The room fell silent again as Mark finished his account of past events. The occupants sat in shock, afraid to look at one another. Mark sensed what was happening. Someone in this room knew more than they were letting on, and now he feared who it might be. He turned to his wife, took her hand in his and squeezed.
“Mary, we’ve never spoken about Kallita since that time at the diner. I’ve never asked, but if you have any sense of what happened to Kallita the night she vanished, now’s the time to tell me.” He hoped with all his being that he was wrong, but in his mind, he could not shake the feeling that Mary knew something. “Darling, we need to know.”
Mary shot a glance at Audri, but Audri looked away, not wanting to make eye contact.
“Don’t do that, Aud, don’t look away from me like that. You know as well as I what happened. By the way, where is he? Why isn’t he here?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Audri stood up and stepped toward the front door. “I’ve had enough of this. I’ve gotta go.”
Jim jumped up in front of her to block her way. “No way, not until you tell us what’s going on. What’s Mary talking about? Who isn’t here?”
Audri’s face paled as the apprehension of the moment gripped her. She stumbled and fell back into her chair. “I-I don’t feel well, I have to go home.”
Jim turned to Mark. “Don’t let her leave, I’ll get her something to drink, she’ll be OK.” He dashed into the kitchen and returned with a bottle of water. He offered it to Audri, but she was unresponsive.
Mary knew Audri wasn’t going anywhere. She was flat out in her chair. Her breathing was rapid and shallow, and she was afraid Audri might hyperventilate. Mary touched her hand. Audri’s skin was cold and clammy. Mary recognized the symptoms and knew she had had a severe panic attack. Her training took over. Taking Audri’s wrist in her hand, she checked her pulse.
“Mark, she’s in shock. Jim, get her a blanket, please; we have to keep her warm.”
Chapter 22
Kallita had seen the river many times in her former life, but never like this. From the seclusion of her driver’s seat, she sat and watched as the water flowed past on it’s journey to the bay. From her vantage point, she had a clear view of the bridge and the spot where it happened. She touched her neck as she remembered.
January 1992
It stung like a thousand frozen knife blades jabbing at her skin. Her eyes, fingers, and toes seared with electric pain. The jolt penetrated deep into her body, sapping every fibre of her strength. The shock had awoken her from what? Had she been sleeping? An unseen force carried her along. The inky black, sense-numbing wetness, dragging her ever deeper. She could not fathom it, and all seemed blurry. Her instincts told her not to breathe; rather, she should fight. Fight for her life, it seemed. Mustering all her strength, she rallied. Struggle girl, don’t give up, stretch your arms, you can do it. She flailed around. That’s it! There! What is that? Grab it! She willed her arm to stretch and reach forward. Despite the numbing cold, she felt something solid and grabbed onto it. Kallita fought through the pain as she pulled herself up. Breaking through the thin membrane of ice, she emerged into the cold night air. Exhausted, she gulped the fresh, life-renewing oxygen.
She lingered for only a moment, now cognizant of the fact that she was soaking wet and in a freezing cold river. She needed to get to her car; the car could give her warmth, heat and life-giving energy to save her from—what? Then it came to her—the bridge—the stabbing pain—looking to her left, she saw the boardwalk and the bridge. She had drifted almost to the swampy marsh at the west end of the park. Instinctively, she touched her neck as she dragged herself up the embankment. The harsh cold hampered her movements as she crawled to the crest of the riverbank. There were lights in the distance, and a vehicle backing away. Its headlights retreated, revealing the silhouette of a car left behind: her car. She had to reach her car. She tried to call out for help, but she was unable to speak. Her voice wouldn’t work. She laboured to get to her feet, but her legs would not function. Rising up on her elbows, Kallita dragged herself forward. She inched her way toward the mobile fortress; toward her salvation.
Through frozen eyelids, she found the spot under the front bumper where her spare key resided. She pulled at the small magnetic box. Her fingers, devoid of any feeling, would not function. She couldn’t grasp the little metal container that held the key to her survival. She grappled and worried the box free as it fell into the snow.
