Tumbled Graves (4 page)

K
ala
was shocked at the paleness of Ivo Delaney's skin and the tortured look in his eyes when he opened the front door at ten past nine. His tall body was more stooped than she remembered; his expression defeated. Had something happened between the time she'd left him the evening before and now? She followed him inside the hallway and touched his shoulder. “Tell me what's going on.”

“Nothing. I'm just losing faith with every passing minute.” He turned to face her. “I didn't sleep at all last night.”

“Understandable, but we have no reason yet to think anything bad has happened. I checked the newswire before coming here and there's nothing of concern. No need to fear the worst.”
Unless you know something.
She could sympathize with his distress, but whether it came from worry or guilt, she had no way of knowing. She pointed through the open door toward the driveway. Bennett and Woodhouse stood talking on the lawn next to their car. They'd convinced her to take one vehicle, although she didn't like to be without her own truck.

Another police car pulled in behind them. Rouleau had rustled up two more officers for the search. Bennett looked toward her and smiled. He was smiling at her way too much, as if trying to get on her good side. She frowned and looked back at Ivo. “We're going to check deeper into the woods, just to be sure that Adele and Violet aren't roaming around lost. I wanted you to know before you spotted us trooping around.”

“Go ahead. I know they aren't there.”

“Oh? How would you know that?”

He closed his eyes. “Violet hates the woods. She thinks it's full of monsters. Adele wouldn't want to frighten her.”

“We'll check just to make absolutely certain and then I'll come back to see if we've forgotten to ask you anything from yesterday.” She started to leave the house but stopped in the doorway. “Is there anybody you could call to come stay with you? Waiting can be more difficult alone.”

“No, I'll be fine. We liked … like our privacy.”

“Right. I'll be back soon.”

She left him and walked over to Bennett, Woodhouse, and the two uniformed officers. The day was warming up and she unzipped her leather jacket before she reached them. Woodhouse had taken charge. He'd brought up a map of the area on his iPad and was pointing to different sections of the property. The others took turns looking at the screen. Kala leaned in past Bennett.

“Is that a creek?” She traced her finger along a ribbon of dark terrain.

Woodhouse enlarged the image. “You're right. It is a creek of some sort.”

“It'll be larger with the spring thaw,” Kala said. The snowfall had been nearly record-breaking in February and March. She pointed along a route through the bush. “I'll hike that way to the water to have a look around.”

“I'll come with you,” Bennett said. “Two sets of eyes are better than one.”

Woodhouse nodded. “We'll do a sweep and if you're not back we'll check the houses along this road. Maybe someone noticed the two of them leaving with somebody else. Stay in touch by text if you find anything.”

Kala would have liked to head out on her own. She knew Bennett would put up an argument so she decided not to fight his offer. “Let's get going,” she said to him. “I saw a path over there somewhere. It was dusk when I looked last time, but it shouldn't be hard to find.

They crossed the lawn and separated to search. It wasn't long before she found the opening in the underbrush and a path heading north. “This looks like the route,” she called to Bennett, who was several metres away. He jogged over and she started into the woods.

“The path is a bit overgrown but not hard to navigate,” she said. “I've been through thicker bush up north.”

“Lead on then. I'll try not to hold you up.”

She kept a keen eye on the ground and bushes, searching for signs of recent activity. She remembered that it had rained the day that Adele and Violet went missing. A steady rain near lunchtime that turned to drizzle mid-afternoon. Even now the path was boggy in the lower lying places. Sumac, raspberry, and honeysuckle bushes lined the path with scrubby cedar leading into pine and birch trees. Tree roots crisscrossed the dirt trail and she heard Bennett stumble and curse more than once.

Five minutes into the woods her eyes spotted a patch of pink on a low-hanging bush. She stopped and parted the branches carefully. She reached for her camera to record what she'd found. If the piece of clothing wasn't related to the missing woman and her daughter, all the better, but it was best to make a record just in case.

“What have you got?” Bennett asked. He was so close that she felt his breath on her cheek when she turned her head.

“Looks like a mitten. A child's mitten.”

He pulled back the branches while she took photos. Then he took the mitten from the bush with a gloved hand. They inspected it carefully.

“It's not been here long,” Kala said. “It's too clean to have been subjected to the elements over winter.”

“No, I'd say it was left here recently. It's still damp, likely from yesterday's rain.” He pulled out a plastic bag and inserted the mitten. “It could belong to a three-year-old. It's the right size.”

“The thing is, Ivo Delaney said his daughter never comes into the woods because she's scared of them. If this is her mitten, how did it get here?”

The smile disappeared from Bennett's face. “This is turning damned weird.” He thought for a second. “Do you think he might have told you that to keep us from coming into the woods? Maybe he has something to hide.”

