Twilight Is Not Good for Maidens

by Lou Allin

  “You’re already making an assumption that you’re dealing with a man.” Wouldn’t that be the assumption of the century? What about that female serial killer in Florida? Overall, women killing women was unusual. And there was the size. Not that many women were so tall and strong. Aside from Ashley. “That’s why you’re in the job, little girl, and I’m a lazy retired old fart. See what the park honchos say about his volunteering. Go talk to him again as a follow up. It would demonstrate that our antennas are up.”

  “There’s another possibility.” She told him about the Langford attacker.

  “That’s a long way from here. A different kind of situation, wouldn’t you say? Moving from the city out to a provincial park.”

  “People don’t change their M.O.s unless they have a good reason.”

  “Doesn’t mean that it never happens,” Ann said.

  “Where’s the young lad?” Reg asked with a chuckle. “I want to remind him to keep his man pants on around you two.”

  Holly left Ann to fill in Reg on Chipper’s situation. She couldn’t bring herself to repeat it, nor did she want to hear the details again. She went back to her office.

  A few minutes later, Ann came in, her arms folded.

  “What’s Reg’s take?” Holly asked. The old man must have heard about many incidents in his long tenure.

  Ann pursed her lips in an unconvinced pose. “Reg thinks that this will blow over. Said he was picking up the phone and calling an old pal at Island Division.” She shook her head. “He sounded mad as hell. I told him to calm down before riling any of the higher ups.”

  “Chipper needs all the friends he can get. Even if he is retired, maybe Reg can call in a few markers. He must know all the silverbacks.”

  As he had suggested, Holly dialed the provincial park headquarters, the agency in charge of French Beach and other venues clear up to the Yukon border. It took about half an hour to wind through the departments and get put on hold for Ollie Smith. Why had it taken Reg to give her the suggestion? Her multi-tasking needed a big-time tweak. In every new post, you had to learn the information channels. Then just as you mastered the system, they moved you to another post. It seemed an ineffective way to grow an organization.

  “I read about that attack. Damn shame. Our parks don’t need that kind of publicity. So what do you want to know about Reid? He’s only a volunteer. Has there been a problem? Nothing I’ve heard about,” Ollie said.

  Holly swallowed and gave a non-committal “I see” in an effort to draw out the man.

  “On the contrary. We’ve had several calls and emails about people he’s helped. Battery jumps, using the phone, relaying calls from anxious relatives when something happens at home. With the budget in the toilet, we’re depending on the public more and more. There’s only fourteen full-time rangers in the whole damn province.” His tone revealed a combination of pride and frustration.

  “I don’t think his drinking in the past is a secret. I just wanted to …” She started to trip over her tongue. “When I heard that, I wanted to double check my impressions.”

  “Since he got religion, he’s been on the straight and narrow. He’s a member of my Baptist church in Sooke. Even led an adult Bible group. He got the Song of Solomon that week, poor guy. It’s hot stuff.”

  Holly felt herself rolling to the other end of the spectrum. Maybe too perfect. John Wayne Gacey and his clown shows for kids. Ted Bundy and his volunteering at a crisis centre in Florida. Even the astute true-crime author Ann Rule hadn’t suspected the double life of her colleague.

  “But you know, it isn’t a good idea for women to camp alone. Some people might think she was asking for trouble. Those short shorts and tops these days. Tattoos up the wazoo.”

  “Mr. Smith, with all due respect, what a woman wears and where she chooses to go are no excuse for an attack.” Was he going to suggest that single women carry protection? Handguns were illegal in Canada. In the U.S., they could be brought to public parks.

  A screech of tires made her sit up. Holly made a note for the records and quickly brought the conversation to a close. A car door slammed, and the sound of a loud voice came from outside. More trouble in paradise?

  Ann stood at the open door. A cloud of dust surrounded the Impala. Ashley had a First Nations teenager handcuffed and was escorting him toward the stairs. Less than five feet, he barely weighed a hundred and ten pounds. He wore jeans and a T-shirt from the Aboriginal World Games.

