’ll flush him out tomorrow.”

I walked Gussie before I took my third shower of the day. I opened a tin of Miss Meow for Mrs. Parnell’s cat. I found some leftovers for my dinner. Gussie looked so pathetic I put the dish on the floor. I scrounged some peanut butter and crackers. The three of us shared a companionable meal while my hair dried.

At ten o’clock that evening, Ray Deveau showed up looking beat, but wearing clean chinos and a pale blue short-sleeved shirt, pressed. He looked freshly showered and shaved. I noticed a hint of lime aftershave. It offset the dark smudges under his eyes.

Over a cold beer on my sixteenth floor balcony, watching the Ottawa river glitter in the moonlight, I learned more about Reefer Keefer’s fate.

“Hit and run again,” Deveau said. “Ottawa guys are keeping the details quiet.”

“Does it sound like the one in Sydney?”

“Yup. They’ve found the car. Stolen shortly before.”

“That tells us something.”

“What?”

“First of all, logic says it’s the same killer.”

“Probably right.”

“It follows that the same person was in Sydney on July 1st and in Ottawa last night. Correct?”

“Narrows it down to a hell of a lot of people. Dozens at least.”

“I doubt dozens of people had some close connection with everyone in this case.”

“That’s true. There’s me, of course.”

“Cute. What kind of person would use a car as a weapon? A
career criminal? A hit person?”

Deveau narrowed his eyes. “A coward. A bully.”

“That’s what I think. Sorry, but it seems to leave you out of the equation.”

“What a relief. By the way, did I tell you I just learned they found the car that killed Greg Hornyk?”

“Really? Whose car?”

“Belonged to another tourist. Stolen downtown. They found it abandoned in the airport parking lot. No prints, no nothing. They’re looking for anyone who saw it dropped off. So far, no luck.”

“No surprise,” I said. “But on the same topic, you must have had a lot of dealings with Reefer over the years.”

“Yeah. He was one of life’s great losers. But he didn’t deserve to die like that. It shook me up to identify the body. I never get used to the morgue.”

I figured that was a good thing. Somehow, during our conversation our resin chairs seemed to have drifted closer together. Our knees were now touching, and neither of us jumped away. I tried not to let that get in my way.

“One question, Ray. Bear with me. It’s relevant.”

“Ask away.”

“The Redmores. Now when Jimmy was accused of whatever it was he was accused of that you can’t talk about because of the YOA …”

“Take a breath, Camilla.”

“Right. Since the father didn’t accuse Jimmy, because he was unconscious, and Honey didn’t accuse him, I’d like to know who made the accusations to the police. Was it Will Redmore? And if so, what did he say?”

“You know I can’t say what he said.”

“Yeah, yeah. The accusation against a youth. But I’m not
going there. Since the accusation seemed to be found to be totally ungrounded, not that anyone ever made that clear to the Fergusons, it seems to me I can inquire about who made it, since it wasn’t one of the two alleged victims.”

“It seems to me you can’t.”

“All I want to know is how the brother presented it to you? Was he outraged?”

“Very tricky. I admire your spirit.”

“You do not.

“But it won’t get you anywhere.”

“I’m just trying to get a fix on how the brother could have made this mistake.”

“Forget it.”

“Oh, that reminds me, was Will Redmore ever in trouble for bullying as a kid?”

The look on his face was all the answer I needed, even though he tried to cover it. He tapped my nose playfully. “What part of the Young Offenders Act did you skip in law school, Camilla?”

“Thanks, Ray. I owe you big-time.”

“Well, I can think of ways to repay me.”

Chuckle, chuckle.

• • •

P. J. called after Deveau left. I filled him in on my day touring the shelters, the update on Reefer Keefer, my adventure at D’Arcy McGee’s and my twin theories about Honey protecting someone and Will being a bully. I even complained about the elusiveness of Father Blaise and the presence of Vince Ferguson. I expressed more sympathy for his tummy troubles.

