by Louise Clark
Stormy crouched, muscles tensing, gaze glued to the busy squirrel.
The squirrel's going to fall, the cat's sure of it. He's not going to let that wretched little beast get away this time!
"I'll leave you to it," Roy said. The squirrel reached the end of the branch. It sagged down under the animal's weight, then bounced back up. The squirrel used the momentum from the branch's swing to launch himself across an impossibly wide divide to a branch on another tree. As the squirrel flew through the air, Stormy took off after him, streaking along the ground with precisely the right amount of speed to have him where he needed to be if the squirrel missed his target. Unfortunately, the squirrel landed with acrobatic ease on the new branch. He raced along it, away from the danger Stormy represented, still chattering, though now Roy thought he heard a distinctly gloating tone to the sound. On the ground, Stormy crouched, tail lashing, as the squirrel disappeared into the canopy.
Roy called Ellen and told her Stormy was busy chasing squirrels. Ellen made disapproving noises, but mentioned she was going to dinner with Trevor. Having an appropriate opening, Roy offered to look after Stormy for the evening. Ellen thanked him and said Trevor was picking her up in a half an hour. Roy told her to have a good time and not to worry about the cat. That duty completed, he got on with putting together dinner fixings.
He was out on the deck, barbequing a steak, when Bernie called and suggested Roy come over at eight. The timing was perfect. He could finish his meal and still have time to put on a clean shirt and comb his hair before he started the twenty-minute trek to the suburb where the Oshalls lived.
* * *
"Hi, Dad. How's it going?" Quinn had decided to call home and let his father know they'd arrived safely while he waited for Christy and Noelle to dress for dinner. He'd already replaced his shorts and a T-shirt with slacks and a front button shirt. With time to spare, he was lounging on the sofa in the living room of the two-bedroom suite they were sharing.
"Quinn!" On the other end of the phone line Roy's voice sounded pleased. "I was just getting dinner ready. How was the flight?"
Different, Quinn wanted to say. He'd logged hundreds of hours in the air, in all sorts of aircraft, but he'd never had a flight quite like this one. He, Christy, and Noelle had changed seats three times before the plane took off, as Noelle tested out the middle, aisle and finally the window seat, where she settled. Christy sat beside her, in the middle, so he'd been beside her in the aisle seat, but her attention for most of the flight had been on Noelle.
The hell of it was his attention had been on Noelle too. She'd prattled on about what she was seeing through the window, what she expected to see at Disneyland, what the people in the other seats were doing, and how many flight attendants there were. He knew the kid was wired because they were going to Disneyland, but the flight, which was less than three hours, had felt longer than a non-stop to Europe.
"Uneventful," he said to his father.
"Really?" said Roy. There was laughter in his voice, damn it.
Quinn persevered. "We took off on schedule and landed on time. No bumps on the flight. We checked into the hotel mid-afternoon, then headed down to the pool. It's gorgeous here."
By the time they'd retrieved their baggage and found their way to the car rental kiosk, it was well past lunch. Everyone was hungry, so as soon as they finished the negotiations for their rental car, they piled in and headed off to find a place to eat.
Not so easy. L.A. was a city of freeways and high volume traffic. Figuring out where places were before the exit was upon them was tougher than he'd expected. Christy sat beside him, handling the map the car agency had given them, a guidebook she'd brought for the trip, and the GPS, but they still got lost. In the backseat, Noelle fell asleep when they were halfway to Pasadena. At that point Christy had suggested they check in, then have an early dinner at the hotel. Relieved, Quinn had focused on getting them there in one piece.
Traveling with a family was far different than going solo or even with another adult. The basics were the same, but the patterns were different. He hadn't realized it before, but his dad had, which was why Roy was laughing at him, of course.
"We're off to dinner at one of the theme restaurants in the resort. Noelle picked it," he said. He thought his tone had that obnoxious sound of deliberate cheerfulness in the face of impending disaster and mentally cursed himself. Just because the damned restaurant had a princess theme and was the size of a baseball field didn't mean the food wasn't good. Besides, food wasn't always key to enjoying a meal; the experience was also part of it. He'd eaten combat rations in Afghanistan and enjoyed every bite, simply because it was proof he'd survived another day. He could manage mega restaurant food just fine.
