Dan Sharp Mysteries 4-Book Bundle (87 page)

F
or
the second straight day, Zack Woodhouse parked his car a few doors down from the Munroe driveway just after seven a.m. He had a clear view of the house but wasn't in direct view if Della looked out the window. The day before, a couple of times, he'd seen her standing in the living room, arms crossed and looking out. A mom and little girl came mid-morning and drove away with the Munroe kid but had him back before lunchtime. Della hadn't left the house.

Woodhouse organized his Thermos of coffee, large bottle of coke, three peanut butter sandwiches, two Coffee Crisps, and two packs of chips on the seat and hunkered down. It was going to be a sunny, warm day once the morning chill burned off. Thank Christ for small mercies. The windshield and windows were tinted so he was barely visible from the outside. He'd brought binoculars and took a few seconds to scan the Munroe yard and windows. All quiet on the western front. Not a creature was stirring.

Damn that old dog Chalmers for bailing again today, although Woodhouse had to admit he'd have done the same that close to retirement. If Chalmers was here with him now, he'd have the seat back and would be sawing logs. They'd go for a long liquid lunch around noon and claim overtime. The report would be fabricated accordingly. Woodhouse hated to think about the changes that were sure to happen with Chalmers gone.

He shifted the seat back to give himself more room to stretch out his legs. He ate one of the sandwiches and polished off the coffee. Some of her neighbours left for work or school. It wasn't the best end of town, but safe enough during the day. A few blocks over on Princess Street you could get yourself tattooed and pierced before going for a drink in a scum line bar. Could probably get a mini-skirted escort out on the street, no problem. Could even join a biker gang if you were so inclined.

The morning passed slowly. He had a bladder like a camel's hump but even it had limits. The pressure was getting uncomfortable. Nobody would be the wiser if he headed over to the community centre down the street to relieve himself. After all, if Rouleau had cared that much, he would have sent someone to spell him off now and then. They wouldn't have left him alone all day like an outcast on a deserted island.

A side mirror check and he caught the glint of sunlight bouncing off a car as it slowly pulled into a space three houses down. Woodhouse kept his eyes on the mirror, hoping some hot chick in short shorts and a skin-tight top would slide out of the open door. He was disappointed to see a young East Indian kid in his mid-twenties finally step onto the street. Disappointment turned to suspicion as it normally did whenever he saw a member of the jihad nation. As Chalmers liked to say, nothing wrong with keeping a watchful eye on the movements of citizens from the terrorist countries.

The kid took his time locking his car, a new black Nissan Sentra, before he checked up and down the street.

“Now just what are you up to, my lovely?” Woodhouse said out loud.

He picked up his binoculars and angled the side mirror to read the licence plate. He repeated the number to himself a couple of times as he searched for a pen in the front dash. He jotted down the plate number at the top of the newspaper he'd picked up along with the bag of salt and vinegar chips. Task completed, he looked up and surveyed the street. Where had the kid gone? It was like he'd disappeared into thin air. Woodhouse sighed. They were a race that had learned to make themselves invisible when need be. Stonechild's people had the same gene. Mostly because they were always up to no good. He picked up the paper again. He may as well check out the sports page and find out if the Jays had gotten another win against the Red Socks. He could wait twenty more minutes before he'd have to answer nature's call.

Della Munroe turned on the Little Mermaid and settled Tommy in front of the television with a bowl of Cheerios while she considered how to get rid of Ghazi, waiting for her in the other room. She also needed a few minutes to collect herself so that he wouldn't sense her rage. Of all the stupid things for him to do, showing up at her doorstep had to be the stupidest.

“You stay here, Tommy, and Mommy will be back in a few minutes.”

He lifted his chin and looked at her, with his father's curly hair flopping in his face. It would be a life-long reminder of her sins.

She took a moment to rake her hands through her hair and to smooth down her purple silk blouse. A glance in the mirror and three deep breaths.
Just get rid of him,
she told herself.
Whatever it takes.

Ghazi was sitting at the table when she entered the kitchen. His eyes were black and angry, the expression on his face was dangerous. She felt a momentary sense of foreboding combined with a rush of heat between her legs. For a split second, she was back to the first time she saw him standing in the hall outside the psychology classroom. He was so perfectly delicious: twenty-two years of raging testosterone. All dark smouldering eyes with the body of a male athlete. He'd been a worthy partner in the sack once he learned to follow her lead. He liked it as rough as she did. After a few months, she'd lost track of who was the teacher and who was the student. The plan came later when she realized he could help her get rid of Brian. It hadn't taken much convincing to have Ghazi take the roughness up a notch and fake the rape. He'd framed it as a favour to help her get away from her domineering husband. Ghazi had started confiding in her after that. She'd found him seriously depraved, dangerous … and exciting. It was too bad he'd become a major liability. His appearance here today confirmed it.

