Bleeding Darkness

by Brenda Chapman

  Had Tristan suspected?

  The phone rang on Kala’s desk and she glanced at the number, which caller ID did not identify. She picked up anyway and was surprised to hear Lauren McKenna’s voice at the other end.

  chapter thirty-eight

  They met at the Tim Hortons coffee shop on Bath Road, a five-minute drive from the McKenna house. Lauren arrived first and was sitting with a full coffee at a table in the front section of the restaurant when Kala entered, shaking snow out of her hair. She bought a tea at the counter and joined Lauren, who was staring at the ice-crystal designs on the window. Kala slid into the seat across from her and shrugged out of her parka.

  “How are things going?” she asked, taking the lid off her cup.

  Lauren turned her face to look at Kala. The expression in her eyes was conflicted: worried and hesitant at the same time. “I’ve been better.” She looked back out the window. “I think I misled you, maybe because I can’t stomach the alternative.”

  “Tell me.”

  “I really believed that Boris and Antonia both said she killed Vivian as well as Zoe, but the longer I think about that afternoon, the more I remember. Boris thought she’d killed both women and that’s why he was keeping her drugged and away from everyone: to protect her from herself, but Antonia told me that she’d only killed Zoe.” Lauren looked at Kala with tortured eyes. “And I have to ask myself, could there have been two killers? Could someone else have wanted Vivian dead?”

  “You think someone in your family could have done it.”

  “Maybe. I don’t know.” Her voice dropped away.

  “Do you have anyone in mind?”

  “This is very hard.” She took a shuddering breath. “Vivian wasn’t my favorite person but she was pregnant and that baby was innocent. Whoever killed her would have known they were taking two lives. What kind of a person would do that? How could we protect them and live with ourselves?”

  Kala took a sip of coffee while she thought over how to approach this. The fact Lauren was putting forth the possibility of another killer instead of letting them believe Antonia had killed both women clinched for Kala that Lauren was innocent — raising the idea would be ludicrous if she were the killer. As it stood now, a dead woman who couldn’t defend herself was marked for both deaths. Kala sent out a feeler. “Do you believe that Vivian was faithful to Tristan?”

  Lauren appeared to seriously consider the idea. “She and Tristan weren’t doing well last summer. I almost expected them to call it quits. She might have been seeing someone else. Tristan and I spoke by phone a couple of times and he said that he was doing so much publicity to get money to keep her happy. She’d told him that he had misrepresented himself to her as a bestselling author when he was a one-hit wonder. I never saw her as anything but opportunistic.”

  “So you wouldn’t be shocked if I told you that I have two separate confirmations that she was having an affair while Tristan was on tour?”

  “No, that wouldn’t shock me at all.”

  “Did Tristan know?”

  “I don’t …”

  “Think back. Did he say anything to indicate he didn’t trust her?”

  “God, I don’t … wait a minute. I met him in Phoenix in late July. I was at a business conference and he was doing some readings and we got together for supper and drinks. He called Vivian when I went to the washroom and when I came back I overheard him telling her that she had to make up her mind before he came home or that was the end. I thought he sounded frustrated and resigned at the same time, if that makes any sense. I always wondered because next thing I knew, she was pregnant and all was rosy between them. I put what I overheard out of my mind since he hadn’t wanted me to know.” She paused. “Do you know who she was sleeping with?”

  Now was the time to fish or cut bait. Kala studied her reactions. “Nobody has said, but based on timelines and schedules, I believe she was having an affair with Adam. Vivian made notations in her datebook indicating rendezvous locations and times that coincided with Tristan being out of town. Adam was flying the western route at the same time and was staying overnight in Edmonton the same dates. The bar where they met was near the airport. The neighbour saw a man leave their apartment one morning when Tristan was away and he wore a blue coat, which is the colour of Air Canada’s pilot overcoats.”

  Kala expected that Lauren would get angry or dismiss the idea out of hand or defend her brother Adam, but she didn’t foresee the silence that followed her revelation. After she waited a while for Lauren to say something, she added her final bit of evidence. “There’s one more discrepancy from the autopsy. Vivian was five months and three weeks pregnant, not four and a half as she was telling everyone. The timing of her pregnancy appears to have occurred in the window when Tristan was on tour and when Adam was spending overnighters in Edmonton. Could you see an affair with Adam as a possibility or am I way off base?”

  Lauren shrugged. “I saw the attraction between the two of them the first time we were all together. I always thought Vivian was more suited to Adam than Tristan. They’re both used to being the centre of attention and suck up all the energy in a room.”

  “So, the two of them hooking up would not surprise you?”

  “No. My brothers were spoiled by my mother, particularly Adam. He’s used to getting whatever he wants. He always treated Tristan like he was second-best.” Her eyes were worried. “This doesn’t mean one of my brothers killed Vivian, though.”

  Kala said gently, “It gives each of them a motive, but you’re right. This doesn’t prove that either of them killed Vivian, or which one, if it comes to that.”

  “Which brings us back to whether or not I believe someone in my family could have killed her.” Lauren ran a shaky hand through her hair. “What should we do now?”

  The million-dollar question. Kala hesitated. Sharing scenarios with Lauren went against all police protocol. She said, “There is another option we have to consider.”

