The Frailty of Flesh (28 page)

“They had a meeting with the parents one week before Jeffrey’s murder.” He collected the papers and put them in the folder, directing his gaze past Ashlyn for a moment, and put the folder aside.

The waiter set their food down. “Is there anything else I can get for you?”

“Not for me,” Ashlyn said.

“No, thanks.”

Ashlyn waited until the petite blonde was out of earshot. “They can still prove due diligence. Since none of the abuse happened on their property they have little more than suspicions, which have been clearly documented. Even if they didn’t call social services, the neighbor did, and social services hasn’t returned my messages yet.” She saw Tain’s eyebrows lift and the slight tilt of his head. “If anyone will be covering their ass after this, it will be them.”

“Not if Jeffrey wasn’t killed by a family member.”

“Kidnappers are really anxious to get their money, aren’t they?”

Tain smiled. “We’ll make a cynic out of you yet.” The smile faded. “I know it’s none of my business—”

“We didn’t sort things out.”

He reached for his drink and didn’t comment.

“If anything, things got worse,” she said.

“Are you okay?”

She sighed, turned up her palm. “Every relationship has its ups and downs.”

“You’re going to work it out, then?” When she didn’t answer right away he continued, “All that matters to me is you’re okay.”

“You don’t have to worry about me.”

“Ash, that comes with the territory. You’re my partner.”

She poked at the potatoes with her fork until he took her hand. There was a rush of heat in her cheeks, but when she looked up at him she could see the genuine concern on his face.

“Yesterday, in Zidani’s office…” He paused. “Then last night. I’ve seen Craig angry before, but he’s drinking.”

Which was a problem. Craig knew he couldn’t handle it. Then she realized what Tain meant. “Oh, it’s not what you think. It was Byron Smythe who bruised my arms.”

He let go of her hand and sat up straight. “Smythe. What the hell?”

“I was at the mall Saturday night, waiting for Craig. Smythe showed up.” She took a breath. “We had words.”

For a moment there was complete silence. She didn’t need to ask what Tain was thinking: she knew. “I was the one who dislocated his knee. He wouldn’t let go of me.”

Tain nodded, but remained silent. There was no judgment in his eyes.

“When Craig found out he—” She took a drink of water and a deep breath. “He took off.”

“And you don’t know where he went.”

“He never came home. The next time I saw him was Sunday night and he was working his way through a bottle of wine.”

Tain nodded again. “Have you told Zidani?”

“Not about Craig.”

“Don’t.”

“You still don’t trust him?”

“Until a few days ago, neither did you. What’s changed?”

Ashlyn paused. “We talked.”

“When?”

“Saturday night.” She covered her face with her hand. “You think he tried to get me on his side to help drive a wedge between me and you?”

“Or you and Craig. Zidani ordered him to go through those case files, and he knew that meant Craig was checking up on an investigation his father handled. With everything Zidani had to say about Craig and Steve’s relationship when he transferred in, it doesn’t make sense.”

“And you’re sure about Zidani and Luke?”

He reached for his fork again. “I have my suspicions.”

Ashlyn watched him eat for a moment. One of the reasons she didn’t talk through cases to the same extent other people did was that voicing a thought sometimes made it sound ridiculous, or it seemed to give weight to it that wasn’t always warranted. “Tain, do you trust Craig?”

“That doesn’t matter. The question is, do you trust him?” He looked up at her.

“I’m pregnant.”

Tain was silent for a moment. “That’s not an answer to the question.”

“I know. That’s why this is so complicated. Morning sickness, hormones. I’ve probably cried more in the last five days than I have in the past five years, if you don’t count when Craig was shot. I don’t even trust my own judgment right now. And of all the cases…”

“I’ll tell you what I know. If someone bruised my girlfriend…” Tain looked at her arms, then met her gaze. “And you’re pregnant.”

Her face burned. “I haven’t told Craig. It’s crazy, I know, but I wanted to wait until Christmas.”

“I’d still have words with the guy. I know, okay, but if he tracked Smythe down I wouldn’t blame him.”

“You’ve seen the bruises, his wrist.”

“And I’ve seen Craig. He doesn’t look like he’s been in a fight.”

That was the niggling bit of logic that had been trying to break through the cloud of doubt weighing on her mind. Normally she wouldn’t jump to conclusions without some physical evidence to back it up. Then again, she hadn’t seen Craig for almost twenty-four hours, he was fit and he knew how to take care of himself. Just because he hadn’t come home and stuck his fist in a bucket of ice…

“If you’re right about Zidani…” Ashlyn rubbed her forehead. What was it Craig had said to her when they’d argued? “Craig’s being set up. He said something about things going missing from his desk for months.”

“Luke Geller’s been his partner since the summer.”

“And Zidani’s had them on a short leash, keeping a close eye on them. What am I going to do?”

“First, eat. You need to take care of yourself. Second, talk to Craig.”

She picked up her fork and speared a potato. “He’s in Kelowna. He won’t be home until tomorrow, at the earliest.”

“Meanwhile this is eating you up inside.”

There was no way to deny that. She picked up her cell phone and keyed in a text message. “There. Better than nothing.”

They finished eating in silence. After they’d paid they headed to the front entrance. “I’m going to grab a newspaper.”

“I’ve had my fill of reporters for one day,” Ashlyn said as she paused at the door.

Tain glanced at her with a puzzled look. “Have they been harassing you about this…?” He stopped as he looked down at the paper.

“What is it?”

“Nothing,” he said, without picking up a copy. He started to walk toward her.

“I thought you wanted a paper.” The look on his face betrayed him. She moved to walk around him.

He reached for her arm to stop her. “Ash, don’t.”

It was too late. She could see the headline.