She forced a dazzling smile.

“I wasn't expecting to see you. I thought we'd agreed to cool it until my … predicament concluded.”

“I thought you might want to come with me on another adventure. I know how much you enjoyed hearing about my last one.”

“Who?”

“My whoring sister Nadirah. I want to get to her before she influences my other sisters any further. I think they're on their way to find her. Luckily, I've figured out where she is.”

“How did you do that? Leah never told you anything as I recall, even with your ample … persuasion.” Della shivered as she remembered his lurid description of what he'd done to her. She still didn't understand the lengths he'd gone to over his so-called family honour. It was as twisted an obsession as she'd ever seen.

“I got her co-worker's laptop, which surprised me with intimate details of Leah's life. For instance, Leah grew up in Brockville near to where her family still owns a cottage on the St. Lawrence River. I've got a map of the area and found the location on Google Earth, or close enough that I can get there. It's secluded and the perfect place for Nadirah to hole up.”

“Your sister could be anywhere. She might have left the country even.”

“Not without her sisters. I know Nadirah. She'll want to stay close by until she thinks it's safe to make contact. Then she'll try to get my other sisters to join her. Dalal anyway. Now the two of them have gone missing.”

“Why haven't you gone to get Nadirah already?”

“My father wanted me to hold back and overrode my mother, but now she's decided that Nadirah's behaviour must be punished. We can't wait any longer.”

“What do you intend to do when you find her?”

Ghazi straightened and puffed out his chest as if he was a warrior on a holy crusade. “Save my family's honour. She's better off dead than carrying on like a common slut.”

“Surely your parents wouldn't be pleased if you kill her.”

“Who do you think sent me to avenge our honour and bring back Dalal and Meeza before they also bring shame on the family name?”

He stood and paced from one end of the room to the other, stopping a foot from where she stood. He reached up and grabbed the back of her neck, pulling her to him. His mouth was on hers like a sledgehammer and his tongue forced its way between her lips. She gave in to his deep kiss but broke away as his hand reached up under her blouse and fumbled with the clasp on the front of her bra.

“Not here,” she gasped. “Tommy's in the other room and could come to find me any minute.” She pushed him back and stepped away.

“Fine time for you to act like the good mother.” His eyes blazed but he didn't move toward her. “I just wanted to see you one more time, Della, before … I wanted you to come with me.”

She kept her eyes on him, acutely aware of how unstable he was. The look in his eyes was crazy with the fervent passion of the demented. Why hadn't she seen it before? She needed time to figure out how to neutralize him without being linked to him. They'd been very careful not to be seen together; if she could just get rid of him now, she'd buy some time to come up with a plan.

She traced her hand down his chest. “Baby, I can't just leave Tommy here alone. You go take care of your sisters and we'll meet up to celebrate, I promise. I'll post a message on the board at the entrance of the University Centre next week like I did before. It'll give a time and place to meet up in that code we set up. I'll want a full account of how it goes down today. The wait will be just so sooo exciting.” She slowly circled her tongue around her lips before leaning in to kiss him one more time. She bit his bottom lip before lifting her mouth to whisper into his ear, “Now be my good boy. You go do what you need to do and don't let anyone see you leave. We have to be careful.”

The tension left his body as her hands moved their way down his back. He stepped away from her and smiled a cheeky, little-boy smile. “Okay. One more week. But don't keep me waiting any longer. I can't live without you. You and me belong together, even if we have to keep our love a secret.”

He didn't say from his mother, but she knew that was the fear still barely keeping him in line. She cringed at the veiled threat implicit in his words and their pact that would keep her under his thumb. Letting him pretend to rape her might have been a mistake. The thought of spending her life as the object of his latest obsession was chilling. She ran her fingers across his cheek.

“I want you bad too, Ghazi. Just be a wee bit patient and I'll make the wait well worth your while. We're going to party like there's no tomorrow, and nobody is going to get in our way. I promise you that.”

