by Garry Ryan
“You think the dog tried to protect Lombardi?” Harper asked.
“Probably.”
chapter 15
THURSDAY, JULY 11
“We need to talk with Norm, Eva, and Aidan.” Lane watched as the houses abruptly ended and fields opened up. The further they travelled, the more horses they would see. The last time, he’d seen a pair of colts racing side by side along a fence line. Lane thought, I hope they’re out again.
“There’s a coyote.” Harper pointed to his side of the highway.
Lane looked to his left.
The coyote was the colour of sage. It trotted along the shoulder before darting into the ditch and disappearing into some brush.
“Wanna stop at the gas station?” Harper asked.
“Good idea. Everybody needs fuel. It’s a good place to find out what’s going on around here.” Lane spotted the Super Service station sign. The fifties architecture was becoming avant-garde. The reliance on metal, glass, and stucco had preserved the structure for more than half a century. A fresh coat of white paint and green trim had done the rest. It was becoming a Mecca for the workers and residents of the new development across the highway and down the road.
They pulled up and parked on the east side of the station. Lane spotted a couple near the outdoor freezer. The eyes of the teenaged boy met Lane’s. To the detective, the boy’s eyes were the epitome of boredom. The girl was a second skin wrapped around the boy. Lane couldn’t see the back of her head, but it looked like she was working on leaving her brand on the boy’s neck.
Lane looked down. The boy had his knee between her legs. She moved back and forth, rubbing her jeans up against his.
Harper held the door open. “Coming?”
Lane smiled at the joke and walked through the door.
Harper followed.
The man behind the counter was somewhere between forty and sixty. He had the bread-dough complexion of a smoker and a belly stretching the fabric of his wine-coloured golf shirt.
Harper headed for the coffee. “Want one?”
“Sure.” Lane kept his eyes on the man behind the counter, who returned Lane’s stare.
“Cream and sugar?” Harper asked.
“Yes, please.”
Lane read “Al” on the man’s nametag and the gold chain around his neck. It was attached to a predatory bird the size of a luxury car’s hood ornament. The words “Golden Eagle” hung from the talons of the bird.
“You’re the police?” Al asked.
Lane nodded. “You’re the ones who came and asked my daughter all those questions?”
“That’s correct.” Lane decided to keep his answers short and to the point.
“What do you want besides a cup of coffee?” Al glanced out the window.
It looked to Lane as if Al were keeping an eye on the make-out couple reflected in the curved mirror hanging above the pumps. Lane glanced at the poster of the cowboy on the wall.
“Who do you talk to if you want to get rid of some gophers?” Lane asked.
“Why don’t you just come out with it? You want to know who’s a good shot around here.” Al challenged Lane with his eyes. “I’m not stupid just because I live out in the country.”
Harper brought the coffees to the counter. “It would save a lot of time if you would tell us.”
Lane pulled out a ten dollar bill and handed it to Al.
Al took the ten, opened the cash register and handed Lane the change.
Al said, “Have a nice day.”
“Who’s a good shot around here?” Harper asked.
“Everyone knew Blake and his boys ran Alex down. The problem was, no one could prove it. Now Blake and his boys are dead. As far as I’m concerned, that’s the end of the story. Diggin’ deeper into this’ll only get people riled up again. You have no idea what people around here’ll do when they get riled.” Al closed the cash register. “You gentleman have a nice day.”
Harper started to say more.
Lane smiled and nodded in the direction of the door. He took the coffees from Harper and backed out the door. Lane walked over to the couple making out near the freezer. The boy’s eyes studied Lane.
“Do like your coffee black or with cream and sugar?” Lane walked closer to the couple.
The girl turned her round, heavily made-up face to Lane. She said, “I take mine black. He likes cream and sugar.”
Lane handed them each a cup. They watched him warily.
Lane stepped back a metre. “Who’s the best shot around here?”
