Turning Secrets

by Brenda Chapman

  She turned and smiled. “Yes, but don’t worry about the drink today, with everything going on. I can always meet you another time.” She disappeared around the corner before he could respond.

  Shawn was subdued and much paler than he had been the day before. “This is all sick, man,” he said when Rouleau sat down. They were alone in the room except for Shawn’s lawyer, who sat off to the side, effectively giving Rouleau free rein for the interview. Shawn started right in.

  “That girl, Nadia, she was dead when Leo and I picked her up. Natural causes. She took some drugs and convulsed and that was it. Pfft! Gone.”

  “Were you with her when she died?”

  “No. See, she was … with a client, and we got the call from Ellington to dispose of her somewhere so’s nobody would be implicated.”

  “Who was this client?”

  Shawn hesitated for the first time and glanced over at his lawyer. She had her head down and didn’t offer any advice one way or the other. “You aren’t gonna believe me.”

  “Try me.”

  “It was Leo’s old man, the mayor. His wife was out of town overnight and Nadia went up to his house for some partying. She died in his bedroom, on his big ol’ king-sized bed. Clement freaked.”

  “So he called Ellington?”

  “Willy Ellington lined him up with Nadia in the first place, so yeah, that’s who he called. Scandal and all that. Ellington couldn’t get caught with her body, either, so he sent me and Leo. We were supposed to get paid for disposing of her or I wouldn’t have had anything to do with it. Leo was the one who came up with the idea to leave her at the construction site since they fired him after a week on the job. He was royally pissed about that.”

  “Throwing her off the building …”

  “Overkill, yeah. Ellington and Clement wanted to kill Leo too when they found out he didn’t just leave her in an alley somewhere.” Shawn dropped his head but not before Rouleau saw him grin, either at his own wordplay or at the men’s anger.

  “How did Ellington come to use Nadia’s services?”

  “They met in Ottawa through Harold Mortimer. He had this fling with her one summer while he was back and forth working on a government building, and you’d think he was in love with her, the way he talked. He introduced her to Ellington and he started pimping her around after Mortimer dumped her. Mortimer wasn’t happy when she showed up in Kingston ’cause of his wife. It was as if Nadia thought they’d live happily ever after like they were in some Walt Disney movie. She even said the baby was his. Mortimer met her at a bar to try to get her to see reason but they had a big fight and she tossed her drink at him. She took up again with Ellington after that.”

  “How does Vanessa fit into this scenario?”

  “Leo strung her along until he could get her to do anything he wanted. He did it to impress Ellington. Leo would do anything to get Willy’s approval. They had this odd connection, you know? Ellington is his godfather, even. Let’s face it, pimping was the perfect line of work for a loser like Leo.”

  “And how did you become part of all this?”

  Shawn shrugged. “I met Leo in high school and we hung out. Now I wish we hadn’t. Anyhow, Vanessa happened to see Nadia in the parking lot of the Blue Nights with Mayor Clement and made the mistake of telling Leo. His dad and Vanessa’s dad the architect had done work together and Leo was pretty sure she’d recognized his dad, even though she clammed up when he asked her. When Ellington found out, he said they couldn’t take the chance of Vanessa talking and she needed to disappear. He had contacts in the sex trade in Vancouver so he was going to ship her out there. That other Indian girl …”

  “Dawn Cook.”

  “Yeah, idiot Leo picked her up and drove her somewhere once. She could have identified him and his car so Ellington decided she had to go too. He said you might figure everything out if Dawn talked. He called her a loose end.”

  Rouleau tried to control his voice. “Did Leo assault Dawn?”

  “No. Ellington told him not to cause he could get a better price for her if she was a virgin.”

  Rouleau checked over his notes from the previous interview, buying himself a moment to regain his temper. “You said earlier that Leo thought he’d hit a deer. Is this still the case?”

  Shawn hesitated and his lawyer looked up and stared at him. “No, I was mistaken when I said that. He turned his car around and hit that guy on purpose.”

  Shawn’s lawyer followed Rouleau out into the hall. “He’s given you Willy Ellington and Leonard Clement on a platter. The mayor’s career is all but over too. I hear his wife kicked him out. For what it’s worth, I think Shawn’s salvageable if given some counselling and direction.”

  Rouleau thought about how close they’d come to disaster. “The judge will decide. At this moment, the way I feel, he’s lucky it’s not up to me.”

  The acting chief job was once again vacant. He’d jump in for a few weeks to keep the work moving but he’d already told the board to keep looking for a replacement. Now, more than ever, he knew that his place was with his team.

  Kala woke from a long nap and lay listening to Dawn and Gundersund talking in the kitchen. The sun shone pale yellow into the room and the clock confirmed that the day was waning into evening; she’d been asleep on the couch for almost three hours. It had been a week since Ellington was arrested. Seven days with two broken ribs, a stitched-up arm, and a thankful heart that Dawn had come home to her.

  She worked her way to a sitting position and swallowed a painkiller tablet that would allow her to breathe deeply without excessive pain. She rested ten more minutes to let the medicine kick in and then pushed herself to the edge of the couch. Taiku padded into the living room and licked her hand before lying down at her feet. He’d been vigilant all week, not letting her or Dawn stray far from his view. Minnie was in the kitchen with Gundersund.

  Dawn appeared in the doorway and called over her shoulder, “Gundersund, she’s awake. We made tea, and Gundersund picked up pizza,” she told Kala.

  “Aren’t you going to a sleepover with Emily, Chelsea and Vanessa?”

  “Gundersund’s driving me after we eat.”