Tain watched Ashlyn digest the contents of the news article. For a moment she looked pale, as though she was about to faint. Then she squared her shoulders, folded the paper and walked to the car.

“What’s next for you?”

“Christopher’s school,” she said as Tain’s cell phone rang.

He glanced at the caller ID. “Luke,” he told Ashlyn, then flipped it open and answered it.

“They called.”

“And?”

“We got a trace.”

He glanced at Ashlyn. “We’ll be right there. Wait for us.” He snapped the phone shut without saying good-bye. “They called.”

“Finally.”

It didn’t take long for them to reach the lawyer’s office. The scene had changed. Richard and Tracy Reimer were now in the main room. Tracy looked peaked, and Richard’s face burned with anger as he paced the floor behind the desk. Through the opening to the adjoining room Tain could see that Christopher remained on the floor in the corner, where he stared blankly into space.

Luke met them near the door. “They called. The voice was disguised. They said they have Shannon and they want half a million dollars to let her go.”

Ashlyn’s eyes widened. “You’re kidding, right?”

“Do I look like I’m joking?”

She frowned. “Get the recording and bring it to the lobby so we can listen to it.”

Tain followed her out of the room. “I think he missed your point.”

“And he wonders why I’m not leaving him in charge here.”

The door clapped shut behind them, and Tain turned to see Luke already approaching Ashlyn. “Here’s the copy.” He passed her a CD player and set of headphones.

Once she’d processed the recording she looked at Tain. He looked at Luke.

“You said you had a trace?”

Luke passed him a slip of paper. “I phoned you from the bathroom. Smythe is watching them like a hawk. He doesn’t want us to do anything to jeopardize this.”

Tain looked at his watch. It was quarter to one. “Let me guess. He wants to do just what the kidnappers demand.”

“They’re going to phone back at four
P.M.
to make sure they have the money, then give the instructions for the drop.”

“And the money?”

“Smythe says they already have that much here.” Luke looked at Ashlyn, who’d removed the headphones. “How do you want to play this?”

“We’ll check out the address. You wait for the call.”

“You’re leaving me without a babysitter?”

Tain saw the way Ashlyn’s eyes blazed and he put his hand on her shoulder, gently. “Look, Luke, half a million dollars? These people own a boat that costs more than that. Whoever made this call is either an idiot or knows exactly how much money the Reimers can put together on short notice. Funny, Smythe never mentioned before he had a safe full of cash ready for this call.”

Luke’s mouth twisted as his cheeks reddened. “Okay. So this looks like an inside job.”

“Or a complete amateur who’s just been very, very lucky, and I’m not buying that,” Ashlyn said. She glanced at the receptionist and lowered her voice. “These people are still suspects. Wait for the call but meanwhile, you watch them. If any of them try to leave, insist on a police escort.”

“Ash—” Tain said. She raised her hand to stop him and looked at Luke.

“Just tell them there’s been a threat made against the family.”

“Since when?”

“Since I just told you that if any of them leaves here unsupervised, I’ll personally make them regret it.” She glanced at Tain. “Okay, seriously, we still don’t know if this wasn’t someone Reimer pissed off with his business dealings. I already have the New West PD checking that out, but right now the kidnappers seem to be our best lead for finding Shannon, and I’m not taking any chances. If she’s alive and someone has her, we’re not going to let them screw that up. Understood?”

Luke nodded. Ashlyn handed him the CD player and he went back to the office. Tain followed his partner to the elevator.

Once they were in the car she pulled out her cell phone, then held it on her lap while she stared out the window.

“Craig?” Tain asked.

“Hmmm? No. No reply. Do you think we should call?”

“This is recon, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Then no.”

“Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” she asked.

He nodded. “New Westminster. Interesting.”

It didn’t take them long to track down the address where the kidnapper’s phone call had originated. The sagging two-story house was faded and worn. The interior was completely obscured from view by bland drapes that were so heavy it was impossible to tell if there was even a light on inside. Tain pulled over a block down, so that their interest in the house wouldn’t be obvious.

Ashlyn flipped her phone open and dialed. “Sims, it’s Constable Hart. I want you to check on something for me.” She relayed the address. “See if it has any connection to Richard Reimer or anyone he’s been doing business with. Call me on my cell if you find anything.”

After she thanked him and hung up she turned to face Tain. “If we talk to neighbors we risk tipping them off.”

“And we can’t sit here,” he said as he put the car into drive. “What do we do now?”

He watched her fish a card out of her pocket. “Call the police,” she said.

They met in a parking lot at Royal Square Mall on Eighth Avenue. Ashlyn introduced them and gave the address to Liam. “What can you tell us?”

“No tie to Reimer, or any of the people he’s pissed off. Not as far as I know.” Liam leaned back against his car. “What’s the connection?”

“Shannon’s alleged kidnappers placed a call,” Ashlyn said.

“From this address?” Liam laughed. “Dealing with real pros here?”

Tain met Ashlyn’s gaze, and he watched her hesitate, then give the tiniest shrug of her shoulders.

“They demanded half a million,” Tain said.

Liam’s eyes widened. He looked at Ashlyn, then Tain, and then his brow furrowed. “Junkies, maybe? Any chance Shannon used?”

“The family isn’t cooperating, so we’re limited by what friends have told us,” Ashlyn said.

“And they aren’t going to voluntarily fess up and admit their good friend did drugs.” Liam scratched his head. “What’s your plan?”

“We’ll need to watch the house.” Ashlyn looked at her watch. “In a few hours they’re due to phone again. If there is any kind of sophisticated phone relay that call might tip us off. My gut says amateurs. No way pros would ask for five hundred thousand dollars. This doesn’t even hurt the family. Anyone who kidnapped Shannon to extort money would have picked her because the Reimers have money and they would have asked for three or four times as much, at least.”