"Really?" Roy said again. He chuckled this time. "Family fare. Make sure you chase it down with a bottle of wine. That's what your mother and I always did when we were traveling with you."
"Good advice," Quinn said lightly. He didn't know why he was so edgy. He'd been the one to suggest the trip. He wanted to travel as a family with Christy and Noelle.
"Frank and I are going to see Bernie and Emily Oshall this evening," Roy said, apparently tiring of teasing his only child.
"You're taking Frank? Really?"
"Yeah. He's feeling a bit blue since Christy and Noelle left. I've also got an appointment to meet with Mitch Crosier tomorrow."
"I'm not worried about Bernie, but Crosier might be the killer. Be careful when you talk to him, Dad. Okay?"
"Of course," Roy said amicably. "I'll take Frank with me. No one takes a guy who visits with his cat seriously."
Quinn closed his eyes for a moment, then said, "Good idea."
Roy chuckled and switched subjects abruptly. "Haven't heard how Three did with the cops yet. He planned to pick up Ellen right after he finished talking to Patterson. They're having dinner together tonight."
"Really?"
"Yeah," said Roy. "At Seasons in the Park."
Quinn grinned. "Wait till I Christy. Maybe she won't have to worry about Ellen buying a new condo. Maybe she'll move back to her old one." Trevor was renting Ellen's condo where Brittany Day had been murdered, the one Ellen had so far refused to return to. Things could change though.
Roy laughed. "Don't get her hopes up. Three always was catnip to the ladies. That's why he ended up getting divorced from Sledge's mom."
"I thought it was pressures of work."
"That was the excuse they told Sledge. There was an issue of several women on the side as well."
Interesting how a person perceived things at different points in his life, Quinn thought. At fourteen he couldn't see Trevor as an attractive male. He could only imagine him as an overworked lawyer and an underachieving dad. And yet he'd evidently been something of a rogue as well.
The door to the room Christy and Noelle were sharing opened and they emerged, hand in hand. Quinn's breath caught at the sight of them. Christy was wearing a sleeveless dress of marine blue silk that hugged her body and stopped somewhere mid thigh. On her feet were heels that made her legs look long and slender. Noelle also had a dress on. It was a bright, primary yellow, and sleeveless like her mother's. The skirt was full and when she saw Quinn looking at them, she twirled energetically to show him how the fabric belled out.
"Gotta go, Dad. My dates for the evening are here."
"Enjoy," Roy said, and hung up.
Quinn disconnected more slowly. He was still trying to deal with the surge of pleasure and pride that was washing through him. Christy smiled, a little shyly, he thought. He needed to say something, the right something, to let her know how glad he was they were all here together.
He went over to them and extended his hands, first to Noelle, then, with a special smile, to Christy. "Miss Jamieson. Mrs. Jamieson. Would you do me the honor of joining me for dinner tonight? I have a table reserved at a special restaurant, one where only princesses are welcome."
Noelle giggled. "I'm not a princess."
Qui
nn grinned at her. He raised their joined hands to touch her lightly on the nose in an unconsciously affectionate gesture. "Sure you are. You're a Jamieson princess, just like your mother."
Christy laughed. "Now I know you're teasing."
He wanted to tell her that she was wrong, that she was his princess, his brave and sexy princess, but he couldn't say the intimate words in front of Noelle. Someday, maybe, but not yet. Something must have shown in his eyes, though, because he heard Christy's breath catch and saw her eyes darken.
Elation lapped through him, slow, steady and sustaining. He smiled again and said, "Come on, you two. Let's go find the restaurant and show everyone in the hotel what a lucky guy I am."
Noelle giggled and did a little skip, tugging at his hand. "Tonight I'm a princess and tomorrow I go to Disneyland. Yea!"
Christy laughed at her daughter's enthusiasm and smiled up at him. In that moment he thought that dinner at the princess restaurant would be the best meal he'd ever had.
Chapter 12
"Patterson has a source," Trevor said. "But she won't tell me who it is."
