Under Cold Stone A Constable Molly Smith Mystery (34 page)

Sylvester barked good-bye.

Chapter Sixty-two

THE WINTERS HOME OUTSIDE TRAFALGAR, BRITISH COLUMBIA. TUESDAY EVENING.

“You look puzzled,” Eliza Winters said.

“I am puzzled. That was a strange phone call. I feel as though I’ve walked into a James Bond movie when it was almost over.” He made the call.

Keller answered. “This isn’t a good time, John. I’ve a situation here. I’ll call you back.”

“That’s what I’m calling about. Don’t say any names, but are you with someone named Burgess?”

“Yes.”

“I’ve had a call from Molly.”

“Go ahead.”

“She lost her phone, but has a message for you. You have to ditch Burgess. Fast. The location of the meet has changed. They’ll be beside the library. Do not, repeat not, inform Burgess.”

“Is Blechta aware of this development?”

“She didn’t say anything about that.”

“I can be at the station in a couple of minutes.”

“I’m here if you need anything.”

Keller hung up.

“I wonder,” John Winters said to his wife, “if I should have said, the eagle flies at midnight.”

Chapter Sixty-three

BANFF PUBLIC LIBRARY. BANFF, ALBERTA. TUESDAY EVENING.

The car slid into the nearly empty street outside the public library. Smith told Tracey to park in a dark spot, then to switch off the engine and kill the lights.

They sat, listening to the quiet and watching the night move in. Tall trees surrounding the property covered them in shadow. In the library, lights were being switched off. Two women came out the door. They called good night, climbed into their respective cars and drove away.

Smith glanced at her watch. Five minutes since she’d called Winters.

Sylvester whined in the backseat. She ignored him. Her phone rang.

“John here. I called the chief. Gave him your message.”

“Did he understand?”

“I think so. What’s happening there, Molly?”

Headlights lit up the dark. A car turned in. Keller’s car.

“Gotta go. The boss is here.”

Keller pulled up behind them. To Smith’s infinite relief, he was alone.

He got out of the car. Smith, Matt, and Tracey did also. Sylvester tried to made a run for it, but Smith shoved him back inside.

Tracey and Smith hung back. Paul and his son looked at each other for a long time. Cars drove past and they heard a woman’s laugh. Then Matt said, “Dad,” and Paul embraced him. When they separated both men’s eyes were wet.

Keller turned to Smith. “Good job, Constable. Now what’s this about Jonathan?”

“I suspect he ordered the hit on Barry Caseman,” Smith said. She kept her eyes moving, scanning the thick foliage surrounding the building, checking pedestrians, passing vehicles.

Burgess would have to be a fool to order an attack on two police officers and two civilians in a public place in a small, busy town.

Still, no telling what people would do when their well-laid plans began to unravel.

“You can’t be serious,” Keller said.

“She’s perfectly serious, Dad. I’m ready to go to the police. I want you to be with me. I saw who killed Barry. I know he works for Burgess. I was scared, I ran. I wasn’t thinking straight. Mom, oh god, Mom will never forgive me.”

“This is a lot to take in,” Keller said. “But if Burgess is responsible for this, then the last thing your mother will do is blame you.”

“I suggest we get going,” Smith said. “I’ll drop you both at the station. Matt can fill you in on the way, and then I’ll take Tracey home.”

“I want…”

“I don’t care what you want. You can’t stay with Matt. He has a long night ahead of him.” Longer than that if Blechta didn’t buy his story.

Smith wasn’t entirely sure she bought it herself. “The Mounties will want to hear all about this car-rental scam, but that can wait. I suggest you quit that job. Don’t bother giving notice.”

“I’ll take Matt,” Keller said. He glanced at Sylvester, trying to push his way through the back window of Smith’s car. “You look a bit cramped for space. Blechta will want a full report from you, but he’ll want to talk to Matt first. Check on your mother. And Karen. Karen should go back to Calgary immediately, but she won’t leave without seeing Matt. Burgess will suspect something’s up. Try and stay out of his way.”

“Will do.”

Matt gathered Tracey into his arms. He held her for a long time. When he stepped away she was crying. “It’s all okay, now. It’ll all be okay. My dad says so. Right, Dad?”

“Right, son.”

Smith and Tracey watched them drive away before getting into their car. Smith drove through town. Tracey sniffed. “I’m sorry about…about your face.” She wiped her nose on her sleeve.

“I’ll live.”

Smith pulled up in front of Matt’s building. “I suggest you try to get some sleep. Blechta will be calling you soon. You have to tell him what you told me about the car-rental scam. You won’t see me again, Tracey. I’m going to tell my mom what’s happening and then go to the station. Soon as I’ve made my report, I’m leaving town.”

“Thanks for everything, Molly.”

“Take care, eh? Tell Matt to trust his dad from now on.”

“I will.”

A beige Corolla pulled up in front of them. They watched the driver struggle to parallel park.

“That’s the same sort of car that was parked in the lot for a couple of days. You might want to tell the police about that. It made Tom really jumpy. More jumpy than usual. I thought he’d have kittens when the cops arrived to ask about Barry. Soon as they left he rushed out to check on it.”

“You think it was carrying drugs?”

“Probably.”

“Did you get the plate?”

“No, but the office will have it.”

“Tell the Mounties about it, will you?”

“Should I call now?”

“It’ll wait until tomorrow. Blectha’ll be too busy tonight to care.”

Tracey opened the car door. Light flooded in. “You’re from Trafalgar, right?”

“Yes.”

“I learned something about Trafalgar when I was crawling around the web of Burgess’ companies.”

“Yes?”