I may have forgotten to mention Deveau’s visit.

• • •

Mrs. Parnell stuck her head out of her door as Gussie and I emerged from the elevator the next morning.

“No joy,” she said. “Donald Donnie and Loretta came up empty. Not a single rumour about Honey Redmore and a teacher or a coach. My contact made a few calls. Honey was on a few school teams but wasn’t any kind of serious sporting person. No boyfriend who could have triggered the incident. I think we might have hit a brick wall with this line of investigation.”

“Good news on that front,” I said. “We’ve been looking at the wrong wall.”

“Nice oblique statement, Ms. MacPhee. Do come in and elucidate.”

“No time. But I believe the connection could be Honey. This was her first trip back to Sydney since shortly after her father died. Vince told me that Mr. Redmore’s death was triggered by chasing Jimmy Ferguson from the house.”

“That is horrible, Ms. MacPhee.”

“Yes, but I suspect the truth is a bit different.”

“Let us hope so.”

“Jimmy might still have been upset if he spotted Honey in Sydney, even though she may not have seen him. Plus there’s something fishy about that brother. I’ll be pushing a bit there.”

“Ah, so Jimmy may have remembered that terrible day he was chased and arrested. Some stimulus triggered his panic, as Jimmy’s disappearance triggered it in young Ferguson. I agree. The stimulus could easily have been catching sight of Honey. Most likely, that is why he is on the run.”

“Right, up to a point, Mrs. P. For sure, Jimmy could have
panicked if he’d seen Honey. Maybe he would have been afraid of the brother coming after him. Maybe he worried about being hauled to the copshop again. And who knows what nasty things he heard after Honey’s father died. If we didn’t have these two other deaths, I’d be happy to put it down to that. The Fergusons could go on the air and tell Jimmy he won’t be punished in any way. But we do have two hit and runs. Cops think it’s the same killer. And if you ask me, Honey doesn’t wish Jimmy any harm, but she’s protecting someone.”

“Interesting deductions, Ms. MacPhee.”

“Something’s going on. I could see it in her body language. There’s some secret she doesn’t want to get out. I figure Honey thinks the stakes are pretty damned high.”

“Ms. MacPhee, are you suggesting some kind of abuse?”

“It wouldn’t be the first time something like that has happened.”

“Does anyone in the family seem the type?” Mrs. Parnell exhaled speculatively.

“I know from working at Justice for Victims that there’s no obvious type.”

“And you believe she’s keeping some secret.”

“And maybe worse than that. Maybe she’s protecting a murderer. Let’s not forget that the hit and run victim, Greg Hornyk, looked like Jimmy from a distance.”

“So we are dealing with someone who means business.”

“You bet. A person who has killed, perhaps to cover up that very secret. My point is, another member of the family might have spotted Jimmy on Canada Day and decided to take revenge for the father’s death. Perhaps it was the brother, still angry after all these years. Maybe the sight of Jimmy triggered his rage.”

“For one thing, I thought Honey Redmore assured you her
family knew Jimmy was innocent. For another, I understand our hit and run driver is a woman,” Mrs. Parnell said.

“Okay, there are still a few details to work out. But we do know Mrs. Redmore blamed Mrs. Ferguson after the father died. I’d like to talk to Honey and get some more answers.”

“Why don’t you?”

“Something tells me I won’t be able to reach her for the rest of my life. Of course, I’m not the only bear in these woods.”

“I don’t know her, so I am at a disadvantage.”

“I wasn’t thinking of you.”

“And poor young Ferguson is liable to go off the deep end.”

“You’re right. I wasn’t thinking about him, either. Stay tuned, Mrs. P.”

• • •

“You have to do it, Vince.”

“She won’t even remember me.”

I didn’t dignify that with an answer. Vince Ferguson might be a pain in the butt, but he was a dark, brooding handsome pain, and he had played sports. He wouldn’t have been that much older than Honey. The chances were very good that Honey would remember him all right.