Ellen frowned. She and Trevor were walking in Queen Elizabeth Park, a large green space on the residential west side. In the early days of Vancouver, it had been the stone quarry for the fast growing city. The old stone works had been reclaimed and turned into gorgeous quarry gardens, with flowerbeds designed to bloom all season long. Now, in the spring, the cherry trees were in flower, and spring bulbs brought bright color to the plantings.
The park was one of Ellen's favorite places to walk and think. Trevor had brought her here an hour before their dinner reservation at the nearby Seasons in the Park, so that they could meander through the delightful paths while they discussed the murder. It made her think that he loved this place as much as she did, and that warmed her in ways she wasn't sure she wanted to investigate. Focusing on the murder was a good way to keep their leisurely stroll impersonal.
Ellen didn't have a high opinion of Detective Patterson, so she wasn't surprised that the woman wouldn't be willing to share information with Trevor. "If Kyle Gowdy's records are sealed, she can't use them against him, can she?"
"She can get them unsealed if she has enough proof to convince a judge to do it," Trevor said grimly. "For that, she has to have a solid case against Kyle Gowdy."
"In the meantime, she knows the crime he was convicted for, so that is going to influence her clue gathering."
Trevor's lips quirked. "That's the polite way to describe it."
"The person who told Patterson about Kyle's record must have been in our suite."
Trevor nodded. "My thought exactly." He was wearing a well-cut dark suit. His shirt was a pearl gray and his tie marine blue. The colors enhanced his silver hair and the suit his trim waist and hips. To Ellen he looked as polished and sophisticated as the restaurant he was taking her to for dinner.
Their shoes clicked on the path as they wandered along. Ellen had chosen navy blue heels, not quite stilettos, for the evening. She told herself it was because they matched the feminine navy lace sheath over a shimmering silk liner she'd decided to wear, not that they made her legs look long and slender. She'd noticed Trevor looking at her legs earlier when he helped her out of the car. The look had sent a little rush of pleasure through her and made her glad she'd chosen the ultra feminine dress. The sheath was quite stunningly beautiful and it made her feel beautiful too, even now, when it was hidden by the coat she was wearing.
She said thoughtfully, "If he was with us in the suite, it narrows the field."
"Considerably. I can't believe Hammer or his parents would provide the details. By my reckoning there were only a few people who would have that information. Like Bernie Oshall, for instance."
"I thought he was Sledge's friend." As soon as she said the words Ellen gave herself a mental headshake. She couldn't believe she was talking about people called Sledge and Hammer in such a normal everyday way. Really, she should be calling both by their given names, Rob and Graham. But with everyone else, including Trevor, Sledge's father, calling them by the ridiculous nicknames, it was almost impossible to remember the more appropriate designation. She would have to try harder.
"He is," Trevor said. "But Bernie was around when Sledge and Hammer got together and started SledgeHammer. I'm not sure how much he knew about Hammer and his family, but I don't think Kyle's situation was ever a secret."
"So we have one possibility. We can eliminate Quinn and Roy, of course."
"And me!" Trevor said.
Ellen laughed. "And you. Who does that leave us?"
"Mitch and Kim Crosier, and Syd Haynes."
"A rather short list," Ellen said and Trevor nodded.
They descended a set of rock-hewn stairs into one of the reclaimed quarry gardens. The scent of freesia was heavy in the air. Ellen breathed deep, letting the beauty of the place sink into her. They walked past a middle-aged couple dressed casually. Probably tourists. The thought was confirmed when the woman, smiling, asked in broken English if Trevor or Ellen would take a picture of her and her husband in front of the flower bed.
"Of course!" Trevor said, friendly and accommodating in a way Ellen had never been, and probably never would be. Had she been alone she would have walked past the couple without acknowledging them. As she watched the woman and her husband, too, instruct Trevor on the workings of the camera, all of them laughing, she wondered if perhaps she should rethink some of her basic behaviors.
Trevor lifted the camera; the couple posed and he snapped the picture. He took two more shots, then let the couple check the results and offer enthusiastic thanks before he caught Ellen's elbow and moved on. "I doubt Crosier or his wife knows about Kyle's record. That leaves Syd."