  Holly shot a sharp look at the rookie, holding her voice in check. Appearances had to be maintained. “What’s going on here, officer?”

  Two bright spots of excitement pinked Ashley’s cheeks. “Nothing that a few hours in the cells in Sooke wouldn’t cool. Can you believe this little guy had the nerve to give me the finger when I drove by? That’s disrespecting an officer. And he was hitchhiking. Also against the law. I checked him for drugs. Probably threw them in the bushes when I stopped the car to back up.”

  Holly recognized Trey Elliott from the Port Renfrew Pacheedaht Band, a close-knit group of a few hundred people. Not only was he a good kid, but he was legally blind, though he wore no dark glasses and carried no white cane. “Low vision” was the official definition. He had enough sight to walk from one place to another, but for his schoolwork used a special computer that enlarged print. His parents had put long, hard years into their sport-fishing business to keep him and his sister heading for college. Since he couldn’t drive and couldn’t ride a bike safely, often he hitchhiked home from the Kemp Lake corner west of Sooke where the bus stopped. A very proud young man and a skilled guitar player, he’d never plead his handicap. Trey thrived on his independence.

  Holly’s heart thumped when he looked directly at her, using his honed echolocation skills as a vision aid. “Trey, tell me what happened.” She laid a friendly hand on his thin shoulder. He was fourteen with a Nike cap, his black hair braided down the back. She doubted if he’d started to shave.

  Trey stood tall as he could, his lower lip stiffening as he tried to master his feelings. Too old to cry, too young to laugh. “She’s wrong, Corporal Martin. I don’t know what she thought she saw. I was heading home from playing a gig. We’ll all raising money for our class trip to Whistler. Some kids are holding a car wash. Dave Evans at the Stick heard me play at school and paid me twenty dollars for an hour. Then he got me a ride, but the guy could only take me as far as Jordan River.”

  “Oh, right. Hitching is hitching.” Ashley looked as if she was going to continue up the stairs.

  Holly blocked the path. “Ann, please take Trey inside for a minute. Get him a pop. I have a few things to clear up.” Ashley needed a blast she’d never forget.

  “Aye, aye.” Ann shepherded the boy inside, casting a glance of scorn backward at Ashley, who was toeing the ground with her boot like a restive horse. When the door had closed, Holly took a deep, restorative breath. “This might be only your first week, but you’ve already flunked out. Trey is legally blind. He could barely see you much less show the kind of disrespect you’re talking about. If he catches a lift once in a blue moon, what does it hurt? Everyone knows him. He never takes rides from strangers. We’re a long way from Victoria. Learn to bend the rules.”

  Ashley reached into a pocket and pulled out a small, pearl-handled penknife. “I patted him down for carrying and came up with this. I saw what I saw.”

  “You’re lucky you can see. Imagine what it’s like for him. In my eyes, he’s a hero to carry on with a normal life. He wants to be a music teacher. And despite people like you, he will be.”

  “So what about the knife? This is all crap.”

  “He has every right to carry this. He’s not at school now. And I don’t like your language.”

  Ashley clamped her jaw shut and looked at the road. At least she knew enough to shut up while she was losing. A small pulse beat in her temple, and her arms were folded in a passive-aggressive pose. As for eye contact, she stared past Holly, refusing to engage.


  “We worked hard here, Ann, Chipper, and I, to earn the trust of these kids. To show them that the force is their friend, not a bunch of bullies. Stunts like this can set us back to ground zero. How the hell am I going to explain this to him without looking like a total jerk myself? You’ll be lucky not to have his parents down here charging child abuse. Taking him to the cells. Are you crazy to even suggest that? Have you been watching too much reality scare shows? Grow up!”

  This was the longest lecture she’d ever delivered. Holly could feel the surge of energy and clasped her hands behind her to stop from shaking. What next? Arresting a senior for waving a cane? Then she stopped to think. Her mentor’s words echoed in her ears. “Everyone can make a mistake, Holly. Have your say and back off. Too much humiliation never helped a situation. Learn to pick your battles.”

