Murder in Hum Harbour

by Jayne E. Self

  “Sorry, Ms. MacDonald, but I can’t allow you to wait in Officer MacDonald’s office. You understand.”

  “Relax, Kenny. Andrew won’t mind.” I tried stepping around his bulky frame.

  “Sorry, ma’am, but I have orders. No one is allowed in the offices unsupervised.”

  “Who would give you a silly order like that?”

  “Your brother, after the last time I let you wait in there by yourself. I got in big trouble.”

  I tried to look innocent. “How long am I going to have to stand around, then?”

  “I can bring you a chair.” Kenny scooted into the back office to drag one out. I followed and almost got bowled over for my effort. “Sorry,” he said again.

  Nothing left for it, I obediently sat and waited. I crossed my legs. I examined my cuticles. I tapped my toe. I memorized the Ten Steps to a Safe Apprehension poster on the wall. I watched the hands on the clock slooowly tick away the hour.

  Kenny kept himself busy at the computer.

  “What are you doing that’s so important?” I finally asked.

  “Filing these reports.” He indicated a stack of paperwork beside him.

  “You’re allowed to do that? I thought they’d be confidential.”

  He kept his eyes on the monitor’s screen. “Since I started my second semester criminology course Officer MacDonald lets me do these for him.”

  “Does he really?” I sauntered over. “I guess parking tickets aren’t so confidential Andrew need worry.”

  “Parking tickets? No way. This stuff is bigger than that.” He nervously glanced both ways and I leaned closer. “I’m transcribing his reports from the murder investigation onto official RCMP triple copy forms.”

  “Triple copy forms, eh? Wow.”

  “Yeah, cool, eh?”

  I agreed enthusiastically. “Are they very different from our usual form?” I said our in the hope he’d let down his guard. Our forms, our officers, our side, established me as one of the in crowd.

  “Not very. See here?” Kenny pointed out numerous similarities between our three-copy report and theirs. What interested me more, however, was what Andrew and Kenny recorded on those three copy reports.

  According to the detailed list of items confiscated from the Medical Convention there was one empty liquor bottle. In his report, Andrew noted this, drawing the inference that one bottle of Canadian Club would not be enough liquor to incapacitate a seasoned alcoholic like Douglas Campbell. He did not however, comment on the significance of the brand of whiskey found on Doc’s boat.

  That meant I knew two things my brother didn’t. I was about to help myself to a note pad and leave him a message when Andrew strolled into the cop shop.

  “What do you think you’re doing?” he bellowed so loud Kenny knocked the delete button when he jumped. The computer screen emptied.

  Kenny snapped to attention and his chair tumbled backwards. “Officer MacDonald, sir. Your sister is awaiting you, sir.”

  I thought he might salute.

  “What did I tell you about keeping her out of this part of the office? What is there about O-U-T that you don’t understand, Mr. Stewart?”

  Poor Kenny stammered and stuttered, unable to enunciate even the simplest excuse for my presence behind the counter, or the fact that I was peering over his shoulder reading police documents. And as I watched my five foot eight inch brother humiliate six foot three inch Kenny Stewart I decided anyone as pushy and arrogant as Andrew did not deserve help solving Doc’s murder. He’d have to find another way to impress the RCMP.

  So, armed with the information I desired, I exited the Hum Harbour Police Station while my brother continued haranguing poor Kenny Stewart.

  I no longer felt guilty for reading Andrew’s official three copy reports. I would take the information I’d gleaned and my superior awareness of Doctor Douglas Campbell’s drinking habits with me. I would confront my fear and intentionally board the Lori-Girl. Yes, I would go back to the Lori-Girl and collect the empty bottle of Arran Island Scotch Whiskey lying on the deck. It could only have gotten there if Bud traded liquor bottles with Doc, taking the tainted Arran Island bottle back to the Lori-Girl with him and leaving his own harmless Canadian Club in its place. And I would wave Doc’s empty Arran Island Scotch Whiskey bottle under Andrew’s nose. I would prove once and for all that I was as capable as anyone else of doing something right.