  Gundersund appeared with a tray, his eyes assessing her as they did every time he entered the room. He’d been so attentive to them both that she’d slept worry-free, knowing he was looking after Dawn. He was working from her kitchen when she slept; the team was uncovering Ellington’s secret life making money off prostitutes. “We’re gathering enough evidence to put him away for a long, long time,” said Gundersund when she asked.

  They ate in the living room with supper on their laps before Dawn ran upstairs to pack an overnight bag.

  “We’ve only had a week to recover … I’m not sure this is a good idea,” Kala said to Gundersund. It would be Dawn’s first night away from her since she’d gone missing. Her worry was still strong.

  “I hear you, but the girls need a chance to work out what happened in their own way. Dawn has to get her life back to normal. She needs to get over Fisher’s death.”

  “You’re right. I’m being overly anxious.”

  “You’re allowed.” He smiled and leaned in to kiss her. “Do you think you could stand a bedmate tonight?”

  “I’d like that.”

  Her phone rang soon after he’d left with Dawn and the dogs. She checked the caller ID before answering. “Hey, Woodhouse. What’s up?” She hadn’t seen him since they’d tracked down Leo on Rudd Avenue.

  “I’m outside. Do you mind if I come in?”

  “The back door’s unlocked.”

  A moment later, Woodhouse stood uncomfortably in the hallway, holding two bottles of beer. “I thought you might want a brew.”

  “I don’t actually drink.”

  “I’ll leave it in the fridge for Gundersund, then.”

  “Have a seat.”

  He set the two bottles on the coffee table and folded himself into a chair that was too small for him. He crossed his legs and fe
igned being relaxed. “So, how’re you doing?” he asked.

  “One week into six weeks of lying around. I’m going to be stir-crazy by the weekend.”

  “That’s good,” he said distractedly, not listening. She waited.

  “I was wrong about those Simmons brothers,” he said.

  “Murray gave you reason. He’s a slimy piece of work. Marci’s writing an article that doesn’t cast him in a flattering light.” She shifted positions, trying to ease the pain in her side. “I want to thank you for finding out where Dawn was and for going with me to find the girls.”

  “Yeah. Glad it all worked out. The bit with Ellington was a shock. I looked up to him when I started on the force. These charges shook me.”

  “Are you questioning the order of things, Woodhouse?”

  “Maybe. Maybe I am.”

  She’d been mulling over what to do about him leaking information to Marci. She felt as if she owed him but she had to make sure he wouldn’t do it again. “I know you’ve been giving case information to Marci Stokes.”

  He met her eyes. “What are you going to do about it?”

  “Nothing, if you promise me you’ve stopped.”

  He bowed his head and sat silently while she watched him. Finally, he nodded. “This makes us even then.” He smiled at her and got to his feet. “You’re all right, you know that, Stonechild? I’ll see myself out.”

  I hope this isn’t the drugs making me hallucinate, she thought as he walked out of the living room. Because I could have sworn Woodhouse just gave me a compliment.

  The back door shut behind him and she poured the last of the tea into her cup. She took her time getting to her feet and shuffled over to look out the half-open window. The moon was bright tonight and this felt like a hopeful omen. It wasn’t only her body that needed to heal. Her spirit did as well. The line between happiness and hell was razor-thin and she’d been waking to panic attacks, knowing how close she’d come to total despair. She returned to the couch, lowered herself by increments and lay her head against a pillow. She gasped from the exertion and let her breath out in a long, thankful sigh.

  She looked around the room and let the calm of the evening fill her being. In this moment of stillness, she could see a future in this house, in this town, and she knew that this was where she was meant to be. Looking after Dawn and Taiku. Planting a garden and putting down roots. Waiting for the sound of Gundersund’s car in the driveway.

  Knowing in her soul that this was enough.

  That, for now, this was more than enough.

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  Thank you to all the readers who have engaged with this series and who continue to support my work. I appreciate every email, tweet, and in-person encounter. As in past acknowledgements, I would like to thank a few constant friends and supporters: Kelly MacNaull, Barbara Woodward, Ann MacDonald, Madona Skaff, Brenda Muir, Wendy Sinclair, Catherine Ginn, Suesan Saville, Catherine Brown, Paulette Nicol, Jim Napier, Gail Bowen, Ann Cleeves, Grace Johnston, Estella Arlott, Rick and Shelley Adamson, Brian Neale, and Sean Wilson and the Ottawa International Book Festival. I owe a huge debt of thanks to countless bookstores for promoting my series, in particular, my friends at Perfect Books, Books on Beechwood, Coles Carlingwood, Chapters Gloucester, Sleuth of Baker Street, Novel Idea, and Let’s Talk Books. My thanks also to the many book clubs that I’ve visited these past few years — I’ve been wined and dined while meeting some mighty fine readers!

  I am indebted to the team at Dundurn for all of their work on my behalf: freelance editor Shannon Whibbs, assistant project editor Jenny McWha, freelance copy editor Catharine Chen, designer Laura Boyle, and publicist Michelle Melski. Thank you also to Dundurn president and publisher Kirk Howard for your belief in the power and magic of Canadian stories.

  A special thank you to my brother, Ian Black, who is, fortuitously, a retired RCMP officer and was always available to answer my questions about policing and investigations.

  The characters and storylines in this series are completely fictitious, although the beautiful city of Kingston, Ontario, is a very real and lovely place to while away a summer’s day or two.

  Love to my husband, Ted, our daughters, Lisa and Julia, and our son-in-law, Robin Guy, for making this journey so much fun.

  Book Credits

  Project Editor: Jenny McWha

  Developmental Editor: Shannon Whibbs

  Copy Editor: Catharine Chen

  Proofreader: Megan Beadle

  Cover Designer: Laura Boyle

  Interior Designer: Lorena Gonzalez Guillen