The girl and boy looked at one another, surprised by the question. The girl said, “I think his name is Norm. Drives around on an ATV. Lives up there. Close to T’suu T’ina.” She pointed toward the mountains.
“Thanks.” Lane walked to the car. Harper followed. Inside the car, Harper hesitated before turning the key. “So, who do we see first?”
“Eva. She’ll know where Norm is.” Lane put his seat belt on.
Harper turned the key and shifted into drive. He tried to joke, but the words came out all wrong. “Better get the vests out, then.”
Eva was in the yard. She was moving three sections of garden hose to the next tree in Alex’s remembrance grove. She put her hand over her eyebrows to shade out the sun. When she recognized the car, Lane and Harper, she waved them over. A pair of hummingbirds whizzed past her.
“How come Norm’s ATV is parked inside the Quonset?” Harper asked as he turned the car around so they could escape easily if it came to that.
Lane took a long look around. He thought, If it isn’t safe, it isn’t safe in the car either. He opened his door.
Harper waited before turning off the engine.
Lane walked toward Eva, who bent to set the hose under one of the trees. Her hand went to her right knee. She used her hand to help push herself back up.
Lane heard the car engine stop. Harper’s door opened. Lane did not turn.
Eva walked toward Lane. She neither smiled nor frowned.
Lane saw that she wore running shoes, a T-shirt, and blue jeans. There was mud on her knees.
He looked beyond and around her. Harper was moving to his left; Lane could hear his partner.
Eva said, “Norm’s at the rodeo. Drove him there this morning. That’s why you’re here.”
“How did you know?” Lane asked.
“Got a phone call from Al at the Super Service. Told me you were asking questions about who’s the best shot around here.” Eva stood in front of Lane.
Lane heard Harper moving closer.
“Where does he live?” Harper asked.
“South and west of here. About three kilometres.” Eva crossed her arms under her breasts. “Go a little further down the road and turn right. Last house on that road. It’s white. Potato garden on the side closest to the road.”
“How come he went to the rodeo?” Lane watched the way Harper kept looking at the evergreen trees Eva was watering.
“To help Aidan. Coffee?”
Lane and Harper looked at one another. They looked around the yard.
“There’ll be no more shootin’. No reason for it.” Eva walked toward the house.
“Okay.” Harper followed.
Lane stood on the step as a hummingbird swooped past, stopped near a honeysuckle blossom, and hovered there. Another hummingbird swooped in and attacked the first. Both flew away.
Inside, they took off their shoes while Eva measured water and coffee. “Norm took all the muffins with him. Aidan asked for them special.”
Lane sat down at the table.
Harper watched while Eva fished out coffee cups. He looked at Lane and nodded in Eva’s direction. Lane turned as Eva closed the cupboard door.
Eva finished with the coffee maker and reached into the fridge for milk. She brought the milk and sugar to the table. “Got more questions?”
“I’ve always got lots of those.” Lane smiled.
Eva did the same. “Aidan and Norm are my family.”
“You do?” Eva watched him with an intensity that made Harper shift uncomfortably.
“Yes. Just because they’re not your own doesn’t mean they’re not your family.”
Eva frowned. “Maybe you do understand. Everything is even up now. The boys who killed my grandson are dead. Blake Rogers would have killed you but he’s dead. What good does it do to find out the rest?”
Eva poured three cups of coffee and sat down at the table. She sipped her coffee, waiting for Lane and Harper to do the same.
Lane lifted his cup then set it down. He decided that to leave anything unsaid would amount to lying, and she would sense it. “We got a match on the bullet that killed Blake Rogers. It came from the same weapon that wounded me.”
Eva was silent for a moment. “You and your law. My grandson was killed. Everyone knew who did it. No one could prove it. The boys who killed him disappeared or were killed. And Blake Rogers would have killed you.” She pointed at both of them. “Rogers was killed to save the both of you. Everything is even now. Your law won’t change that.”
Harper put his cup down. “We know about the land claim. We think that’s why Blake Rogers killed Alex. Still, we need to know who killed Rogers.”