  I would stop at the clinic and grab a bag and some sterile gloves. I didn’t want Andrew accusing me of compromising the evidence by getting my fingerprints on the bottle. And, come to think of it, I would bring Geoff along as an eyewitness, in case there were any questions.

  Pleased, no, thrilled with my plan I buttoned my coat tight and marched down the hill. The cold wind from the east was picking up.

  ****

  I found Geoff at the clinic. He sat behind his paper-strewn desk studying a legal-looking document. He came around the desk and kissed me hello. I quite liked that.

  “Glad to see you looking yourself again. How’d you sleep?”

  “I don’t know what you gave me but I slept through ’til after lunch. I’m sorry I missed hearing you at church.”

  “Don’t worry about it.” Then he frowned. “There’s a gleam in your eye, Gailynn. What are you up to?”

  I told him about the liquor bottle I’d seen on the Lori-Girl. How Bud Fisher had poisoned Doc’s Arran Island Scotch Whiskey.

  “Bud removed the contaminated bottle and replaced it with one of his own empties. No one suspected a thing. There was the empty liquor bottle rolling around the deck of the Medical Convention, which we all assumed was Doc’s. It wasn’t until I saw the empty Arran Island bottle lying on the Lori-Girl that I put it together.”

  “And you’re absolutely sure Doc drank only Arran Island Scotch?”

  “He called everything else cow swill. He would have dumped Bud’s Canadian Club into the ocean without tasting it.”

  “Who, besides you, would know about Doc’s preference?”

  “The liquor store, Ellen Fisher. And she could easily have told Bud.”

  Geoff nodded. “It makes sense.” He shuffled some papers and passed me one. “Read this.”

  I’m not used to legalese so I read it carefully. It was a signed affidavit stating Lori Fisher was Doctor Douglas James Campbell’s daughter. It called Lori the biological product of a three-year affair between Ellen Fisher and Doc. The affidavit was dated the week before Ellen Fisher died.

  “There’s our motive,” I said. “Bud found out about Doc and Ellen and he killed Doc out of jealousy.”

  “That’s not all I found.” Geoff handed me another document. “In this one Doc agrees to assume financial responsibility for Lori should Ellen and or Bud die before Lori is established in her desired career.”

  I sank into the chair opposite Geoff and read that two-page document.

  “What exactly does this mean?”

  “It means Ellen got Doc to commit to Lori’s future. I don’t know if he knew about Lori’s parentage before Ellen’s death-bed affidavit, but it indicates Doc knew all about Lori when he sold me the practice.”

  “Doesn’t selling to you go against everything he promised Ellen?”

  “That’s what I thought, too, until I found this.”

  I glanced vaguely at the next stack of papers he handed me. “Where did you find all of these?”

  “I got these copies from Marjorie Campbell after church. Apparently she’s executor of Doc’s will and his lawyer passed all Doc’s documentation onto her after yesterday’s funeral.”

  “And she gave them to you?”

  “We had lunch together and talked and she told me all about Doc and Ellen and Lori’s trust fund.”

  “Trust fund?”

  “Yes, Doc established a trust fund in Lori’s name. Apparently, he wanted a few stipulations on how she could spend the money, which would not be possible with a straight inheritance. He was determined to keep the money out of B
ud’s hands.”

  I scanned the first page. “Is that what all this is?”

  “Flip to the end.”

  I did.

  It was a bill of sale deeding partnership shares in a fully established medical practice in Halifax to Doctor Lori Ann Fisher. Paid in full.

  I gasped when I saw the price tag. “That was why Doc pulled out of Hum Harbour Holes and left town! Once Ellen died he was committed to guaranteeing Lori’s future and he couldn’t keep that commitment if he lost everything in his malpractice suit with Sam and Sasha.”

  Geoff nodded.

  “I’ve gotta tell Lori.”

  “Gailynn, maybe you should leave it to the lawyers. They should be the ones to tell her about Doc’s will.”

  “You think that would be easier for her?”

  “I think it’s their job, not yours.”

  “But telling her about Doc and the trust fund and the practice in Halifax, I think that would come better from me.”

