Port of Sorrow (26 page)

CHAPTER
57

Finn parked his Harley in front of Abery’s house, the unique three-layer gold band burning a hole in the palm of his hand.

He spotted Abery walking out of the hospital shed and was pleased to see her smile instantly brighten at the sight of him. Joseph poked his head out of the shed, too. His bruises looked much lighter and it was obvious from his stance that his strength was beginning to return. He nodded quickly at Finn before retreating back inside to the comfort of darkness.

Finn watched Abery approach, but with every step she took across the green lawn, he felt his heart sink further into despair.

“Aren’t you coming in?” Abery asked when she reached the gate. “I have some fresh sun tea brewing.”

Finn climbed off his bike and walked through the gate. His shoulders were heavy, the ring biting deep into his flesh.

When they reached the giant willow, Abery lifted a tray from a small table and carried it into the shade. Finn followed her to the bench nestled within the tree’s flowing branches.

“Now why do you look so down?” Abery asked as she poured a glass full of sun brew and handed it to him.

Finn sipped the tea, enjoying the eye-opening splash of lemon and caffeine. As he sipped, he gathered up the strength to say, “I found Harold.”

Abery squealed with delight and threw her thin arms around his neck, squeezing him tight.

“Where is he?” she asked excitedly. “When is he coming home?”

Finn lowered his gaze. “He won’t be coming home.”

“Of course he will. They can’t keep him away.”

“He’s dead, Abery. I found his body.”

“I know he’s dead,” Abery said matter-of-factly. “You don’t think I believed he was still alive, did you?”

Finn stared at her, his eyes wide. “B-but you always talked as though he was alive.”

“He is, but only in my heart.”

“You said you were never going inside your house until Harold came home.”

“It’s true,” Abery said calmly, clasping a delicate hand around Finn’s. “I never knew where Harold’s body was, and I was never given the chance to mourn. Harold’s spirit has been trapped, restless, wandering wherever the wind carries him. But now that you’ve found him, I can bring him home. He’ll get a Christian burial and his spirit will finally rest.”

“And what about you?” Finn put down his drink to squeeze her hand.

A tear came to Abery’s eye. She allowed it to fall.

“I will mourn for him, and then I will enter our marital home. I will continue to do what I have always done. My friends still need me and I need them. Only now, Harold will be by my side, watching over us.”

Finn inhaled deeply and handed her the gold ring. Abery smiled and wept as she placed the ring on her own finger, clutching it tight to her bosom.

They sat together for another hour, listening to the wind gently whisper through the umbrella of leaves.

FINN FOUND JULIA
in her apartment, packing her few belongings into cardboard boxes with her one good arm. The other was still in a sling and her two broken ribs were taped.

The blood stains in the carpet and walls were still thick and ugly, but they had lost some of their horror since Big Brother’s body was recovered from the Strait.

Finn knocked on the doorframe and peeked in through the opening. “You shouldn’t be doing that,” he said.

Julia’s face lit up when she saw him, and Finn no longer found any flaws.

“I still have one good arm,” she replied.

“Are you leaving?” he asked.

“Just moving. I’ve rented a small cabin outside of town. If you stand on your tiptoes at the window you can actually see the ocean.” She paused. “What about you?”

“I think this town has seen enough of me.”

“I don’t think anyone would mind if you stuck around a little longer.”

Finn shook his head. “It’s time for me to stop running and return home.”

“San Francisco?”

Finn smiled. “There’s a young girl there who probably thinks her father is a rotten son-of-a-bitch. She could be right, but it’s time I let her say it to my face.”

“Well you can tell her from me, her father is a decent guy even if he does look better in fishnets than I do.”

They both laughed. Then, awkwardly, crossed to each other and hugged.

“It’s a shame we never got to know each other better,” Finn said as they ended their embrace.

Julia smiled. “Next time you’re in town, maybe . . .” she let the words trail away. They both knew life was taking them on different roads.

With nothing left to say, Finn kissed her once on the lips then turned and walked away.

FINN HEADED SOUTH on the coastal highway with the wind battering his face. Beside him, in the sidecar, was a single army green duffel bag.

Its navy blue companion had stayed behind, a present for the ragmen. Selene would have approved.

The End

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Born in Scotland, living in Canada and writing American fiction, Grant wears a toque and kilt with his six-guns. His debut novel,
S
witch
, earned fantastic reviews internationally when it was published
by Bantam UK
, in Germany by Heyne, a
nd in Canada by Penguin
. I
t
has also been
translated into Complex Chinese for Spring International Publishers of Taiwan
,
and into Russian for AST.
Famous Books has now
made
it
available in the U.S
.

Grant’
s second novel,
No Cry For Help
,
also garnered stellar reviews when it
was published in the UK by Bantam TransW
orld and
translated
in Germany by Heyne
.
It
is now
also
available in the U.S
. and Canada
.

