The Deep End

by Debra Purdy Kong

  If his network was that extensive, did he have connections inside the police department? She’d have to be careful. “You really want out?”

  “Yeah, I do.” Roxanne looked at Casey. “Why do you want to help? And don’t tell me you got no angle ’cause everyone does.”

  “I do, but it’s about the other volunteer, Kendal. She’s a good friend of mine.” Casey paused. “Did you hear about her accident?”

  Roxanne shook her head, but her pensive expression suggested that she knew whatever Casey had to say wouldn’t be good. By the time Casey had finished telling her everything, Roxanne’s expression was solemn.

  “She was cool,” Roxanne mumbled. “But if she found something that could be used against Mia and Cruz, then it’s no wonder she wound up in the pool.”

  “I can’t be completely sure they’re responsible. There are other people I’m looking at as well. But whether your handlers are involved or not, they should still be in jail for other crimes.”

  Roxanne rubbed her face and groaned. “If Cruz controls the cops, we’re both dead. You know that, right?”

  “Yep, but I have a pretty solid connection inside VPD. I’ll make sure he’s aware of that possibility.” Seeing the girl’s glum face, Casey added, “I know we can bring them down with enough evidence.”

  Roxanne glanced around the lot. “I dunno.”

  “Please?” Casey asked. “This is your chance at freedom. By giving a statement to the police, you could make a huge difference for a lot of kids.”

  Roxanne shook her head. “Some of them like the arrangement. Others are too afraid to go against them.”

  “What about what you want? Wouldn’t you like to see Mia and Cruz in prison?”

  Roxanne’s blank face didn’t give anything away. Finally, she said, “What the hell? I’d rather die trying to do something good than have the crap beat out of me all the time. If I have to keep making dope for a living, I might as well be dead anyway.”

  The resignation bothered Casey. “Your life matters, Roxanne.”

  She shrugged. “Don’t worry about it.” Roxanne looked over her shoulder. “Shit! Mia just drove into the lot. I can’t be seen with you!”

  “She knows my car.” Casey opened the door. “Get out and stay down. I’ll let her see me enter the store, then find a way to lose her. Meet me in the Dairy Queen in five minutes.” She nodded toward the separate building at the front of the parking lot.

  “I’ll ditch my phone,” Roxanne said.

  “Good. Now, go.”

  As Casey walked toward the store, she dialed 911. “I’ve just help free a girl who’s been held captive in a drug dealer’s house, and now they’re after us!”

  As the dispatcher asked questions, Casey saw Mia step out of the car and head her way. Casey hurried inside and headed for the other side of the store. “I have to go. The woman chasing me knows where I live and could send someone to my house. I have a thirteen-year-old at home and need to call her right now.”

  “What’s your address, ma’am?”

  While Casey recited it, she cringed at the sight of Mia charging inside the store.

  TWENTY-NINE

  SUMMER WAS STANDING NEAR THE book return counter when Casey ushered Roxanne inside the library. The escape plan had worked. From the Dairy Queen, they’d crossed Hastings Street just as a westbound bus arrived. Meeting up with Summer in their own neighborhood was the best way to protect both girls before Mia or Cristano Cruz found them.

  Casey hadn’t seen any police cruisers in the area. There weren’t any officers in here either. The dispatcher had assured her the police wouldn’t be long. As far as Casey was concerned, every passing minute made their situation more precarious. She doubted Cruz would find them in a library. Still, there were no guarantees. She’d left a message with Lou, explaining where she was and why he shouldn’t go home after work until he’d called her first. Lord, there would be hell to pay once Lou heard the details. Mercifully, both tenants were away for the weekend.

  Casey gave Summer a hug. She’d been confident that Summer would get out before Cruz and Mia found the house. And since neither of them knew Summer existed, she could have walked right past them on the street without drawing attention.

  “Any trouble on the way here?” Casey asked.

  “No. I left right away like you said to. No one followed me here.” Summer hesitated. “You think Cheyenne will be okay?”

  “I’m sure she’ll be fine.”

  As Summer removed her backpack, she looked at Roxanne, who fidgeted and stole furtive glances at library staff, as if half expecting to be kicked out.