Woodhouse might have missed seeing the East Indian kid come out of Della Munroe's driveway if he hadn't looked up from the sports section at just that moment. His blood quickened when he realized the boy had come from the back of her house as cool as you please, dark sunglasses hiding his eyes. He turned his head to look up and down the street again before sidling across the road and passing just in front of Woodhouse's car. Woodhouse was worried the kid had spotted him, but relaxed when he hustled on by without anything more than a glance at his car.

Woodhouse tried to ingrain a description of the kid in his memory. He was good-looking enough if you liked that sort: brown-skinned, stylish short haircut, masculine features, and physically fit. He wasn't carrying any merchandise so probably hadn't been on a robbery mission. He'd only been in the Munroe yard for all of fifteen minutes so likely hadn't gotten into too much mischief. The question was, had he been inside the house visiting? If so, why had he come out the back way and why did he keep looking around as if trying to see if anyone had followed him?

Woodhouse heard the Nissan start up, and a few seconds later the kid sped by, one hand holding a cellphone to his ear. He would have liked to stop the kid on principle, but figured he'd better not blow his cover. He looked down at the licence plate number scrawled on the newspaper lying next to him on the passenger seat. Might not hurt to phone the number in and get someone to check on the owner. At the very least, he'd look like he was being thorough, and that wouldn't be a bad thing with Rouleau in charge and a new partner soon. Odds were that he wasn't going to be lucky enough to get another Chalmers in this lifetime.

Woodhouse turned the key in the ignition and eased his car away from the curb. First things first. He'd make the call as soon as he got back from the community centre, otherwise his bladder would be exploding all over the front seat. He winced at the image and at the never-ending hazing that would follow as sure as the sun was going to rise tomorrow. He tried to think of anything but the pressure in his bladder as he sped up the street to a community toilet and some blessed relief.

I
'll
hang back until the girls make contact. When you've explained that I'm also here to help, give me a thumbs up. I'll come over and will take it from there.” Kala checked to make sure Wolf understood she was in charge. They were climbing the stairs to the second floor where the food court was located. He nodded but remained silent. She sensed uncoiled energy and hoped he wouldn't blow this chance to get close to the girls. Even more, she hoped this encounter was going to lead somewhere.

At the head of the stairs, she held back and let Wolf walk ahead toward the Harvey's. He bought a coffee, took a seat at one of the tables, and put his elbows on the armrests, leaning slightly forward, his eyes scanning the other tables without staring at anyone for long. The usual senior citizens sat in groups of two and four, cups of coffee on the tables in front of them. A table of six teenage girls was raising the noise level as everyone spoke that much louder to be heard over their laughter and shrieks. Canned music filled what there were of the empty spaces.

Kala skirted around to a spot closer to an exit where Wolf could see her when he turned around. She'd surveyed the people sitting at the tables and walking by but hadn't seen anyone who fit the description of East Indian pre-teens. The greasy smell of French fries and burgers made her mouth water. Breakfast had been a blueberry yoghurt cup gobbled down on her way out the door.

After ten minutes, Wolf was getting restless. Kala noticed him changing position, crossing and uncrossing his arms, angling his body toward different parts of the room. He'd spotted her early on but managed to avoid glancing her way more than a few times. She thought about buying some fries and taking a seat at the other end of the room at one of the tables. She felt conspicuous lurking around the fringes.

She'd taken two steps toward the Harvey's cashier when she spotted them at the far end of the food court: two girls wearing headscarves, black T-shirts, and long skirts, one blue and the other a green zigzag pattern. The taller one looked about thirteen. Very pretty face with high cheekbones and almond-shaped eyes. The other was a few years younger with a plumper face and mouth drooping slightly open as if she didn't understand what was going on around her.

They held hands as they approached and passed a few feet from her. They'd spotted Wolf and changed course to walk toward him. He stood and smiled as they reached his table. He motioned with his hand for them to sit across from him. They appeared tentative, but sat in the seats after the older girl took a careful look around.

Kala waited for Wolf's signal. He finally lifted his hand in her direction and she walked over after she also took a look around to see if anyone was watching. Satisfied that the girls hadn't been followed, Kala took the empty seat next to Wolf.

“I'm glad you've agreed to meet us,” she said to the taller girl, smiling to ease her fear.

“Wolf told me that Leah couldn't come but you're her friend.” The girl's eyes darted between Kala and Wolf. She was still holding her sister's hand, which rested on the table.

Kala nodded. “That's right. We both want to help you. I work for the police but I'm here as Leah's friend. Can you tell me your names?”

“I'm Dalal Shahan and this is my sister Meeza. We need to find my sister Nadirah. Did Leah tell you where she is?”

