Closing Time

by Brenda Chapman

  “You went along as his alibi. What changed your mind, Blaine?”

  “We’re done working together, and I don’t owe him anything. Also, I liked that kid, Rachel. I could see where she was coming from. Doing anything to fit in. Thinking if she put out, she’d be popular. Problem was, she just got herself used … and then murdered. The users never give a shit about anybody but themselves.”

  “Did Ian sleep with her, too?”

  Blaine turned his head to stare at Rouleau. His eyes were red and watery, perhaps from the wind or from the tears that were threatening behind his eyelids. “I can’t be sure, but my guess is yeah. She came by our cabin once when she thought he’d be there. She acted as if she wanted to talk to me, but I knew otherwise. I watched her walk away in the direction of the dock where he was fishing.”

  “How soon was that before she died?”

  “A week. Five days maybe.”

  “Where’s Ian now?”

  “He took a boat out to go fishing. I expect him late afternoon.”

  Taiku circled them and started back the way they’d come. He stopped several metres away and returned to run around them again.

  “Dog could have been a sheepherder,” said Blaine. “Man, I miss my two boys.”

  “Will you make a statement once Officer Stonechild returns?”

  Blaine took his time answering, but squared his shoulders and nodded. “If it gets me home and helps to end this mess, then I will. Like I said, I don’t owe that guy one damn thing.”

  “I’m so glad your baby is doing well,” said Kala, glancing across at Clark. He’d wanted to drive and she hadn’t argued. She was overheated and tired, and the idea of being chauffeured around was appealing.

  “Me, too.” He shot her a sideways grin. “Valerie and Jordan will spend the day at the hospital, so my guilt level isn’t through the roof being here with you instead of with them.”

  “Rouleau and I could have handled a few more days if you’d needed the time.”

  “I know.” He waited for two cars going the opposite direction to pass by before turning into the church parking lot. “I’m committed to seeing this case through. I guess you know the feeling.”

  “Are we incapable of putting family first?” she mused aloud, not certain she wanted to know the answer. Not surprised when he changed the subject without responding.

  “Is that Father Vila’s car?” Clark craned his face toward the windshield to get a better look at the licence plate.

  “Yes, so he’s here.” She breathed a sigh of relief. She’d worried that the Church would have already moved him to avoid another scandal.

  Clark pulled in next to the car and rested both arms on the steering wheel when he turned to look at her. “Valerie understands that I have to work long hours. She knew it when she married me and she wants kids despite my job. We wouldn’t be together otherwise.”

  “But what about Valerie? What about her dreams and needs?”

  “If I didn’t believe she wanted this life, I would never have asked her to marry me. We had many a frank discussion when we were dating, believe me. I also support her every way and chance I get.”

  “Like how?”

  “We hired a cleaner so she doesn’t have to worry about housework. We’ve already lined up a sitter so we can go on date night once a week and she can go to fitness classes during the day. There are ways to make busy lives work, Stonechild. You just have to stay open.”

  “Maybe.” She got out of the car and waited for him at the front entrance. She and Gundersund had never spoken about marriage or anything long-term. He’d said once that his marriage to Fiona had taken its toll on him. Being tied down wasn’t all he’d imagined when they’d moved in together. He was glad they’d never had kids because if they did he never would have left her. All of these small confessions told over the course of their friendship haunted her now.

  “You should do the talking,” said Clark when he reached her. “I’ll stay in the background.”

  “Leap in if I’m getting nowhere.”

  “You’ll do fine.”

  They returned to the basement. Ethel was absent from the reception desk and Kala was happy not to have to go through her to get to Father Vila. She walked ahead of Clark straight to Vila’s office and rapped on the door, pushing it open at the same time. The priest had been lying on the couch with a forearm resting across his eyes, but he swung his feet onto the floor and sat up when she stepped into the room. His eyes were bleary with sleep and he blinked as he focused on her walking toward him.

  “Sorry to disturb you, Father. We have more questions if you have a moment.”

  “I was resting. I spent the night with a parishioner who was taken to Emergency after supper. She died at dawn.”

  “I’m sorry.” Kala didn’t believe he’d told her this to make himself look good, but rather to explain why he was sleeping on the job. She could see genuine sadness in his eyes.

  He ran a hand through his hair in an attempt to straighten it and yawned. He took a deep breath. Pushed back his shoulders. “Okay, then. What do you need to know?”

  He seemed more resigned than upset, and Kala wondered about that. Was he ready to tell them the truth or was he unconcerned because he had been telling the truth all along? She sat in the chair across from him. Clark pulled the other chair to the side and sat down. Father Vila looked at him.

  “I prayed for your son and am so happy that he’s doing well. Praise God.”

  Clark tilted his head by way of acknowledgement but stayed silent. Kala drew Vila’s attention back to her. “We’ve had more information come our way about an incident between you and Rachel. Is there anything that you would like to share now before we get any deeper into what went on?”

  “As you know, I cannot speak about anything Rachel confessed to me.”

  “But she’s dead, Father. Surely, this negates the vow to protect her privacy if whatever she told you leads to her killer.” She wasn’t certain that she’d kept the frustration out of her voice. Too many times priests had hidden behind the Church and its rules to protect themselves. Too many lives had been damaged by their silence.