  “Maybe.”

  “Knowing won’t help when Andrew arrests her father, but it’s the least I can do.”

  “All right,” he said, although with obvious reluctance. “You go to Lori and I’ll take what we know, these papers and your information about Doc’s whiskey, to Andrew. If you’re with her when she finds out that Andrew’s arrested Bud, she won’t have to face that alone.”

  I held out my hand. “Agreed.”

  Geoff clasped my outstretched hand and his gaze held mine. “Have you solved the second mystery yet?”

  The most delicious shiver slid up my spine. It had nothing to do with Doc or Lori and everything to do with the electricity zapping through the air between us. I’d never felt anything so intense in my entire life and a corner of my brain wondered if I was suffering a post traumatic reaction after yesterday’s near death experience.

  “I think so,” I said.

  Geoff pulled me into his arms.

  By the time I left Geoff collecting the papers to take to Andrew, I was floating six feet off the ground.

  32

  Ominous clouds boiled overhead and wind battered the flags that lined Main Street. My hair whipped out behind me like one of them. Coming straight out of the east the wind brought tears to my eyes and I turned up my collar around my ears, shrinking into my coat. I could see white caps churning the cove and the fishing boats bucking against the wharf. I recognized the Lori-Girl as the only boat with a light burning so I headed there.

  Gulls love rough weather. They ride the wind and dive at the waves. Some even bob on the water like comical little paddleboats. When it’s really rough, though, they head inland. As I strolled down the wharf, my hands deep in my pockets, I noted that’s exactly what the gulls were up to, fleeing for cover.

  It wasn’t yet seven, and the eastern sky was indigo. A good night for staying safe inside my apartment making earring molds, I decided. Thanks to Doc’s murder and my involvement in Andrew’s investigation, I’d ignored my craft this last week. Time to get back on track. Maybe Lori would like to spend the night again. She was great help sorting through my collection. She had an amazing eye for color variations.

  I stopped beside the Lori-Girl. Despite the light glowing inside the cabin, I couldn’t see my friend.

  “Hey, Lori,” I called.

  The sea smelled angry. Foaming waves bashed the boats against the wood pylons.

  I cupped my hands and shouted louder. “Lori, it’s me. You can’t believe what I just found out.”

  I saw movement at the corner of my eye and I spun around in surprise. Lori was standing beside me, her dad’s red metal toolbox in her hand.

  “Dad’s passed out. I have to tie all this stuff down myself before this storm hits.” She looked, well, relieved, which I thought odd, considering.

  I swallowed, reaching deep for courage. “Let me help.”

  The way the wind twisted her laugh it sounded cruel. “You? Don’t be stupid, Gailynn. You can’t help me.”

  “Sure I can,” I said, silently begging God to carry me through this. But while I prayed another section of my brain was busy wondering how much help Lori’d let me be if she knew Andrew was right now, arresting her dad for Doc’s murder. Would she ever trust me again? Her attitude towards Geoff proved she could harbor a grudge for an awfully long time.

  “I came to tell you what Geoff and I have found out. Doc bought you a medical practice in Halifax!”

  She pushed her hair out of her eyes. “Yes, I know.

  “You do? Then why are you so mad about Geoff? I mean, a practice in Halifax or Hum Harbour—is there a choice here?”

  “Doc promised me the Harbour practice and Geoff convinced him to break his word.”

  “No he didn’t.”

  “Then why did Doc tell me Geoff had?”

  “I don’t know. Maybe he lied because he sensed you’d be disappointed.”

  “Right.” Her toneless laugh left me uncertain.

  “It’s true. Geoff found all the paperwork. Doc even left you a trust fund. Can you believe it?”

  “I’ve got work to do.” She turned away from me.

  I nabbed her wrist. “Didn’t you hear me? Doc’s bought you a practice in Halifax and set you up with a trust fund. No more boat scraping. No more worrying about your student loans.”

  The wind lashed her hair into a tangle. “He thought he could buy me off, but it was too little, too late. That’s what I told him.”

  “You think Doc did all that to buy you off?” I asked, completely missing the significance of what she’d said. “For what?”