"So it was probably Bernie or Syd. That makes sense. They were both involved in Rob and Graham's lives prior to their becoming famous."
Trevor raised his brows at her use of the formal names, but he didn't comment. "I suppose I should check out Crosier too. He might have heard about it somewhere."
"And Vince Nunez, their manager. He knew them early on. Surely he'd know about Kyle's record."
"Good point. I'll ask Sledge—" His mouth quirked into a half smile. "Rob—what Vince knows about Graham's family."
Ellen became aware that she was smiling—smiling!—simply because Trevor had followed her lead and used his son's proper name. It made her realize how much she liked the way his attention made her feel.
"Thank you for suggesting we come early to walk through the gardens before we went in for dinner," she said. "I was amazed at how empty the house seemed without Noelle scampering around." She smiled faintly. "I found myself talking to the cat the way Christy does, almost as if I expected the creature to talk back." She looked over at Trevor as she spoke and wasn't surprised to see amusement in his eyes, though it was carefully hidden in his expression. His reaction wasn't unexpected, but she thought it was kind of him not to laugh at her over her silliness.
"This is my favorite time of year," Trevor said. "It makes me believe anything is possible."
"Yes! I feel the same way," Ellen said. They reached the end of the garden and the path, bordered by grass and plantings of mature cherry trees, wound up hill. The trees were in full, glorious, bloom, with masses of small pink blossoms that created a fragrant canopy overhead. As she admired the scene, Ellen wished she had a camera with her, or had brought her phone, so she could capture a memory of it. She understood why the tourists were so busy snapping pictures. This was an image she wouldn't want to forget. Mentally she shrugged and told herself she was being sentimental. She would be able to return next spring and see the cherry blossoms again.
"Hope is important," she said. "The last six months have been difficult, filled with betrayals and changes in my life I would not have predicted a year ago."
"You're talking about the trustees and Frank."
"I forget that you didn't know us when Christy was searching for Frank, and as it turned out, his mur
derer. Yes, the trustees betrayed all of us—Christy most particularly—but me as well, because I worked with them for years and had no idea they each had a base nature they indulged, but kept hidden. The changes, well you know why I feel so negatively about Patterson."
He nodded at that. "Being accused of murder puts a stain on your soul, particularly if you aren't guilty. It's why I became a defense attorney. The police work hard to find solid evidence and figure out the culprit. Usually they get it right—but sometimes they don't. It's the mistakes that motivated me and kept me going."
"I'm glad you were on my side," Ellen said, and meant it. She flashed him a smile. Trevor smiled back. "That horrible situation shook up my whole world so thoroughly I still feel unsettled. I don't know how many apartments I have viewed, but I can't seem to commit to any of them. There is always some flaw about the place, that later, when I think back about it, wasn't all that important. Yet, at the time I feel it is so huge that I couldn't bear to live in that particular unit because of it."
"Change takes a while to adjust to," Trevor said. "When I was diagnosed with cancer, I had all the prescribed medical treatment. Then the disease went into remission and I decided I needed to live life instead of living to work. So I retired and moved to Salt Spring Island. Slower lifestyle. Fresh air. Worked in the garden. Read a lot of books. Traveled to China and India and South America, too." His lips twitched. "South America was because of Sl... Rob. I followed the band on one of their tours, for a while at least. I couldn't handle the pace they set, though, so I gave up in Argentina and went back to Salt Spring. When Roy called and asked for my help, I was ready for a new challenge." He looked down at Ellen, his expression grave. "If your crisis had happened a year earlier I wouldn't have been. I'd have referred Roy to someone here and gone back to my garden."
"I'm glad you didn't do that."
"I am too. The thing is, Ellen, when the time comes for you to make a change, you'll know. It will seem right and you won't be filled with doubts."
"I'm sure you're right," she said. Her tone sounded dubious to her. She hoped that Trevor wouldn't notice. She didn't want him to think that she didn't appreciate his pep talk. She did. But... she wasn't ready to accept it. Inner amusement at her silliness brought a smile to her mouth even as she changed the subject back to the reason he'd invited her out in the first place.