  “This is Roxanne,” Casey said. “Roxanne, this is Summer.”

  Summer gave a quick nod. “Hi.”

  Roxanne barely looked at her before mumbling, “Hey.”

  Casey hoped they would get along. The last thing she needed was an argument in here, and, based on what she’d seen, Roxanne’s behavior was unpredictable. Casey led the girls to a cluster of tables not far from the entrance.

  “What took you so long anyway?” Summer asked.

  “The bus was slow and we had to transfer at Commercial.” A risky but necessary venture. “Thanks for staying calm and doing exactly as I asked without too many questions.”

  Trepidation passed over Summer’s face. “You wouldn’t have told me to get out of there if it wasn’t serious.”

  Something she’d learned from harsh experience. Summer wouldn’t have forgotten the incident nearly eighteen months ago, when Casey had her stay with Lou’s mom, thanks to a killer’s threat.

  “I asked Summer to bring you clothes to change your appearance,” Casey told Roxanne. “You’re both about the same size, and it might be a while before you can return to Mia’s place to collect your things.”

  Roxanne scowled. “I’m not stayin’ in some shithole foster home again.”

  Casey didn’t blame her. “Do you have family outside the Lower Mainland?”

  “An aunt and uncle in Winnipeg, I think. But they could be dead for all I know.” She shrugged. “I was a little kid the last time I saw them.”

  “Take the pack to the washroom,” Casey said, nodding toward the door just a few feet away. She had used the bathroom before. There was only one entrance to the windowless room. Although Roxanne wasn’t likely to escape, she couldn’t be completely trusted either.

  “Try on whatever you want.” Summer placed the pack by Roxanne’s feet. “I had to hurry, so I grabbed as much matching stuff as I could.”

  Roxanne hesitated a few moments, then lifted the backpack and headed for the ladies’ room.

  Summer leaned toward Casey and whispered, “She has a lot of scars on her hands. Is she a junkie?”

  “I don’t think so, and those scars aren’t from needles,” Casey replied. “Volunteers aren’t told much about residents, but I think she’s had a rough time.”

  Summer looked at the bathroom door, her face solemn. “What will happen to her?”

  “She might be sent away to live with relatives. If that’s not possible, she could wind up in foster care.”

  “Can she stay with us for a while?”

  Casey hadn’t seen Summer’s compassionate side in a long time. She’d shown a lot of empathy when she was young, but Rhonda’s incarceration had hardened Summer in some ways. Perhaps Summer sensed a fellow outcast who wasn’t high on the popularity list either and for whom friendships had come and gone. The problem was that Summer saw only scars and fear on a vulnerable face. She hadn’t seen Roxanne’s volatility, how she lashed out at people and made issues over stupid things like the TV remote.

  “The truth is I’m not sure where we’re staying tonight,” Casey said.

  “A hotel would be awesome.”

  Casey looked around the library. Where were the damn cops?

  Five minutes later, Roxanne emerged looking pleased with her choice of black jeans, olive T-shirt, black-and-white hoodie, and a navy coat. It was better than her torn
jeans and red coat. Her dreadlocks were inside the hoodie, so when she pulled up the hood her hair wouldn’t be visible. She’d also put on a pair of purple-tinted glasses.

  “You look great,” Summer said.

  Roxanne sat down. “Got any makeup?”

  “Yep.” Summer unzipped a small pocket in the pack and pulled out the bag of cosmetics she used for special occasions. As the girls discussed shades and skin tone, Casey noticed the way Roxanne seemed to hang on every bit of advice from Summer.

  Casey checked the time. She’d called a cop friend at VPD, who assured her that Cruz hadn’t made any friends on the force. In fact, everyone wanted to nail this guy big time. Had they caught up with Mia? If so, Casey doubted that she’d admit to any involvement with Cristano Cruz. Mia was a fighter with far too much to lose. But she wasn’t the only fighter. Thoughts of Kendal, Justin, Mac, and Winson only strengthened Casey’s resolve to make sure the guilty parties were punished.