“Let's look around some more. Be careful not to disturb anything that you find.” She didn't have to elaborate on what that might be. They were both thinking the same thing.

Ten minutes later, they met on the path. “Nothing,” Kala said.

“Me neither.”

“Well, that's a relief. Let's keep going.”

The path widened and walking was easier for the last five minutes leading to the river bank. With all of the melted snow over the past month, the creek was deeper and wider than it had looked on the map, just as Kala had predicted. She could see a current pulling the blackish water in a southerly direction toward Lake Ontario. Trees hung over the water, tangles of roots and brush making the terrain along the sloped bank difficult to negotiate.

Bennett stepped closer to the water's edge and looked upstream. “I think we should split up to save time.”

“I'll head downstream. We can meet back here in half an hour.”

They separated and Kala followed the line of the river as best she could. It was slow going. She looked out over the water every few feet, checking for clothing or dark shapes bobbing in the water. She was crouched down, poking a stick under tree roots in the water to release what turned out to be a plastic bag when Bennett yelled. His voice startled her and one of her feet slid into the water before she caught her balance. She climbed back up the bank and pushed her way through the scrub and bushes to their starting point. Bennett was nowhere in sight.

“Where are you?” she called.

“Just over here.” His voice was closer, sounding like it came from around a short curve in the bank.

She jumped over a fallen log and continued on through scraggly cedars until she saw his head above some bushes, further down the bank. She scrambled down the ridge to where he was kneeling. He reached a hand to steady her, then half turned and pointed to a clump of tree trunks standing in the water. Her breath stopped. “No.”

The hood of a child's pink raincoat was caught on a branch, bobbing up and down between two cedars. The bad feeling she'd had at the sight of the mitten in the bush was suddenly full blown. Kala looked at Bennett and pulled out her phone.

“Rouleau will have to send out the dive team. Lots of daylight left.”

Bennett stood and looked out over the water while she made the call. When Kala finished speaking with Rouleau, he said, “If the child is in the river, the mother must be too. You figure a murder-suicide?”

“Maybe. Rouleau's going to meet me back at the house to lead them here. You okay to keep watch?”

“No problem.”

“I'll try to be quick.”

“I won't be going anywhere.”

K
ala
pulled into the only empty parking spot in front of Dr. Lyman's office, a limestone building at the edge of the university campus. She threw the truck into park and quickly got out. Guilt pounded through her as she ran toward the front door. She'd let time get away from her as she stood watching divers plunge into the river searching for the bodies of Violet and possibly Adele Delaney. The search had stretched on without success and now she was a good forty minutes late picking up Dawn. She'd tried calling Dawn's cell twice before leaving the Delaney property, but maddeningly the calls had gone to voice mail.

The reception area was empty; the woman who answered the phones was not at her desk. Kala scanned the lounge, normally so inviting with pink and purple chairs and pale yellow walls lined with French impressionist prints. Now the vacant space felt like a rebuke. Had Dawn gotten tired of waiting and decided to walk home in the dark? No, it was much too far. Kala forced herself to take a deep breath and calm down. Nothing would be gained by imagining the worst. She had to think about this logically. She had to think like an upset thirteen-year-old girl.

Dr. Lyman's door was closed and Kala suddenly realized that in all probability Dawn was still inside with the counsellor. Dr. Lyman must have taken advantage of Kala's tardiness to get in some more time with Dawn. Kala crossed the hall to stand in front of Dr. Lyman's door with her hand raised. She hesitated. What if Dr. Lyman was in with another patient? What if Dawn was long gone? She squared her shoulders. There was only one way to find out. She rapped lightly on the door.

The sound of a woman's voice and the thump of footsteps carried through the door. It swung open in a sudden motion and Dr. Lyman was standing in front of her, a questioning look in her eyes. “Kala,” she said, a smile lighting up her face as she recognized Dawn's aunt. She must have seen something in Kala's face because she immediately asked, “Is everything okay? Stella and I were just going over some accounting since it's that time of year.” She looked past Kala into the reception area. “Is Dawn waiting outside?”

“I just got here. I haven't seen her.”

Dr. Lyman looked toward the woman sitting at the desk. “Did Dawn say anything to you about leaving, Stella?”

“No. She said that her aunt was picking her up. I left her alone to come work on these books.”

Dr. Lyman turned back to face Kala. “Oh dear. But she can't have gotten far. We spent an extra ten minutes in session.”

That meant Dawn had a half hour head start at the most. “Did she seem okay? I'd meant to call you this morning about her mom but the day got away from me.”

“She was a little quiet today, more so than usual. What's happened with her mother?”