Renewed with a will to survive, Kallita scrambled in the snowy gravel searching for the box. Her hands shook as she seized the container. Her fingers would not work. She slammed the box against the bumper over and over until the lid twisted, and an opening appeared. Jamming her finger inside, she prised the lid apart, cutting herself as she did so. Kallita felt no pain from the bloodless cut in her finger. She focused on the key, which was finally in her hand. Shaking, she slid it in the lock and turned it; the door clicked, and she was in. Turning the ignition, the car’s engine roared to life as she shut the door. Wet, frozen and numb, she was alive. If she could survive this, payback would be swift, sweet and vicious. Spent, she leaned her head back and closed her eyes.
* * *
Every muscle in her body screamed with excruciating pain; jolting her into consciousness. The unrelenting ferocity of raging fire shot through her toes and ankles. Her neck hurt when she turned her head. It was still dark. She glanced at the clock on the radio. 10:00 PM. Two hours is that all it’s been? Seems like days.
Warmer now, the car’s heater belched out hot air from every vent. It was almost too hot, but she still shivered in her cold and soaking wet clothes. Her hands and feet throbbed. Blood oozed from a deep gash in her left index finger. How did I do that? Now, what? Hospital? Yes, but where? Not here, that’s for sure. Time to get out of here!
Her hands trembled as she grasped the steering wheel and shifted the car into gear. Turning right at the intersection, Kallita made her way out of town. It was snowing now, the roadway vanishing beneath a blanket of white. Still shivering, her mind slipped in and out of the moment.
Her head nodded. As her strength ebbed from her body, she drifted off to sleep. She woke up in time to see the trees spin by as the car left the road. Airborne for half a second, the Buick flew across the shoulder landing upright in the ditch twenty feet below the road surface. It nestled between two trees as if deposited in its final resting position. The airbag deployed smashing into Kallita’s face. It knocked her back into the seat with a force so strong that she rebounded forward again, slamming her head into the steering wheel. She crawled free of the car and made her way back to the road. Dazed and bleeding, she wandered for a long time on the deserted country road. There was a light in the distance. It was the last thing she saw before the world went black.
* * *
Kallita’s eyes never moved from the spot under the bridge as she recalled the pain from that night. The snow, the cold and the image hiding in the dark. She knew about succinylcholine from Chuck’s medical practice. She had learnt that the drug is a muscle relaxant. Anesthesiologists call it “Sux.” Sux is commonly used before intubation, as it completely relaxes the patient. Acting rapidly when given intravenously, it circulates in the blood, and all the muscles in the body become unresponsive to any subsequent stimulation: you can’t breathe, you can’t even blink.
Kallita's grip on the steering wheel tightened as the terror of that night returned to her. As she pondered the events of that evening so long ago, she smiled at the irony. She would have died in moments, but by dumping her into the river, the hypothermia saved her. Her attacker had actually saved her life, a mistake many would come to regret.
Twenty-five years of not knowing. The forgotten memories. A lost family, a husband she had loved, at least at first, and the kids. She wanted to believe that it all meant something, that she felt robbed of a life she loved. In her heart, she knew that Roy and the kids were more of an inconvenience than a blessing.
She would argue that this was not the case, and that she loved her family, and that they were her top priority. She needed this justification. Not for Dan Clifford or for Frieda Gerst; they got what they deserved. There were others more deserving of a terrible end. The longer she stared at the spot under the bridge, the more she remembered: the icy water, the blackness of the park and the lights — the slow, unmistakable movement of the lights. They didn’t belong to any pickup truck. She had seen the unusual configuration once before. Now she remembered who it was that owned the vehicle. So there had been more than one.
Kallita became more determined to meet out her own brand of justice. Clarksville had always been a thorn in her side. Now it was her turn. Twenty-five years ago, I vanished from this town. It forgot me. When I’m finished with it, they will remember me forever.