“No, but maybe we can sort it out. Did Nadirah run away?”

Meeza's head lifted and she focussed her eyes on Kala. “She's as good as dead to us,” she said, her voice robotic and shrill.

Dalal shushed her before explaining. “She's just repeating.… My mother wasn't happy that Nadirah ran away. She's not going to be happy with us either. We can't go back.”

“How did Nadirah know Leah?” Wolf interjected. “Where does Leah fit into this?”

“They talked through the help line but Nadirah was too scared to do anything like call the police. She got lucky though. Ghazi was taking the same class as Leah at the university, but he skipped it a few times and had Nadirah go in his place. Nadirah recognized Leah's voice from the help line and approached her. Leah agreed to help her leave home because Nadirah was so desperate. My sister wrote everything in her diary.”

Ghazi.
Kala remembered the name from Tadesco's class list. She placed her hand on Wolf's forearm to stop him from talking. “Why did Nadirah have to leave home?” she asked.

“My family believed that she was becoming wild and needed to be controlled. They arranged for her to marry a man, Mr. Khan. Nadirah refused and my parents locked her in her room for a month. When Nadirah got out, she pretended to go along with the idea of marrying Mr. Khan, but she was making plans with Leah to disappear. My parents and my brother Ghazi were very angry when Nadirah left. They've been trying to find her.”

All eyes turned to Meeza, who'd let out a sob. She'd begun shaking uncontrollably. Dalal wrapped an arm around her shoulder, pulling her closer. “It's okay, Meeza. I won't let anything happen. You will not have to see Mr. Khan ever again.”

Kala met Wolf's eyes while Dalal continued to murmur into her sister's ear.

“Has something happened to make Meeza afraid?” Kala asked.

Dalal scowled. “They decided that Meeza would take Nadirah's place so they locked Meeza in her room all week. She's … not handling it very well. Mr. Khan was coming for her today but we ran away. We won't go back.” Her jaw jutted out in defiance. “You can't make us go back.”

What kind of family would give their daughters away? It was beyond comprehension. Kala felt a rage inside that she would have liked to let out. “You're very brave girls, Dalal. We won't make you go back. We're going to help you,” she said. “Where are your parents and Ghazi now?”

Dalal's eyes widened and she looked around the food court as if she suddenly remembered where they were. Panic crossed her face. “They're probably looking for us. We need to find Nadirah. We're going to live with her. She promised.”

A memory of Lily and her ten-year-old self caught in Kala's throat. Lily had made the same promise to her so many years before. A promise that never came true. She coughed to clear the image and to return to the frightened young girls in front of her. “You have no idea where she might have gone?”

Both girls shook their heads.

“I think I might,” Wolf said, his face animated. “Leah would have brought your sister somewhere safe where your family would never find her.” He smiled at Dalal. “Leah would want me to reunite you. I know that for certain. There's only one place she would have brought your sister and I can take us there in an hour or less if we get on the road now.”

“The three of you will have to wait here in Kingston. Tell me where she is and I'll go get her,” Kala said.

“You won't find it on your own,” Wolf said stubbornly. “You'll waste time trying to find the side road and the laneway to Leah's family cottage. You still need me.”

“I have a map. It can't be that hard.”

“It's not marked on maps.”

“We have to come with you,” Dalal said. “We have to find Nadirah.”

“I want Nadirah,” Meeza wailed. “I want Nadirah now!”

Kala looked at Dalal's and Wolf's determined faces and Meeza's mouth widening into a howl. She wasn't going to be able to leave them without a scene. If this place was so hard to find, Ghazi and his parents would have the same difficulty, even if they'd figured out where Leah could have hidden Nadirah. It might be safer to keep these girls with her rather than let their family track them down.

“Well, let's get going then,” she said. “I'll put a call in to my boss so he knows what we're up to.”

She didn't add that she'd wait until they were on their way out of Kingston before calling. Rouleau likely would veto the plan if she called any earlier.

Rouleau woke up to find his father's doctor leaning over him, shaking his shoulder. The fog lifted quickly. “Is my father okay?” he asked, pushing himself upright. “Has something happened?”

“He's awake,” she said, “and asking for you. All of his vitals are stable so he's come through the surgery with flying colours.”

“Good. He had me worried.”

Rouleau followed her through to the semi-private room where they'd moved his dad. He was hooked up to beeping machines and an intravenous drip. Rouleau sat near the head of the bed and covered his father's hand with his own.

“How are you feeling, Dad?”