His third dark thriller,
K.A.R.M.A.
,
is out now from Famous Books.

Writing under the pen name M.C. Grant, a new mystery series set in San Francisco is being launched by Midnight Ink.
Angel With A Bullet
, the first in the Dixie Flynn series, will be out
i
n Sept.
2012
.

Grant’
s short stories have been featured in the
First Thrills
anthology edited by Lee Child from Tor/Forge, plus
Out of the Gutter
and
Spinetingler
magazines, and his first screenplay won a fellowship at the Praxis Centre for Screenwriting in Vancouver, B.C.

As a journalist, Grant has worked in virtually every area of the newspaper business from the late-night
d
ead
b
ody
beat
at a feisty daily tabloid to
e
ditor at two of Canada’s largest broadsheets. He has also contr
ibuted numerous technology/humo
r columns to magazines around the world. He resides in Victoria, B.C., where he is Editor-in-Chief of Monday Magazine.

Grant can be contacted via his website at
http://grantmckenzie.net

And on Facebook at:
http://facebook.com/grant.mckenzie

SWITCH

How far will one man go to save the ones he loves most?

Two strangers trapped in the same kidnapping nightmare face their worst fears when they are challenged to destroy everything they hold dear in order to save the ones they love.

Set in Portland, Oregon, featuring the spooky and labyrinthine tunnels underneath the city, this is a fantastically commercial, brilliantly paced read from a debut author.

“Think Harlan Coben on speed with a heart breaking compassion that will literally have you biting your nails.”

Ken Bruen, best-selling author of the Jack Taylor series

‘Switch crackles with suspense and is as tense as a switchblade opening in a dark alley.’

Rick Mofina, international best-selling author

“A terrific little-guy-in-big-trouble thriller moving at warp speed - with the emphasis on warp.”

Lee Child, #1 NY Times best-selling author

‘Switch is not merely good, it’s damned good.’

David Hagberg, best-selling author of Joshua’s Hammer

‘Grant McKenzie really knows how to make a story move.’

Linwood Barclay, best-selling author of No Time For Goodbye

NO CRY FOR HELP

During a cross-border shopping trip, a family vanishes.

No reason.

No ransom.

No cry for help.

Bus driver Wallace Carver fears the worst when his family fails to meet him at the Bellingham, Washington mall. His anxiety is justifiably heightened when security cameras unexplainably show that he crossed the Peace Arch border alone.

Now all Wallace wants to do is get his wife and sons back. But first he has to work out why they were taken and by whom.

“A terrific novelist . . . I hope American publishers are taking note!”


Tess Gerritsen, NY Times bestselling author

“A great read! The ultimate page-turner.”

William Kinsella, author of
Shoeless Joe
(Field of Dreams)

Reader reviews:

“
O
ne of the most frenetic, atmospheric and imaginative books I’ve read this year
.”

Milo Rambles

“
McKenzie always manages to draw his readers from the very first line . . . and it is just as impressive that he keeps this tension to the end with a breathtaking pace
.”

hammett-krimis.de

"(With
Switch
) I recall writing that Lee Child needs to look out
.
I was wrong, he needs to look up! Great book, great read, thank you
G
rant, I am looking forward to your next."

Cormac McCarthy

K.A.R.M.A.

The children want revenge.

Led by a brilliant but troubled teenager, tech-savvy victims of abuse unite to turn their collective pain into bloody retribution. The group calls itself K
.
A
.
R
.
M
.
A
.
: Kids Against Rape, Murder and A
buse
.

To ensure the group’s message of revenge is heard, K
.
A
.
R
.
M
.
A
.
’s leader enlists the aid of Tom Hackett, a rebellious freelance photojournalist who flaunts his willingness to break the rules for that perfect money
-
making shot. By tipping Hackett to the location of fresh kill, the group ensures sensational front-page media play.

But when the identity of
one
victim hits too close to home, Tom begins to have doubts and questions his own motives. By pushing him to the frontlines, K
.
A
.
R
.
M
.
A
.
awakens a haunted past that could destroy everything Tom holds dear.

In struggling with his conscience, Tom becomes an obstacle that K
.
A
.
R
.
M
.
A
.
can’t allow to live.

And if K
.
A
.
R
.
M
.
A
.
has its way, he won’t be the only one.

“
Lots of violence, snappy prose and dialogue that jumps off the page. What more could you want from a thriller? I was gripped
from page one.
”


Stephen Leather
, NY Times bestselling author

Reader reviews:

“
H
eart-pounding, mind-blowing story from page one right through to the end
.”

Ellen J. Grogan

“
Fresh
, riveting and unique. Grant McKenzie should be up there with Harlan Coben and Linwood Barclay
. . . t
he story instantly grips you
. . . the
storyline is gritty, it has a mystery quality and something rare in murder/mystery, a sense of compassion
.”

Jan Erlam