  After Summer left for the washroom, Casey said, “Roxanne, did you ever hear Mia talk about Mac’s death outside of Fraserview?”

  “No.” Roxanne put the lipstick down. “They act like it never happened.”

  Roxanne was out of Fraserview when Winson died. “What about Winson?” Casey asked. “Has his name cropped up at the house?”

  “Not from Mia.” She sat back and looked at Casey. “I heard kids talk and it freaked me out, how he died like that. Everyone knew how paranoid Winson was about his food.” She removed the glasses and tossed them on the table.

  “Cruz wouldn’t have been allowed in any of the units, unless Mia looked the other way,” Casey said. “Even then, one of the staff could have seen him. It would have been a huge risk.”

  “Cruz takes big risks,” Roxanne replied. “Anyone on his payroll could have planted somethin’ in Winson’s food,” she said. “Cruz was the one who got Tanya and Justin out of juvie.”

  “So I heard. But he would have needed help, and I’m assuming it was Mia?”

  “Of course.” Roxanne picked up another lipstick tube. “It wouldn’t surprise me if Winson found out, so the bitch planted bits of peanut in his food.”

  Kids and adults glanced at them from the next table. Casey gave them a reassuring smile and leaned closer to Roxanne. “We need to keep it down.”

  “Whatever.” She tossed the tube on the table. “Wish I could see Tanya. Heard she was separated from Justin.”

  She didn’t know the latest then? “Yes.”

  Roxanne peered at her. “Is Tanya okay?”

  There was nothing like female intuition. “She’s fine.”

  “You got a funny look on your face.” Roxanne studied her. “She’s not fine.”

  “She is.” Casey paused. “But Tanya’s in the hospital. I went to see her.”

  Roxanne’s eyes narrowed. “She tried to kill herself, didn’t she?”

  Casey was caught off guard. “How did you know?”

  “She swore she’d do it if she lost Justin.”

  Summer returned and looked back and forth between Casey and Roxanne. Casey noticed the way she sat quietly and kept her gaze lowered. She must have sensed that the conversation had become serious.

  “Everybody thinks about suicide in juvie, sooner or later,” Roxanne said. “No more pain, disappointment, or trouble. Some days it seems almost too good to pass up.”

  Summer made a point of looking everywhere but at Casey. Maybe the topic was depressing or even shocking to her. Or maybe it wasn’t. Were Summer’s cheeks coloring because Roxanne’s remarks were hitting close to home? A disturbing thought.

  “I wanna see Tanya,” Roxanne said.

  “Good idea,” Casey replied. “I think she could use a friend.”

  “Being alone sucks,” Roxanne mumbled. “I used to think that staying at Mia’s with other kids would be better, but there’s no real friends there either. At least I had Tanya in juvie.”

  Which reminded Casey, “Did you see anyone near Mac’s office before his heart attack? I remember him sending you back to your unit when we were all in the corridor, but I’m wondering if you went out again.”

  “For a sec. I only saw that chick at reception and that weird old cleaning lady.”

  Casey smiled. “Phyllis is a little eccentric.”

  “She wouldn’t be so bad if she didn’t always go on about how evil men are, and how girls have to look after themselves and shit.”

  “I didn’t know Phyllis talked to residents,” Casey said, even though she had heard Phyllis make sympathetic remarks about the girls the other night.

  “Only when staff aren’t watching.” Roxanne examined another shade of lipstick. “Sometimes she used the computer in the supervisor’s office. Don’t know what she did on it. Probably just liked snooping.”

  Casey sat back in her chair. She’d assumed that Phyllis simply peeked at a file in a drawer to find Mia’s address; Casey hadn’t realized she knew her way around a computer. Mac had kept his computer password protected, but had Phyllis somehow learned of his plan to let her go?

  As Casey replayed the events of the night Mac died, an uneasy feeling niggled at her. Phyllis had been cleaning the conference room earlier that the evening. She could have slipped into his office through the adjoining door. She also likely knew that Mac kept his pills in his jacket pocket, and that he often left his jacket draped over the chair. What if she’d stolen one or two pills at a time over several evenings, then mashed them into a powder and stirred the powder in Mac’s coffee thermos? Casey remembered the spilling thermos when she found him vomiting.