“Sentencing was yesterday. Her boyfriend got ten years and she got five. I was going to tell Dawn this morning at breakfast but we were running late. In fact, I've been running late the whole day.”

Dr. Lyman's eyes searched Kala's face. She was a kindly woman, early sixties, tall but plump, with soft white hair. Kala had liked her instinctively. Hoped that she would be the lifeline for Dawn, but so far Dawn was just treading water. Dr. Lyman had suggested giving her space, but three months had passed without a breakthrough. Every day that went by made Kala doubt her ability to look after such a troubled child entering the teen years. Dawn was dealing with demons not unlike those she had faced herself not that long ago. Her own past should have given her insight. All it did was make her scared.

“Dawn might have gone to catch a city bus. She's quite self-sufficient, as we both know.”

Kala started backing away toward the main entrance. “I'll have to go see if I can track her down. Thanks for everything.” She could barely stop herself from running full tilt out the door.

“Phone me later and we can chat. Perhaps it's time to have you and Dawn in a session together.”

“I'll call when I have some time.”
Whenever that might be.

Kala hurried outside and scanned the street as she raced toward her truck. No sign of her. The bus stop was a few blocks over. Dawn knew the route because she'd taken it once when Kala had been stuck in a meeting. She hoped Dawn had decided to take the bus again. Surely, she wouldn't have tried hitchhiking. Images of Ivo Delaney and his missing family were weighing on Kala's mind. This had to be unrelated. Did Dawn even have bus money?

Why hadn't she answered her phone?

The shadows were lengthening as the sun began its incremental descent. There was still a lot of light left, but it was paler and had lost the day's warmth. Kala drove slowly down the streets as she made her way to the bus stop. A woman with a baby stroller was standing next to the route sign. Dawn was nowhere in sight. Kala drove past and continued to scan the sidewalks. Her phone buzzed on the seat next to her and she glanced down, hopeful. Gundersund's name and number held on the screen as the call went to voice mail. She had no time to talk to him about the case. He'd want to compare notes. She ignored the call and backtracked, taking side streets on the chance that Dawn had taken a different route. Twenty minutes later she pulled over and tried calling Dawn again. After three rings, Dawn's recorded voice told her to leave a message.

“I sure hope you caught that bus,” Kala muttered, tossing her phone onto the seat. She pulled away from the curb and followed the bus route out of the city toward home, checking for signs of Dawn along the way, but she knew that it was futile the farther she travelled. If Dawn was walking, she wouldn't have made it this distance in so short a time.

What was she going to do if Dawn wasn't home?

She turned right onto King Street West, which became Front Road once out of the downtown. Front Road in turn fed into Old Front Road some twenty minutes on. Old Front Road wound along the shoreline of Lake Ontario, both sides lined in houses set back in the trees on large lots. She was lucky to have landed in a house with prime property backing onto the lake. Her lawyer friend Marjory owned the land but was away for at least the year working in the North on a land claims case.

Kala followed Old Front Road past Gundersund's property. His car was in the driveway but there was no sign of him. Nor was there any sign of Dawn walking along the road. She rounded the corner and took an immediate turn into Marjory's driveway. She slowed and eased past the birch trees, parking between two old growth pines. She craned her neck to look out through the windshield for any sign of life. The lights were off in the front of the house and her heart dropped. She stepped out of the truck.

It was nearly dark now. The wind had come up and she could hear waves striking the shore. Taiku would be desperate to get outside after being stuck in the house all day. She'd let him out and then start making some calls. The problem was that she had no idea who Dawn knew in Kingston. Perhaps Gundersund and Rouleau would help with her search. She started walking toward the back of the house but slowed as she neared the back verandah. A man's laugh warned her that she was not alone. A girl's voice answered and Kala exhaled relief, but she was immediately on guard again. Dawn had made it home, but who was she with?

Kala skirted silently around the side of the house until she had a view of the deck. Looking up, she saw the two figures sitting in the deck chairs close together, out of the wind. The light was on in the kitchen, backlighting them from behind. It took her a few seconds to recognize Gundersund. Dawn was talking and Kala stopped to listen, surprised to hear the girl speaking in more than monosyllables. The sudden relief that Kala felt knowing everything was okay was followed by anger. Her partner and Dawn were settled in having a nice chat while she'd been worried out of her mind.

“I liked living in Ottawa. My mother was a waitress until she got sick but she wouldn't let me stop going to school. She wanted me to go to art college when I get older. She used to like my drawings and always made me tape them up on the wall in the kitchen.”

Gundersund's voice carried toward her on the evening breeze. “You still can go to art school, you know. Have you been doing any drawings since you came to live with Kala?”

“No. I don't feel like painting. I just don't want to anymore.”