  “Her mother walked in on you sitting with Rachel on the couch you’re resting on now. You were touching her leg and her top buttons were undone. Isabelle sensed that something was going on between you of a physical nature.”

  “I know how that looked, but she was wrong. Rachel assured me that she would explain everything to her mother, but I believe now that she did not.”

  “Explain it to me then.”

  “Rachel was crying in the hall when service finished. I brought her into my office and asked her what was wrong. We sat on the couch — I wasn’t thinking about appearances because she was so upset, and I was trying to comfort her. She calmed down enough to tell me that Darryl had tried to kiss her and then gotten angry when she’d pushed him away. I guess her blouse came undone in the process. Her mother walked in when I patted her leg. Rachel yelled at her to get out, which she did. When Rachel calmed down, we talked over her situation, including her anger with her mom. She told me that she’d apologize and clear up any misunderstanding.”

  Kala watched him throughout this recital. He spoke carefully without appearing to embellish, which would have been a red flag that he was lying. His eyes didn’t waver on hers. She asked, “Can you tell me more about her situation, knowing that what you say will not go any further unless it has direct relevance to her murder? To be honest, Father, we are no closer to solving her death or that of Thomas Faraday than we were at the start of all this business. We need your help.”

  He folded his hands in his lap and studied them while she waited. She chanced a glance at Clark, who was also sitting stock still, watching the priest mull over what he would do. Time felt suspended; an uneasy lull that built in intensity with every silent moment. When she didn’t think she could wait any longer, Father Vila raised his eyes to hers.

  “Rachel was troubled. She believed
herself in love with a married man. She’d put on moral blinders, believing that their romantic love was pure.”

  In her mind Kala went through the list of married men at the lodge that last night when Rachel had served them supper. Neal Lorring, Shane Patterson, Phil Bocock, and Reeve Judd Neilson. Ian Kruger was engaged … would Rachel have thought of him as married? She asked, “Did she name him?”

  Father Vila paused again and Kala resisted the urge to get up and shake him. Telling her this information went against his code, but her frustration grew with every passing second. He sighed deeply. “She said that he was her teacher. The … affair started this summer when they met up to discuss her writing.”

  “Did she say his name?”

  “Not specifically.”

  “Phil Bocock was mentoring her in English. He was at the restaurant the evening Rachel was murdered.”

  “Then he’s likely the one.”

  Kala knew that Vila could be lying to save his own skin, but everything he’d said held the ring of truth. Not all priests were complicit. She had to look past the fact that he was young and attractive, and past her own feelings about the Catholic Church’s demand for celibacy that had resulted in so many priests violating members of their congregations. Her own parents had been abused in a residential school by priests just like this one. Yet Father Vila could be an exception. She had to remain skeptical, yet she hoped for his goodness.

  “We will be following up.” She didn’t attempt to disguise the threat implicit in her words.

  Father Vila bowed his head but said nothing.

  Kala stood and looked down at him. She was honestly curious. “What did you counsel Rachel when she told you that she was seeing a married man?”

  “I advised her that the married man had made a solemn vow to his wife that he would be faithful to her, and the sin was his to bear — but that she should search her heart, where she would find the truth about the relationship. I told Rachel that she would know true love one day and to be patient. I also asked her if she wanted to report Darryl to the authorities, but she said he wasn’t a threat. I pray that this wasn’t the wrong decision. That I didn’t fail her.”

  “Thank you for being so candid with us, Father. I know that this wasn’t easy for you.”

  “I have to believe that Rachel would want you to know about this man so that you can find her killer. She loved her parents even as she was trying to break free. They deserve answers so that they can find peace. I believe in my heart that Rachel would want this.”

  Clark didn’t speak until they were on their way up the stairs that led to the main entrance. “Do you believe him?”

  Kala smiled. “You’re asking me this in a house of God?”

  “Too sacrilegious?”

  “At least wait until we get outside.”

  They left the church and reached the parking lot before Kala spoke again. “I think we should go speak with Phil Bocock without his wife present.”

  “So you believe Father Vila.”

  “Going against my agnostic nature, you mean?”

  “On the contrary, I always think of you as the most spiritual person I know.”

  “But I will admit that I’m not much for organized religion. The Catholic Church has ruined many lives, including my parents’. However, in this case, yes. I tend to believe Father Vila. Everything about him spoke to a man wrestling with his conscience, but I think his dilemma was about breaking a confession rather than something he’d done. I could have leapt to the wrong conclusion initially.”

  “Past priest behaviour gives cause. However, I tend to agree that he appeared truthful. Based on what he said, Darryl Kelly’s gone up a few spots on the suspect list, as well as Phil Bocock.”

  Kala opened the passenger door. “As well as Greta Bocock, but at least we’re starting to get past the secrets and are coming up with a few answers. We’re onto something here, Harrison. My spidey-sense is tingling.”

  He looked at her over the car roof as he pulled open his car door. “Then let’s go spin the web, Stonechild, and see what bugs we catch in our net.”