  But why would Phyllis go to so much trouble to save a job that ended in a few months anyway? It didn’t make sense. At her age, she qualified for government pensions. On the other hand, she did like playing the slots, and how much of her husband’s debt was she still paying off? Even if Phyllis had killed Mac—and that was a big if—wouldn’t she have gone after Mia by now? Surely, she knew that Mia intended to fire her as well. Was Mia’s life in jeopardy? Not that Mia was an easy target, seeing as how she didn’t like or trust Phyllis.

  “Are you all right?” Summer said, looking at Casey with concern.

  “Yeah. Just thinking.”

  Watching people enter and leave the library, Casey remembered how Winson had left the unit to talk to Mac that night. When he returned he seemed disturbed, which was probably due to the way Mac must have looked just before he went into cardiac arrest. Winson might have spotted Phyllis near Mac’s office, but he wouldn’t have thought anything of it at the time. Once everyone had learned about the overdose of Mac’s medication, Winson might have started rethinking what he’d seen that night. And Phyllis might have started to worry.

  THIRTY

  “CASEY?”

  “Yes.” The voice was familiar, but Casey couldn’t place it.

  “This is Rawan Faysal, from Fraserview.”

  Rawan? Why was she calling at 9:00 PM on Sunday night? Did she know that Mia had been picked up by the police today? Casey had gotten the call just before five, and Roxanne was now in the care of people Casey’s police contacts trusted. Refusing to be chased out of her house by a thug, Casey had returned home after dropping Summer off at a friend’s for the night.

  “What can I do for you, Rawan?”

  “I’m sorry to bother you, but we need you at Fraserview right away. Justin Sparrow has a knife and is threatening to hurt himself unless he can see you. Please come.”

  Adrenaline catapulted Casey out of her chair. Lou, who was stretched out on the sofa watching a hockey game, sat up.

  “Who’s in charge tonight?” she asked.

  “Amir. He asked me to call you. Can you come right away?” Rawan sounded almost desperate.

  “Why is Justin so upset?” she asked.

  “Something about still being stuck in Fraserview and afraid of staff. There’ve been some developments, something to do with Mia, but I don’t know the details.”

  How would Justin know what happened toda
y? Or had he discovered that there were other staff to worry about? “He didn’t ask for his grandmother?”

  “Apparently, he doesn’t want to worry her.”

  As of two hours ago, Cristano Cruz was still on the run, but Casey wasn’t overly worried about her safety. The house alarm and extra police patrols would likely keep Cruz away. Justin, however, was another matter. She glanced at Lou who was watching her, his expression pensive. She smiled and headed for the bedroom, certain that the rest of this conversation should take place out of earshot of him.

  “Shouldn’t Justin’s lawyer and the police be called?” she asked, shutting the bedroom door.

  “They have been and they’re on their way, but you’re the one he wants to talk to first.”

  “And Amir supports this?”

  “Under the circumstances, yes.”

  Casey thought about it. “Can you put Justin on the phone?”

  “It won’t help. Justin insists that you come here.”

  No. This wasn’t right. “What’s really going on, Rawan?”

  “I told you. Lives are at stake here, Casey. Please come quickly.”

  “Lives? As in more than one? What are you talking about?”

  “Please, just get here.”

  It wasn’t a stretch to believe that Cruz had taken Fraserview hostage. Since he couldn’t get to her, it appeared that Cruz had chosen a quick way to make Casey come to him. She had no idea what the hell this would accomplish. The police knew what was going on and she had no access to Roxanne now. Still, if Rawan was as frightened as she sounded, then Cruz was calling the shots. Everyone inside was in danger. Damn, what was she supposed to do?

  “Casey? Are you there?”

  “Yes. I’ll leave shortly.”

  “Thank you.” Rawan hung up.

  As Casey returned to the living room, Lou said, “What’s going on?”

  Oh, boy. He wasn’t going to like this. “Justin supposedly has a knife and is threatening to hurt himself unless he can see me in person.”