  “So I didn’t know your rules around here. Hitchhiking is illegal.” Ashley tried to assume a tone of moral authority, but her deflated posture told the truth. Words could lie, voices could lie, but the body rarely did.

  “You already said that. This is a very small community, and normally a very law-abiding one, where we bend the occasional rule when common sense directs. Get with the program.”

  Ashley looked at the sky to where two seabirds were flying, shrieking at each another. “Yeah, yeah. I hear you.”

  “Yeah is not cutting it. I want an apology, and I want it now.” She cocked a thumb at the door. “Give him back the knife. Tell Trey you’re new, you didn’t understand how things worked here, and that you apologize. And make it sincere as hell. Ann will drive him home.”

  Ashley took off her cap and ran fingers through her hair. Her chin wasn’t jutting out anymore. “He’s a kid. I’m not gonna crawl to him.”

  “And you’re an adult. Start with I’m sorry. You’ll find the words.” She exhaled. Tempted though she was to bring up Ashley’s questionable career, this was not the time. “My first year, I nearly mistook a diabetic for a drunk and threw him in the tank. That would have had fatal consequences. This is part of the learning process. The lesson is now over.”

  With a grunt, Ashley went back inside, a marginally honest smile pasted on her face. Attitude 101. The sooner she was out of here, the better. On the other hand, she was crying out for mentoring.

  When Trey came out with Ann, he was smiling. From the back seat of the cruiser, Ann retrieved his guitar. “Sit up front. You can serenade me all the way to Rennie,” she said. “Do you know any country songs?”

  “Corporal Ann, no way. But my mother does.” His face wore such mock horror that Holly resisted a laugh.

  In her office, door shut, Holly made a call to Island District Headquarters in Nanaimo and found the personnel officer who had signed the secondment to Fossil Bay. Sergeant Barr confirmed that Ashley was on probation for the third and last time. “I’ll be honest with you. She would have washed out long ago if it hadn’t been for her father pulling in I.O.U.s. He’s retired as chief of detectives in Kirkland Lake and has a lot of powerful friends in the RCMP. He won a medal for bravery a few years ago, breaking up a gang of drug runners establishing a base in the north. Got himself shot in the process. Big shoes to fill.”

  “Thanks for your information. She’s not stupid. But bone-headed might describe her. What did she do that got her in trouble? I’m guessing it was serious, but not enough to get her tossed out.”

  “Where do I start? Have you got a few hours? She hauled in a hooker near Regina. Claimed that the woman had a knife, which turned out to be a cell phone. She shoved her to the ground. Bruised her knees and broke one of the woman’s high heels.”

  Holly whistled. “I see what you mean. That kind of thing usually merits a suspension at least.”

  “There weren’t any witnesses other than the girl. Constable Packke got the benefit of the doubt. We thought a smaller post might give her the time she needed to settle down. Less stress and a safer routine.”

  “You mean Golden, if I recall correctly. So what happened there?”

  “That was different. She requested the first available transfer. Claimed that one of the sergeants was putting the moves on her. That made no sense. He’s been married twenty years and has five adopted kids from Korea. Father of the year. Instead of making trouble, he said to let it go. He felt sorry for her. Go figure.”

  “Moving on to Cowichan,” she said. Her mother Bonnie had grown up there, raised by Great Aunt Stella, when her own mother died of TB and her father perished in a timbering accident. Holly had many cousins and distant relatives in the area. Before Barr even answered, she suspected that if the problems had been with tribal people, mouths were closed. They were very proud and bore their grudges with dignity. “Do you think she has a problem with First Nations people?”

  “That didn’t seem to be a factor in the incidents. Racism in Canada is a slippery animal, though. Sometimes it lies under the surface. As for Cowichan, we didn’t hear anything either way,” Barr admitted.

  Holly looked at her watch. She’d taken enough of his time. One question remained. “Why pick Fossil Bay? Did we win some reverse lottery?”

  Barr offered up a friendly laugh. “All her other posts had men only. Call us sexist. We hoped that you and Ann could be role models.”