  “He said he’d only just found out about me. Mom’s deathbed confession. What did he think I was? Stupid? Look at me! Everyday I see this face in the mirror. Everyday I see his chin under my nose. He knew whose kid I was. From the moment I was born, he knew.”

  I stared at her lovely dimpled chin.

  “I told him if he wouldn’t acknowledge me then, he wasn’t going to start messing my life up now.” She shifted the toolbox to her right hand and it swung back and forth like a pendulum.

  “Mess up your life? He was trying to help you.”

  “Like you’re going to help me?”

  “Yes,” I said. “Doc obviously made a promise to your mom and he was going to keep it.”

  “Baloney. He was appeasing his conscience.”

  The tarp covering the boxes on the Lori-Girl’s deck tore free and Lori swore. I released her wrist in surprise.

  “Look at that. Now my stuff’s going to get all wet.” She tried elbowing past me but I grabbed her arm this time.

  “Those are your moving boxes. What are you doing?”

  “For once in your life, Gailynn, mind your own business.”

  The gale howled in our ears. It whipped the blue plastic tarp to bits. Suddenly details began falling bang, bang, bang into place.

  “Lori, when did you find out about Doc’s trust fund?”

  “What difference does it make?”

  “When did you talk to him?”

  She shook my hand away. “Get off my back, Gailynn.”

  “It’s important. If you were the last person to see Doc, Andrew needs to know.”

  “Why? So he can screw up my life, too?”

  “Lori, he’s about to arrest your dad for Doc’s murder. If we go back now, you can still save him.”

  Lori swung the toolbox.

  33

  The next thing I noticed was the frighteningly familiar smell of diesel fuel and turpentine. It burned my nose. Then the unforgettable lurch you only experience on a boat. I jerked fully awake. My head felt like a cracked coconut, or at least what I imagined a cracked coconut felt like. Rolling onto my side I threw up.

  This couldn’t be real.

  But it was. I opened my eyes and there I lay on the deck of the Lori-Girl. I could see my friend standing in the boat’s cabin, hands on the wheel, legs akimbo. She must have been hanging on tight because every time the boat climbed and tumbled over another wave sh
e barely swayed.

  Me, I slid around the deck with the toolbox. When I slammed against Lori’s packing crates, I managed to rise to my knees and crawl towards her.

  “Lori, take me home.”

  She kept her back to me as though she didn’t know I was there. The old lobster boat groaned as it crashed into the next wave and I hit the cabin’s doorframe full force to my ribs. Lori must have heard me holler because she turned.

  “Come in,” she invited.

  I slowly got to my feet, still gripping the doorframe.

  “We have to go back.”

  She shifted the throttle. The Lori-Girl’s engine droned louder.

  Gripping the walls, I worked my way around the tiny cabin until I stood beside her.

  “Lori, we have to go back and tell Andrew what you know. He’s arresting your dad.”

  I thought I saw her hesitate but I could have been wrong, it passed so quickly. The boat lurched and I fell against her.

  Lori shoved me away so hard I bounced off the wall.

  “What’s wrong with you?”

  She glared at me in apparent amazement. “You, your runt of a brother, and everyone else in Hum Harbour. How’s that for starters?”

  I raked my hair out of my eyes. Lori’s golden waves encircled her head in a tangled web. Her face glowed an eerie green in the reflected light from the boat’s dials. She looked alien. The snarling twist of her lips and the cold edge in her voice sounded alien, too.

  “You betrayed me, Gailynn, just like everyone else. I thought you were different, but you’re not.”

  “I betrayed you?”

  “You think Doc’s stupid practice in Halifax makes up for what you’ve done with Geoff Grant?”

  “What did I do?”

  “You stole my dream. You stole Hum Harbour from me.”

  I touched her arm, but she glared at my hand as though it were the hand of the devil. Claws out, she drew blood when she yanked me away.

  I jerked free and pressed my wounded hand against my lips. Now I wasn’t just afraid of the sea and the boat, I was afraid of Lori, too.

  “We have to go back, Lori. We have to help your dad.”