“Sound her out about the brother,” I said.

“Her brother? Will?”

“Yeah. What do you know about him?”

“He was hot stuff around town for a long time, and then he grew up and went away, and now he’s a big deal in Ottawa, last I heard.”

“Some kind of current affairs guru, I guess. Television,” I said.

“Figures. But I remember him thinking he was God’s gift
and throwing his weight around a bit when he was a teenager.”

“Right.”

“He was one of those assholes you hope will get what’s coming to them.”

“Maybe he did.”

“Nope. I just told you his career’s in high gear.”

“And he’s older than Honey?”

“He must be about thirty.”

“Was he living in Sydney during this so-called incident with Jimmy and Honey?”

“No. He would have been gone a long time. He left when he started university. He would have been out working by the time of the alleged assault. Honey was home from Dal for a visit with her parents.”

“Didn’t you tell me it was Thanksgiving weekend?”

“Yes. So?”

“So her brother might very well have been there too.”

“Maybe. I didn’t encounter him.”

“But that does make sense.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Honey is protecting someone. What more likely person than her own brother?”

“But what would she be protecting him from?”

“What do you think of this for a theory? Brother Bigshot is home and sees Jimmy Ferguson outside his home. Maybe he knows Jimmy has a big crush on Honey. He’s a bully. Maybe he decides a boy with brain damage shouldn’t be hanging around his perfect sister.”

“I’m listening.”

“What if he tries to scare Jimmy, and in the course of it, his father comes along and gets the impression Jimmy has done something to Honey.”

“Sweet Jesus.”

“Exactly. So the father chases Jimmy in a rage and collapses with a heart attack.”

“He never regained consciousness.”

I said, “So he’s dead because of something the brother did.”

“The mother and the brother call the police, and the police hassle Jimmy and then the father dies. But Honey doesn’t know what happened. And by the time she finds out, it’s too late.”

“She can’t say anything.”

“That’s right. She would have been in a horrible position. She knew Jimmy was innocent, but if she explained what happened, she would be implicating her brother in her father’s death.”

“She’d never be able to tell the mother,” Vince said.

“You got it.”

“It would make a big difference for Ma to know for sure Jimmy didn’t do anything to cause Mr. Redmore’s death.”

“I can imagine.”

“She never really got over it.”

“Right. Since you’re here, you should talk to Honey.”

“As much as I would like to know what happened back then, I think we have Jimmy’s disappearance to deal with first.”

“It’s all connected somehow.”

“How?”

“Honey and her mother and her brother were all in Sydney on Canada Day.”

Vince’s jaw dropped. “Didn’t you know that? Their first visit since they moved. I can’t believe it’s a coincidence that’s the day Jimmy disappeared.”

“What do you think happened?”

“We’re going to find out. All you have to do is wait outside
her office until she comes out for lunch.”

• • •

The more I thought about it, the more I wanted to get a good look at Will Redmore. To see but not necessarily be seen. And I had an idea where and when.

P. J. was less than thrilled.

“I need your help again.”

“I’m always glad to help you, but I’m up to my ears with Nick. The man never sleeps. Breakfast meetings a speciality, but only after he’s done his five-kilometre run.”

Good grief, now Nicholas Southern was Nick. What next, honey bunch? I let it go. “We all have problems, P. J. But this one’s serious. You got anything on Will Redmore?”

“Well, I’ve heard some of the Yankee networks have been taking a look at him.”

“I meant is there any dirt on him?”

“Is that what you think I do? Go around digging up dirt on people?”

“Save it for someone who doesn’t know how you earn a living.”

“I don’t know much about him. He shows up as a dream date at a lot of the Ottawa socialite fundraisers. I think he was involved with the sports scene a while back. Does a bit of hobnobbing with some of the people in half a dozen lobby groups. If he’s mixed up in something unsavoury, I haven’t heard about it.”