“And what good will that do? Who will be helped by this knowledge?” Eva watched Harper closely.
Harper waited for Lane.
Lane looked at Eva. “The families of the missing men will want to know where they are. We need to talk with Norm, and we need to talk with Aidan.”
“They’re at the rodeo.” Eva stated the fact in a tone as flat as the prairies to the east.
“The rodeo hasn’t started yet,” Harper said.
“Practicin’. Gettin’ her show ready.”
Lane looked at her. “The rodeo’s a big place.”
“Not that big,” Eva said.
Five minutes later, inside the car, Harper said, “Eva hates guns, right?”
“Yes. She said that.” Lane did up his seat belt.
“Then how come she has three boxes of .22 shells and a bolt action in the same cupboard as her coffee cups?”
Lane leaned on the concrete half-wall of the walkway joining the Saddledome arena and the Roundup Centre where graduations and business shows were held at the Stampede Grounds. He looked over at the Big Four building, then across the parking lot to the back side of the grandstand where fans watched rodeo events every July.
“We’ve checked it all.” Harper leaned against a pillar.
“Eva doesn’t lie,” Lane said. “Then Aidan and Norm must be hiding.” Harper yawned.
“Or we’re looking in the wrong place.” Lane watched a white stretch limousine pull up in front of the Roundup Centre. A girl in a prom dress poked her head out of the sun roof.
Harper turned and looked north. A black cloud moved east across the northern edge of the city. “Looks like someone’s getting rain.”
Aidan crouched atop the set and manipulated Alex’s strings. They were inside the barn. It was filled with the musty scent of hay and mud. Rain pattered against the roof and windows.
“We’ve got an audience! Hey Norm!” Alex waved.
Norm waved once and crossed his arms. He sat in front of them on a lawn chair.
“Good to see you again.” Alex moved to the edge of the stage.
Norm nodded and leaned back in his lawn chair. He hitched his thumbs in his empty gun belt. “Yep.”
“Come to see me or the show?” Alex moved to sit in a rocking chair and crossed one leg over the other.
“Both.” Norm leaned forward, studying the marionette.
“I heard there’s been some excitement around my grandmother’s place.” Alex rocked back.
“Them boys that run you down. Well, they won’t be botherin’ nobody else, Alex.” Norm took off his tan cowboy hat, revealing the scar along his forehead. He looked out the window at the rain.
“That’s good to know.”
“I saw ‘em do it, you know.” Norm hooked the cap over his right knee and looked at Alex.
“What?” Alex stopped rocking.
“Saw ‘em run you down like a dog. Saw ‘em from the edge of the trees. Watched ‘em drive by. Recognized the four of ‘em.”
Alex stood up. “How come you never told anyone?”
Norm pointed at his chest. “Who’s gonna believe me? Besides, when I went to Eva’s she was cryin’, Aidan was cryin’, and I was cryin’. Alex, the words just wouldn’t come out.”
“Did you get the license?” Alex asked.
“Can’t read. You know that. But I knew who it was. That’s why.” He looked out the window.
“Why?” Aidan looked away from her marionettes.
“Why I kept planting those trees for you.” Norm looked at the floor. “My mom told me to look after you.”
“Thank you, Norm,” Alex said.
“You were good to me, Alex. Did what I could. Yep. Did what I should to be good right back.” Norm looked off to the right.
“What did you do, Norm?” Alex asked.
“Planted them trees for you.”
“What’s that mean?” Alex looked over his shoulder and up at Aidan.
“You planted a tree every year. And after you died …” Norm pointed a finger at his chest. “… I kept that up for you. It’s what Mother woulda wanted.”
chapter 16
SATURDAY, JULY 13
“You’re treating Roz like she’s a doll. She hates that!” Matt’s voice carried from the deck to the kitchen where Arthur and Lane sat drinking coffee. Lane got up and peered through a clear diamond in the back-door window. Christine hugged Roz and glared at Matt. Roz displayed nearly all of her teeth in a decidedly unfriendly smile as she licked her lips.