  For a minute, Holly was almost flattered. Then she wondered if God himself was up to the task. “I don’t know if she’s redeemable. A percentage of officers wash out every year. Frankly, she’s an accident waiting to happen. I hope you won’t get to read about her in the news.”

  “Calm down. I’ve seen a couple of bad apples change with a few years of maturity. Any real harm done at your post?”

  Holly had second thoughts. Trey seemed to bear no grudges, but Ashley needed a major attitude adjustment. What inside her caused this disconnect? High expectations from her father? She hadn’t mentioned her family at all. Forget it, she told herself. Your job is not to be the detachment psychologist. That’s why they have professionals. But she remembered what her mother always said: “People are not always reasonable, but they act for a reason. Find out why and you can change their mind.”

  “Kids are pretty resilient, and if we’re lucky and young masculinity asserts itself, he’ll brag to his friends. Let’s hope he regards her as the exception rather than the rule. It’s taken us a long time to build up goodwill in our community. And it gets me smokin’ for some newcomer to start dismantling it with a crowbar.”

  After hanging up, Holly went back to the foyer and found Ashley sitting at her desk, reading a Blue Line magazine. “He seemed like a punk. How would I know that he was blind as a bat?” she asked Holly.

  Holly looked at the clock on the wall. “If that’s an apology, it’s pathetic. If it’s a joke, it’s stupid. Get out of here even if it is early. I’ve had enough of you for the day. Come back tomorrow and be ready to start over. And read up on hurtful language. Making fun of people will bring you bad karma. If I were riding a toy like that scooter, I’d be very careful to keep on Fate’s good side. One tire blows, and you’re road kill.”

  Ashley shrugged and went to the closet for her street clothes, disappearing into the lunchroom to dress. A minute later the stutters of the bike disappeared down the road.

  Ann returned bearing a large foil-wrapped plate and a smile to match. “Damned if his mom didn’t give me a fresh pie. Last of the blackberries. Want a piece?”

  “And insult my dad? He’s making brownies tonight. Anyway, did you fix things with Trey?” Holly asked, massaging the bridge of her nose. She never got headaches. Then again, that was B.A.: Before Ashley.

  “I think so. He’s a good kid. Naturally I couldn’t really badmouth our rookie, but I told him that we have to learn on the job. Professional courtesy even if she doesn’t deserve it.”

  “I hear that she comes from a law enforcement family. Dad’s a hero.” She capsuled what Barr had told her.

  Ann shrugged, raising an eyebrow. “Trying to live up to his record. It’s tough to follow a parent in
to a profession. That’s why I didn’t go into business like my father.”

  “Amen. Teaching or legal advocacy are the last things I’d want to do. If I didn’t like coming to work, I’d leave the profession.”

  “So you say now. When you get a little older, you won’t be so casual about changing careers. Anyway, sounds like this is her last chance,” Ann said. “And still she’s coming on like gangbusters. None are so dumb as those who will not learn.”

  They both looked at Chipper’s desk. “I sure miss …” they both said. Holly used to link pinkies with her mom and make a wish when that happened.

  She went on to relate her father’s opinion of Vice President Buckstaff. “Academia isn’t the polite and civilized world in people’s imaginations. Especially the administration throat-cutting en route to the top. He’s going to make some inquiries.”

  “Sounds like we could be catching a break. So she has a history of bribery and threats. But as for your dad, a civilian messing around in a sensitive matter could be tricky, not to mention the collusion idea with your job. Does he know what he’s doing? Is he as impulsive as you are?” Ann gave a teasing smile as she put on her coat.

  Holly shook her head as she picked up one of Ashley’s empty drink cans. “He’s not a people person, if that’s what you mean. But I don’t think he’ll overstep himself. With all the years he’s been at UVic, he has a lot of connections. If anyone can shine a light on this girl, he can.”

  Ann turned for the door. “Then we’ll have to figure out what to do with the information. Like going out of bounds to get to the goalpost.”

  “Then the run better be picture perfect.” Mixing her metaphors, she scored a two-pointer in the wastebasket.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN