by Garry Ryan
“As a matter of fact, he does, sort of. Well, with him it’s always complicated. He respects you, and he thinks you’re an abomination.” Keely looked sideways at Lane. “What exactly are you up to? And are you sure you want me over to your place for lunch tomorrow?”
“Yes, Arthur says we all need to get together and celebrate. You have Candace’s address?” Lane asked.
Keely pulled the envelope up from where it sat next to her feet. “Take a right here. Keep heading west.”
They entered a residential district. In less than five minutes, they parked in front of a house whose yard backed against a hill that reached all the way up to the Trans-Canada Highway.
Lane waited for Keely to ease out of the Chev. She had the envelope tucked in the crook of her right arm.
As they walked up the sidewalk that bisected the front yard, Lane said, “You take this one.”
Keely nodded and knocked on the front door.
Candace was dressed in jeans and a T-shirt when she opened the door. “Detectives?”
Keely said, “We have something for you.” She held up the envelope.
Candace invited them into a front room where one wall was devoted to pictures of exotic and remote locations from around the world.
“Amazing photos.” Lane moved closer to look at a picture of a jungle where the mist had settled in the valleys. It made the hills look like islands in a sea of white. “Where was this one taken?”
“Fraser’s Hill in Malaysia. Woke up one morning, got the camera out and took that one.” Candace sat down in an armchair. “My mom’s gone to work so we can talk. Am I going to be charged?”
“We don’t know for sure. That decision is in the hands of the Crown.” Lane sat down opposite Candace. “Off the record, we’ve been told that charges are unlikely.”
Keely handed the envelope to Candace and then sat down on the couch.
“What’s this?” Candace asked.
“A home movie found at Moreau’s house. The person in charge of forensics says it’s of no evidentiary value and was the only copy found in the home.” Keely then lifted her left arm to rest it on the back of the couch.
Candace frowned, opened the envelope and then closed it again.
Keely pointed at her partner. “We thought you might, you know, want to burn it, crush it, flush it, whatever.”
“All three, perhaps?” Candace asked.
Keely shrugged, then winced. “Whatever you decide.”
Lane saw that Candace’s face was turning red. He said, “You should know that you will receive official word from the Crown within a week.”
Candace put the envelope on an end table.
A child wearing black pajamas entered the room.“Mummy?”
“Femi.” Candace went to pick the boy up. He tucked his curly black hair under her chin. She sat back down. Femi looked at the detectives with frank curiosity. His brown eyes flicked from Keely to Lane.
“Hello,” Lane said.
Femi nestled closer to his mother.
“How old are you?” Keely asked.
Femi held up two fingers. “Three.”
“I’ve been thinking it may be time for Femi and me to come home,” Candace said. “A boy needs to know he has a family.”
“A boy certainly does,” Lane said.
“Congratulations,” Candace said to Keely.
“Thank you.” Her face turned red.
Lane looked at Keely’s left hand to see that she was again wearing an engagement ring.
SATURDAY, AUGUST 20
chapter 18
Lane rolled over in bed when Arthur opened the bedroom door. “What time is it?”
Arthur sat down on the bed next to him. “After eleven.”
Lane looked at the curtains and saw the sun shining in. Must be morning.
“Did you ever think that when Matt arrived on our doorstep we would live through something like this?”
Lane sat up and shook his head. He reached out and held Arthur’s hand. “We make a pretty good team, the four of us.”
“Five. The team keeps getting bigger.” He let go of Lane’s hand and stood up. “Erinn and Cam are here, and the kids. You’re missing the show.” Arthur hesitated before going to the door. “Do you think we’ll survive this?”
“What do you mean?”
“There’s not much time for you and me anymore.” Arthur went out the door and downstairs.
Lane heard Jessica speak. Then he heard Cam Harper’s voice. When he came down the stairs, he saw Harper watching his daughter. Jessica was sitting next to Matt on the living room floor, and he was reading a book to her while she pointed at the pictures. Arthur, Erinn and Christine were in conversation on the couch. As Lane stepped into the living room, Daniel handed him a cup of coffee.
Lane took a sip. “Perfect. Thank you.”
Daniel sat on the arm of the couch next to Christine.
Harper looked at his watch and smiled. “It’s almost noon.”
Lane said, “You’re kidding.”
“You slept for almost fourteen hours!” Christine said.
Harper motioned Lane over and spoke quietly. “Robert Rowe died last night. One of the bullets hit his liver. He went into a coma and didn’t regain consciousness.”
Lane nodded. “I’ve been thinking about something Saadiq said about our society needing people to wipe tables and sell cheap shit.”
“I don’t understand,” Harper said.
Lane shrugged. “I didn’t think you would because that’s not the way your mind works.”
Harper said, “I was thinking about what would have happened to Matt and Christine if you and Arthur hadn’t taken them in.”
“You’re thinking about the difference between a drive-by and driving into a card shop?” Lane asked.
“Something like that,” Harper said.
Erinn took Lane’s elbow. “You know that Matt of yours is a wonder. Jessica still thinks she went on a trip with him. He made the whole thing into a game.” She kissed Lane on the cheek.
“What’s that for?” Lane asked.
“You figure it out,” Erinn said.
Arthur looked out the window. “Lane! Answer the door. Keely’s here and she’s got Dylan with her.”
Lane went to the front door and saw Keely and Dylan smiling at each other as they met at the sidewalk side of the car. The back seat was filled with luggage, blankets and towels. They’re on their way. What will I do now?
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Bruce and Shameem, thank you.
Again, thanks to Tony Bidulka and Wayne Gunn.
Thank you to John for the police procedural advice.
Mary, Alex and Sebi, thanks for the suggestions and feedback. Ben and Al, thanks for the advice on untraceable telephones. Doug, Paul, Matt, Tiiu, Natalie and Leslie, thanks for all that you do.
Thanks to creative writers at Nickle, Bowness, Lord Beaverbrook, Alternative, Forest Lawn and Queen Elizabeth.
Sharon, Karma, Luke, Ben, Meredith, Indiana and Ella: that is new!
In 2004, NeWest Press published Garry Ryan’s first Detective Lane novel, Queen’s Park. The second, The Lucky Elephant Restaurant, won a 2007 Lambda Literary Award. NeWest has since published four more titles in the series: A Hummingbird Dance, Smoked, Malabarista and Foxed. In 2009, Ryan was awarded Calgary’s Freedom of Expression Award. In 2012 he began a second series with the historical fiction novel Blackbirds, also published by NeWest Press.