“Do you really think we should go? I mean those two have been at it since they got up.” Arthur sounded worried.
Lane sat down. “There’s more room for them to argue at the rodeo. It’s better than having them around the house and fighting. So my vote is we go. We’ve promised Glenn we’ll be there, and Harper will be a little less uncomfortable if we’re there.”
The argument between Christine and Matt got louder.
“What have you got against me anyway?” Christine said.
“Nothin’,” Matt said. “That’s no answer. You’ve been mad at me since I got here!”
Lane and Arthur couldn’t help but listen.
“You’ve still got a mom and you left her! Mine’s dead, and my father doesn’t want me anymore! You leave your mom and come here just when it’s starting to feel like home for me!” Matt’s voice choked off the last word.
Christine started off in a matter-of-fact tone. “My mom didn’t want me. She wouldn’t talk to me for a month before I left. Most of the people there wouldn’t talk to me. Those who did only talked to me when no one else was around! My mom didn’t want me around any more. I was an embarrassment.”
Matt sniffed before he spoke. “How could you think that? Mothers aren’t like that!”
“Maybe your mother wasn’t, but mine was. Look at me! I was an embarrassment. Look!” There was a pause before Christine said, “All of Paradise was white. I was the only one whose skin was a different colour. Nobody said anything, but after a while you could just tell. They didn’t want me there. And after a while, my mother started to act the same way. She kept telling me to wear a hat in the summer so I wouldn’t get a tan. She was ashamed of my skin! Like it was my choice!”
Arthur and Lane had to listen closely when Matt spoke. The boy’s voice was low, almost a whisper.
Matt cleared his throat. “My dad never went anywhere with me. Never went to one of my games. Never went to my school for interviews. He always found an excuse for not being there. I embarrassed him.”
“How did you know?” Christine asked.
“I just knew like you knew about your mom and the people in Paradise. Some things you just know.”
Christine asked
, “So why are you here?”
“Uncle Arthur and Uncle Lane like having me around. And I can tell, they feel the same way about you. I guess I’m jealous.”
No one dared speak.
The quiet stretched out until Arthur went to the back door and said, “Come on you two, it’s time to go.” He held the door open until Christine and Matt came inside.
An angry rumble shook the windows.
“What was that?” Arthur asked.
“Thunder,” Matt said.
“Come on. It’s time to load up the Jeep,” Lane said.
They travelled in rain and silence for the half hour it took to drive north and east along the top edge of the city past houses, malls, and a couple of golf courses. They turned north and the city ended. Less than five minutes later, they eased through the gates of Symon’s Valley Ranch. They parked on the grass behind one of the washrooms.
Christine opened her door. “Looks like the rain’s finished.”
The sky to the west was blue and clear. The trailing edge of the storm moved east.
Arthur smiled. “The infield will be muddy. This should be lots of fun.”
They carried lawn chairs and dodged puddles as they walked past trailers and motor homes on their way to the infield. Lane thought of the right thing to say to Christine and Matt before deciding to say nothing.
“What’s that?” Christine pointed at a tiny corral with balloons and blowup love dolls leaning up against rough-sawn fence boards.
Arthur read the sign. “Heavy petting zoo.”
“It’s a bar, I think,” Lane said too quickly.
They found a spot on the sloped grass at the southeast corner, in front of the stands, in behind the steel fence and to one side of the bleachers. The sun shone on a muddy infield. Its soil had taken on the consistency of canned soup.
Two pairs of contestants ran from the far side to near the fence in front of Lane, Arthur, and the kids. Each pair headed for a tethered goat. One man grabbed and lifted the hind end of the goat so his partner could guide the goat’s back legs through a pair of white panties. The other goat managed to evade the competitors. One man tripped over the rope and fell face first into the mud. Laughter washed over the infield.