Chapter 23
Colm and Emily made the short trip to the OPP Detachment in silence. Colm hadn’t felt this way about any girl before. He’d had girlfriends, but it was all craic, nothing serious. His feelings about this girl went a lot deeper. Emily was different. Something about her allowed him to ignore his mother’s admonitions about girlfriends. He’d never succeeded in doing that before.
He hadn’t had any serious relationships. Being Catholic didn’t help. The church frowned on contraception. The concept of winding up pregnant, and married to someone who was little more than a bit of fun, scared the life out of him. He wasn’t scared about this possibility with Emily. Not in the least. He wanted to protect her, keep her from harm and make her happy. It was easy to envision a life with her by his side. She was smart, caring, adventurous, and independent. And, she was the most beautiful woman he’d ever met. As they pulled into the parking lot, he realized that his life had changed. He wanted a future with Emily James in it.
Emily sat in one of the vinyl waiting room chairs as Colm signed in to the visitor log. It seemed foreign to her that only this morning, he had full access to this place, but now he had to be escorted wherever he went. Colm turned to her and shook his head, indicating that she was not allowed to go with him back into the offices.
Forty-five minutes later, he reappeared. His face gave no clue about what had transpired in the office. Taking her by the hand, he hurried her through the front doors to the waiting Mini Cooper.
She couldn’t contain herself any longer. Colm’s silence was killing her. He hadn’t even grunted as they got in the car and pulled out of the lot.
“Well? Are you going to tell me what’s going on or not?”
“I’m back in! The suspension was bollocks. Clifford never filed the paperwork, so, as far as Regional is concerned, I’m still on active duty. What’s more, Dan’s and Frieda’s death are homicides, which means I have two murders to solve. I told the Commander about Kallita’s handbag, and at first, his reaction was like Dan’s. When I explained how Dan had reacted to everything, he insisted that the Kallita case be reopened. Which puts me in a bit of a bind.”
“How’s that? What kind of a bind?” Emily turned in her seat to face Colm.
“I don’t suppose I can convince you to back off on this case, can I?”
“Uh-uh! No way! Nah, you’re not kicking me off the case now.”
“But you told Jen you’d stay away from this case if she let you go. Don’t tell me you were lying,” Colm teased.
“No, I wasn’t lying. If you remember correctly, you will have noticed I had my legs crossed when I said I’d stay away. Therefore, it doesn’t count.” She giggled.
“Aye, now that you mention it, I did notice your legs, sure—” he cracked a wide leering smile — “I didn’t think you’d lie to her. In any event, we’ll have to be careful. So anything we do together on Kallita’s case has to be on the quiet because this is now an active case, and your involvement could mean trouble for you and me.” Colm turned the car northward toward All-Comm. “Well, retrieve your car and go back to your place to work out a new game plan. Besides, now that it’s official, I want to talk to Mark Taylor again. I hope he’s still at your neighbour’s house.”
* * *
Mary wrapped a blanket around Audri. Her breathing had slowed and her pulse was stronger now.
“Does she need a doctor? Do we need to take her to the hospital?” Asked Mark. Audri was the oldest of the foursome, and he worried that she might be having a heart attack.
“No, she'll be fine. Something warm to drink might help her a bit. Let’s give her a few minutes, She’ll come around. I’ve seen this before. She had a panic attack.”
“Why would she have a panic attack?” Mark and Jim looked puzzled.
“Because I know how that purse wound up in Emily’s garden. At least I think I do, and she knows it.”
“Huh? What are you talking about?” Mark glanced over at Audri, who was stirring.
“It was a couple of months after Kallita disappeared. At the time, I thought it was odd that Gord would have a woman’s purse in his car. When I asked about it, he said he found it and was going to take it to the police. I never gave it another thought. It took me a while, but then I remembered I’d seen that purse before. The day I spilt coffee all over Kallita. The day she disappeared. It was her purse. I believe Gord buried it in that yard.”