Gundersund nodded. “Sometimes that happens. I remember when my brother died, I didn't play baseball for an entire summer. We used to be on the same team and it made me sad to go to the ball diamond without him.”

“How old were you?”

“Fourteen. Charley was a year younger than me. A drunk driver hit the car and Charley was sitting in the front passenger seat. It was his turn, so I was in the back.”

“You must have felt bad, but it wasn't your fault.”

“I know that now. It took me a while to believe it.”

A rush of motion came from the back of the property. Taiku was bounding toward Kala with Gundersund's dog, Minny, at his heels. Kala stepped out of the shadows and waved up at Dawn and Gundersund before Taiku reached her. “There you are, Dawn,” she said, knowing she'd been caught eavesdropping. Embarrassment made her voice sharp. “I went to pick you up at Dr. Lyman's and couldn't find you. Why didn't you answer your phone? You must have known I'd be worried. Did you just not care?”

Gundersund was quiet for a moment. Then, he spoke with the same reassuring voice that he'd just used with Dawn. “I met Dawn walking home at the start of Old Front Road so offered to drive her the rest of the way. She was upset because her phone was dead and she hadn't been able to reach you. I left you a message on your cell to let you know where she was, but I guess you didn't get it. Anyhow, we stopped to get Minny and then decided to walk her from my place to let Taiku out.”

Kala climbed the steps. She should have answered Gundersund's call. “I was driving when you called.” She looked at Dawn, not quite ready to let her anger go. “I'm sorry I was late picking you up, but you shouldn't have left without telling Dr. Lyman or Stella. You knew that I was coming for you.”

Dawn's head dropped. “Sorry,” she mumbled from under her veil of black hair.

Kala felt herself deflate like a pricked balloon as she looked at her niece's bowed head. After all, she was mainly to blame for having left Dawn waiting so long without sending word that she was late. Gundersund's eyes were studying her and she stared back at him.

“I guess I'll go in and heat up that leftover stew,” she said. She walked past the two of them and turned with her hand on the door handle. “You're welcome to stay, Gundersund.”

Dawn lifted her head.

“I'd enjoy that,” Gundersund said. “All that's waiting for me at home is a frozen dinner and two weeks' worth of dirty laundry.”

Dawn finished eating and disappeared into her bedroom to do homework. Kala watched her leave, regretting her earlier harsh words. Dawn had become even more withdrawn during the meal and she knew that it was her fault.

“Well I better be pushing off,” Gundersund said. “Busy day tomorrow.”

They both stood at the same time and Kala followed him toward the back door. “Any theories on what happened to Violet Delaney?” he asked as they stepped outside onto the deck. Stars glittered above in an ink black sky. The spring wind was still up, but the cold edge was gone.

“I'm leaning toward murder-suicide, but not yet convinced of anything,” Kala said. “Ivo Delaney seemed genuinely in shock when he identified her raincoat and mitten.”

“Maybe. Hell of a shame when a mother takes that way out. Better to just end her own life and leave the kid.”

“She must have been in awful pain.”

“It's hard to understand.” Gundersund hesitated. “Say, I wonder if I could take Dawn to an art show a friend of mine is having on Wednesday night. I know it's a school night, but I'd get her back early. You could come too, if you like.”

“I don't know. Let me think about it.”

“Sure, but it would be a chance for her to maybe get inspired again.”

“I'll think about it. I promise.”

“Great. Well, see you tomorrow.”

“Yeah. Bright and early.”

He climbed down the steps and whistled for Minny and then disappeared into the darkness. She waited a few moments before calling for Taiku. She'd just decided that she'd have to go in search of him when he appeared at the bottom of the steps, tail wagging.

“Time to call it a night, boy,” she said. “Get in the house and let's get to bed.” She waited while Taiku had one last sniff around the lawn below the deck before he climbed the steps and padded past her into the house.

A half hour later, lying in bed staring out the open window, Gundersund's words replayed in her head. Losing a brother so young would leave a pain that time would ease, but never completely erase. Sharing his story with Dawn had been an act of empathy. This challenged the opinion she'd built up of him over the past few months. Some of distancing herself from Gundersund had been an act of self-preservation. The rest had been to keep her life simple. Even if he said that he and his wife were separated, Fiona was still very much involved with him at work and not going anywhere. Gundersund's life was a mess and she didn't want to be pulled any further into his world.

Kala rolled onto her back. On the other hand, what harm could it do to go with him to the art exhibit? Maybe Gundersund was right about reaching Dawn through art. God knows, nothing else had worked. She and Dawn were as far apart as the day she'd picked her up at the station. Hobnobbing with artists for an evening might be worth the pain, especially since she couldn't get past the feeling that she and Dawn were running out of time. She'd raise the idea of an outing with Gundersund to Dawn in the morning.