“There’s some land there he wants to buy. But it’s owned by someone else, who plans to put in a resort. Burgess is trying to get it. I thought, well, if he wants it real bad, he’d be willing to pay a lot. So if you have some money to invest, you might want to know that. He seemed like such a nice guy, too. Goes to show, eh? You can’t trust people. Bye.”

And Tracey was gone.

Smith didn’t know anything more about computers than she needed to do her job or play music on her iPad. It sounded as if Tracey had been doing a lot more than just hacking into the books of the rental car company.

It wouldn’t hurt to tell the chief. Have him drop a few hints Tracey’s way that that sort of thing was frowned upon by the law and if she kept it up she could get into some real trouble.

Tracey was probably talking about the Grizzly Resort. Smith didn’t have money to invest, and in any event, if she did, she’d hardly buy a piece of the Grizzly. That would see her run out of town on a rail, not to mention banned from her mother’s dinner table.

Chapter Sixty-four

BANFF SPRINGS HOTEL. BANFF, ALBERTA. TUESDAY NIGHT.

Lucky was with Karen in her room, sitting in armchairs in the near-dark. The TV was on but neither woman could have told anyone what was playing. Karen was no longer crying, but the tissue she twisted between her fingers was soaked and torn to shreds.

Lucky was about to call room service to order tea, when the door flew open. Jonathan Burgess stormed in. Karen leapt to her feet.

“What’s the matter? What’s happened? Where’s Matt?”

“Damned if I know. Your husband ordered me out of his car and told me to take a taxi.”

“Why?”

Burgess crossed the room. A bottle of Glenlivet was on the dressing table, beside two glasses and an ice bucket full of water. He poured himself a hefty slug. “Ice has melted. Get me some.”

Karen stood. Lucky grabbed her arm. “Ice can wait. And so can a drink. Tell us what’s happening.”

“I don’t know. Paul got a call from the police. They told him Blechta needed to see him at the station immediately. He was to come alone. He wouldn’t tell me why. Dumped me on the street like a hooker who’s worn out her welcome.” Not waiting for ice, he downed the drink. Poured another.

In front of Lucky’s eyes, Jonathan visibly pulled himself together. His back and neck straightened, and he moved his shoulders. He turned to Karen with a strained smile. “Sorry to bark at you, darling. I couldn’t get a cab for ages. Like police, they’re never around when you want them.”

Karen sat back down, her eyes cautious.

“We know Matt’s made contact, so that’s one good thing. Have you heard from your daughter again, Lucky?”

“No.”

“I’m sure she’s fine. Probably ran out of power to her phone. Now, if you’ll excuse us, Karen would like to lie down for a while. She’s finding this very stressful, you know.”

No,
Lucky thought
, I didn’t know. I’m selfish that way.
“I’ll be in my room, if you need to talk, Karen. Good night.” Before she could move, her phone rang. She didn’t recognize the number. “Hello?”

“Hi, Mom, it’s me. I’m in the lobby. Are you in your room?”

“No, I’m with Karen and Jonathan.”

“Isn’t that handy? I’ll be right there. What’s the number?”

Lucky gave it and hung up. “Moonlight’s coming up.”

Karen ran to the door. She was standing in the hallway when they heard the ping of the arriving elevator.

The woman who came into the room had a torn lip with a streak of blood running down her chin, the skin around her right eye was swelling, the front of her t-shirt was spattered with blood, her sleeve was torn and bloody. She walked as if she were in pain.

Karen gasped. Lucky almost screamed. “What on earth happened to you?”

Moonlight put her hand to her face. “I almost forgot what with the adrenaline high. This is going to hurt like heck when I come down. Now I know why I got such funny looks in the lobby.”

“Matthew?” Karen asked. “Surely, Matthew didn’t do that to you?”

Lucky rushed to the bathroom. She pulled a towel off the rack and ran warm water over it.

“No, Mrs. Keller, in all honesty I can say Matt didn’t lay a finger on me. Thanks, Mom.” She took the towel and began wiping at her face and hands. She looked at Jonathan Burgess. “Matt and Chief Keller are at the RCMP station. Matt can identify the man who killed Barry Caseman. Turns out he ran because he thought it was a case of mistaken identity and the killer was after him.”

Karen burst into another round of tears. Lucky’s legs gave way and she dropped onto the bed.

“I wonder why he’d think that?” Moonlight continued. “You’ll be interested to know Matt’s pretty sure he knows who sent the killer. Seems he saw the guy with his employer in Calgary recently. Fascinating, eh, Mr. Burgess?”

Jonathan headed for the closet. He pulled out his suitcase and began throwing clothes into it. “In that case, I’ll be heading home. I’ve missed important meetings dealing with this situation.”

Lucky’s head spun. She glanced at Karen, watching Jonathan in confusion. “This isn’t over,” Lucky said. “I think you should stay…”

“That’s an excellent idea,” Moonlight said. “You might want to call your lawyer on the way.”

“When you’re ready to come home, Karen, rent a car.” Jonathan snapped his suitcase shut, scooped his keys off the table. He threw Moonlight a look of pure rage. Then he opened the door and left.

Moonlight sat down. She let out a long painful breath, and put one hand against her chest.

“What was that all about?” Lucky said.

“I’m sure we’ll find out. Eventually. I have to go to the station. Why don’t you come with me, Mrs. Keller? They’ll let you see Matt for a few minutes.”

Chapter Sixty-five

GRIZZLY RESORT. OUTSIDE TRAFALGAR, BRITISH COLUMBIA. WEDNESDAY MORNING.

John Winters’ alarm shrilled and he slapped it before it could disturb Eliza. He laid in the dark, listening to the steady drumbeat of rain pounding on the roof. Whipped by unusually high winds, branches moaned and scratched against the window.

Perfect.