“Been better.” His dad said the words slowly, but managed a shaky smile afterwards.

“Doc says you'll be home soon. They'll keep you overnight to keep an eye. It was a blocked artery, but all clear now. No lasting damage.”

His father's eyes closed and his breathing deepened. The doctor finished checking the heart monitor and smiled at Rouleau.

“He'll be sleeping the day away if you want to go home and get some sleep. We'll call you if there's any change.”

“I'd like to stay a few more minutes if that's okay.”

“Certainly.”

She left after writing on his father's chart and giving a word to the nurse.

Rouleau held his father's hand and watched the shallow in and out of his father's chest. He tried not to think of what could have been. A few more hours and he wouldn't have made it. The enormity of what Rouleau nearly lost made him want to gather his father into his arms and flee to somewhere safe, where time stood still and they both had their youth and health. A time when his father was the strong one and he was still a child. That time was long past and was now but a bittersweet memory. It was a sad truth that the passage of time left no prisoners. Yet, they had been blessed with a reprieve.

Rouleau kissed his father on the cheek and brushed a lock of white hair back from his forehead. He stood and watched him sleep a while longer, until the fear constricting his own breathing loosened enough for him to walk away and leave his father in the capable hands of Hotel Dieu's medical staff.

Vera reached him as he was driving north on Division toward the station. He put the phone on speaker.

“How's your father?”

“Doing well. I'm on my way in.”

“Stonechild's been trying to reach you.”

“I had to turn my phone off in the cardiac unit. Is everything alright?”

“She has a lead that she's following up on and wanted to let you know. She's on her way to Brockville.”

“Brockville?” Rouleau racked his tired mind. “Leah Sampson grew up there.”

“A girl called the university help line looking for her sister, Nadirah. Stonechild believes that Leah has her holed up near Brockville.”

“Why?”

“Nadirah's family is after her. They aren't happy that she ran away.”

“An honour killing?”

“That's Stonechild's fear. She asked us to pick up Nadirah's brother Ghazi and the parents. She's convinced they had a hand in Leah's murder. Heath agreed there was enough evidence to question them. I sent a unit over about five minutes ago.”

“Good. Where's Gundersund?”

“He called in sick. Should I try to reach him?”

“I don't see the need at this point. I'll be in the office in ten minutes. I'll interview Nadirah's family when they arrive.”

Vera disconnected and Rouleau increased pressure on the gas pedal, the overwhelming fatigue replaced by a surge of adrenaline.

The noise of the shower woke Gundersund for the second time that morning. He moaned and rolled onto his side to check the clock. Five after eleven. Damn.

He rolled out of bed and tried to ignore the pounding in his head as he stood up. His clothes were scattered across the floor. He searched around for his jeans and found them under the bed. Grabbing a clean sweatshirt from the pile on the dresser, he dressed quickly. The effort cost him and he sat back on the bed, pressing his temples between his hands while he concentrated on not puking.

The shower stopped and a moment later Fiona strolled out of the ensuite vigorously drying her hair with a towel. She wore a smile on her face and not much else.

“How are you feeling, lover?” she asked.

“Fiona, I'm not sure how …”

She lifted a hand to stop him talking while her mouth settled into a straight line. “You don't have to say anything, Paul. I know that tone of voice.”

She walked over to the chair where her clothes were neatly folded and began dressing with her back to him. “Last night was fun but you're questioning it this morning.” She hooked her bra in the back before turning. “You didn't have any questions last night.” She attempted a cheeky smile but her bottom lip trembled and the words came out more desperate than teasing.

He looked at his beautiful wife and felt so empty he could have cried. He couldn't forget what she'd done to their marriage; he knew that now. He'd known it even as he'd drunkenly lowered himself onto her the night before in the darkness of his bedroom while she called out his name. He'd made love to her, but the feeling of being close to her never came. Just a hollow sadness. His last thought had been of Stonechild as he drifted off to sleep.

Fiona met his eyes and her face paled. The towel dropped to the floor. She crossed the short distance to him and knelt at his feet, her cheek resting against his leg. He rested his hand lightly on her damp hair.

“It's not going to work, Fiona,” he said. “You must know it too. I thought maybe, but I can't get past you leaving me last year. I can't go back there, to what we were. I wish I could.”

She looked up at him. Her eyes shimmered with tears. “I wish I could take back what I did. It doesn't feel over for me. Can't you just give us some more time? I'll prove to you that I've changed.”

“It's not that easy. I honestly wish it was.”