Audri sat up. “That’s not true,” she said, her voice weak and scratchy. “Gord found that purse and handed it into the police. He even got a receipt for it.” Feeling a little stronger, she pulled the blanket down and tried to stand. Mary cautioned her to remain seated.
“Audri, you need to sit and relax a minute. It would be best if you regained your strength. Is Gord at home? He should be here, after all, he has a stake in this too.”
“Is this true, Audri?’ Jim piped up. “Did he have Kallita’s handbag in his car? And how did you come to see it in Gord’s car?” He turned his face toward Mary.
“I happened to bump into him at the grocery store. That’s all, no big deal. We were walking out at the same time. He was having a hard time pushing the cart and dragging his walker as well. I wondered why he even had the walker with him, but then I realized he needed it to get into the store—” She gave Audri a knowing glance— “I helped him get to his car and load his groceries in the trunk. That’s when I saw the purse. I asked if it was Audri’s. He stammered for a minute and said no, that he had found it and was going to take it to the police. I remember remarking that it was a nice purse. Expensive leather. It wasn’t until a day or two later that it hit me. I had seen it before, and I knew who it belonged to. Audri knows, I made a point of stopping by to see if they still had it. She told me then that Gord had turned it in. So I let it drop. Now it seems, it never made it to the police at all.”
Audri argued, “I told you he handed it in. He got a receipt for it. Why don’t you believe me?” The desperation in her eyes begged for someone to believe her.
“It’s not that we don’t believe you. You may have believed that Gord handed it in, but it's obvious he didn't, because it wound up in Emily’s garden. Don’t you see, that flies in the face of everything you think you know. And where did he find it anyway? There’s a lot of questions need answering here, and Gord needs to get his ass down here and answer some of them.”
Audri stood her ground despite the butterflies in her stomach. “I can promise you, he won’t talk to any of you. He wouldn’t even tell me where he found it. Just that he had, and he was going to take it to the cops. I never saw it again, and I never asked him about it after that.” She glowered at her three companions. “I didn’t want to think about the alternative. Anyway, how could he do anything to her? He couldn't walk without that walker.”
Mary knew better. Gord was quite adept at making his disability appear worse than it was. Yes, he had a hard time getting around, but the need for the walker was all show. Many times when she worked at the hospital she had seen Gord in Physiotherapy. He could get around fine when no one was looking. Years of faking his disability had honed his act to a fine art.
“Audri, you know
that Gord isn’t as bad off as he makes out. It’s been years and years, and I have no doubt that his fitness has diminished, but back then, he could get around. So don’t let on that he was a total invalid. He wasn’t, and in fact, as I remember, he was quite strong in spite of his knee issues an—”
Jim cut her off. “And you told me that when he won that fifty grand, he danced around the room like a schoolboy. So which was it? I’m inclined to think he was putting on an act.”
“Listen, everyone,” said Mark. “We need to calm down. I don’t believe any of[ “either” is for two – you could write “any”] us had anything to do with Kallita’s disappearance. We all had or have reason to hate her. None of us has any way to prove that we didn’t have something to do with her vanishing. The only one who can confirm that Kallita lived is Dan, and he might be dead.” He couldn’t believe he was actually saying that about his cousin. The reality hadn’t hit him yet. It all seemed so remote and surreal. “By the way, there are two others who fit the mould here as well. Roy Prewitt and his brother had good reason to want her out of the way. Mary, you remember.”
Mary had been standing beside Audri throughout, but now she needed to sit. Taking her spot back on the couch, she turned to Jim.
“I could murder a coffee right about now. I don’t suppose you have any on the go, do you?”
“I’ll make some unless you’d rather have a beer.”
“No, coffee please, Jim. We need to keep a clear head. At least until we can make sense of this.”
Jim made the coffee. Audri relaxed, happy that the conversation was moving away from her husband.
“So, what do Roy and his brother have to do with all this?” Audri asked as she put her mug on the table. “I thought the police dismissed him as a suspect, and his brothers would have no real axe to grind with her, would they?”
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