  She groaned softly at his clumsy metaphor as she climbed into the car and slammed the door.

  Rouleau knew he couldn’t return to Kingston yet. Not with this new information that needed to be shared with Stonechild and Harrison. He left Blaine on the beach and walked Taiku back to Stonechild’s cabin. Taiku seemed happy enough to go inside out of the wind, eat a few biscuits, and lie down on the couch for a snooze. “No wonder they call it a dog’s life,” said Rouleau, sitting down next to him. He rubbed Taiku’s head and the dog’s tail thumped on the seat cushion.

  Rouleau thought about driving into Searchmont to call Stonechild but didn’t want to leave Pine Hollow Lodge in case Ian arrived back early from his fishing trip. He got up, restless to do something to help move the case along. A day driving around with Stonechild had whetted his appetite for being in the field again and he was sorry that their time together had ended so abruptly. He’d have liked to see the case through with her. He stopped in front of the picture window and looked toward the lake. A lone figure was sitting on the dock, sideways to the shoreline. He repositioned himself to get a better view through the trees and recognized Petra’s blond hair blowing around her head, brilliant in the sunshine reflecting off the water.

  It all comes back to you. The idea came out of nowhere, but he realized that her drunken entrance into the restaurant the evening before had left him wondering.

  Taiku didn’t stir from the couch when Rouleau opened the front door, so he walked alone down the incline to the beach. The wind masked his approach and he waited on shore, watching Petra in profile. She had both hands resting on the dock behind her and was leaning back with her face turned toward the sun, positioned so that her body angled slightly toward the deeper water. She was wearing rolled-up denim jeans and her bare feet dangled above the lake. Her loose white shirt billowed around her with each gust of wind. When she swivelled her head to look at him through dark sunglasses, he jumped onto the dock and clumped across its rough surface toward her.

  “Detective Rouleau,” she said. “Imagine meeting you here. Please join me in enjoying the last of the summer heat.”

  He lowered himself next to her. “The wind is up,” he said. “That doesn’t bother you?” The waves weren’t as large as at the open beach, but they were still a good height. The spray was a fine mist coating them with each rolling hill of water. Refreshing with the heat of the sun beating down on them.

  “The best kind of tanning weather.” She adjusted her shirt so that her shoulders were bared to the sky. She smiled. “What can I do for you, Officer?”

  He wondered if her overt sexuality was so second nature that she wasn’t aware of its effect. Was she the catalyst for the strong emotions running through the lodge?

  “I’m sorry you’ve had to change your plans to stay here so long,” he said.

  “Me, too. I’m not exactly a country gal.”

  “Shane seems to like it here.”

  “He’s welcome to stay then. We’re separating.”

  He’d hoped that he could lead her into talking about her marriage and was surprised at how easily the conversation turned to this topic. The scene in the restaurant the night before had poked an opening into the wall of silence uniting the lodgers. “I can’t imagine that this has been an easy decision,” he said.

  “Easy for Shane. He changed the rules and forgot to tell me.”

  “The rules?”

  “I don’t want to shock you.”

  “I promise not to be.”

  She stared at him through her sunglasses and flashed a crooked half-smile. “We have … had … an open marriage. I began to suspect that he wanted me to settle down with just him, but he never actually said so and I never would have agreed anyhow. I like sex. I like sex with different people.” Her voice was becoming agitated. “He couldn’t expect to drag me out here, work long hours, and think I’d simply sit
like his trained dog in the cabin waiting for his crumbs, now could he?”

  “You were having sex with Ian Kruger.” Rouleau wasn’t asking. He already knew.

  Her laughter felt off to Rouleau — too loud and tinged with hysteria. When she stopped, her mouth feigned a pout. Her voice was meant to be flirty. “Why Officer, are you wanting me to kiss and tell? Shame on you.”

  Rouleau smiled so that she didn’t feel foolish, but he kept speaking in the same level tone. “I’m only trying to understand the relationships at Pine Hollow Lodge and to see where Rachel Eglan and Thomas Faraday fit in.”

  “Neither of them fit in. They stuck their noses where they didn’t belong. I didn’t like either one of them, if we’re being honest.”

  “Rachel was fifteen at the start of the summer. Little more than a child.”

  “Huh! You’d like to think. She was coming on to every man she came across … well, maybe not Thomas, but only because he was old and ugly.” The laugh again.

  “Did anyone take Rachel up on her come-ons?”

  “I couldn’t say.”

  “Shane?”

  “You’d have to ask him, but I wouldn’t care if he had.”

  Petra’s head swivelled so that she was looking past Rouleau toward the shoreline. Her body tensed but she kept her gaze focused on something. Rouleau shifted so that he could see what had caught her attention. It took two scans of the trees before he saw Neal Lorring standing in front of a clump of cedars, dressed in a green T-shirt and brown pants and blending into the foliage. When he saw them looking, Neal waved and started walking down the incline toward them.

  “He was watching us until he saw that we’d spotted him,” said Petra, averting her face so that Neal couldn’t see her mouth moving. “If you want to know who Rachel was sleeping with, look no —” She broke off the sentence as Neal stepped onto the dock.