  “Oh yeah?”

  “The Delgados believed your brother Tristan killed Zoe. One or both of them could have sought revenge by murdering his wife.”

  Lauren flinched and a grimace crossed her face, but she didn’t give her opinion on this possibility.

  Kala studied her and wondered if she was as tough as she pretended or if she should let this drop and try another avenue to get at the truth. “If this is too painful, you don’t have to get involved any further,” she said. “I can keep probing with my team.”

  “No, I want to help. I need to find out.”

  “You know your family better than anybody. How can we get them to talk?”

  Lauren smiled. “They have one Achilles heel in common that always gets them to lower their guards, unite in anger, and sling mud.”

  “And what would that be?”

  “Me.”

  Gundersund called Kala before they left the coffee shop, almost as if he knew she was up to something. She could have carried on and kept him in the dark, but caution seemed the better course of action and she filled him in while Lauren went to the washroom.

  “The media scrum is wrapping up so I’ll meet you at HQ in fifteen,” he said.

  “I’ve already called Morrison to get the electronic equipment ready.”

  “Perfect. I’ll fill in Rouleau if I get him alone.”

  “Gundersund, thanks for not questioning the sanity of this. I know it might come to nothing in the end and it’s putting a lot of people out.”

  “I was never completely convinced the two murders were done by the same person. I’m as keen to check this out as you are.”

  Lauren followed her to police headquarters on Division and Kala was pleased to see that the major roads had recently been plowed so the trip was easier than earlier in the day. The temperature was dropping and now well below zero so the freezing rain had turned into lightly drifting snow. Gundersund and Morrison met them inside the station and went over their strategy before a technician fitted a wire on Lauren, wh
o fortunately was wearing a bulky sweater that would easily hide the mic.

  “What about Woodhouse and Bennett?” Gundersund asked Rouleau. “Should we bring them in?”

  “I think we’re good with who we’ve got here. If this doesn’t end with a confession, we’ll be wise not to have involved them on an evening off.”

  “Fair enough.”

  Kala and Rouleau sat with Lauren while Gundersund organized the rest of the outing. Rouleau asked Lauren if she had any questions.

  “If nothing comes of this …”

  “We’ll destroy whatever is not pertinent. You have my word.”

  “Good, because I don’t want my family maligned in the press or set up to be embarrassed.”

  “I’ll make sure that doesn’t happen.”

  Kala touched Lauren’s arm. “Are you having second thoughts?”

  “Yes, but I know we have to do this. I couldn’t live with myself believing that someone in my family killed Vivian and her baby. I’m not lying when I say that I fervently hope this comes to nothing.”

  “As do we.” Kala added, “What you’re doing takes courage, Lauren.”

  “I’m not sure about that. I lived the last fourteen years with Zoe’s murder hanging over us and I can’t deal with watching over my shoulder again, never sure who killed her or if new acquaintances are going to discover my dirty laundry.”

  Vera walked into the office waving a piece of paper. “The judge signed off so you’re okay to proceed. She questioned the speed of this but I explained that the family would be leaving Kingston tomorrow morning.”

  “Thanks, Vera.” Rouleau said as he got up from his desk. “I’ll go make certain we’re ready to roll.”

  Kala watched the smile on Vera’s face disappear as Rouleau walked past her without looking in her direction. He was oblivious to her interest, which Kala had long seen and wondered at. Vera was much younger than Rouleau and seemed an unlikely match, but she appeared steadfast in her attraction to him. She left them without her usual wide smile.

  Lauren was watching Vera and turned to give Kala a wry look. “He’s clueless, isn’t he?”

  “About what?”

  “About her. He has no idea. She’s gorgeous, by the way. Most men would have her in the sack if she ever gave them the time of day.”

  Kala didn’t respond, not wanting to engage, although she was impressed by Lauren’s powers of observation and thought for the first time that the plan to get her family talking might have a chance.

  Gundersund came into the room and said to Lauren, “Will your family be wondering where you are? It’s past five o’clock.”

  “They won’t be wondering. They’ll be more surprised when I show up on time for supper.”

  “Well, we can get going. The camera is clipped on the front pocket of your purse. Try to angle it toward wherever you’re gathered, but don’t worry if you can’t. We’ll get the audio.”

  “We’ll be outside if you need us,” said Kala. “Leave the front door unlocked if you can.”

  “Mother doesn’t lock up until nighttime if she’s got company.”

  Kala smiled in an attempt to take the worry from Lauren’s eyes. “Then I think we’re ready to give this a whirl.”

  “Do you believe she’s up to it?” asked Gundersund on the drive over to the McKenna house. He took his eyes off the road and glanced over at Stonechild. She was sitting rigidly in the passenger seat staring out the side window. The wind was whipping the snow against his car in short bursts of energy and she appeared to shiver each time a blast pummelled her window. The windshield wipers were having trouble keeping the glass free of ice and snow.

  Kala squared around in her seat. “I feel responsible. She’s only doing this because she trusts me, but I can tell she’s got a lot to lose.”

  “Perhaps she’s doing this for her own peace of mind.”

  “I hope we can give her that.”

  He was still finding this case twisted and seeming to slither away every time he thought he’d figured out what was going on. “Who do you think killed Vivian? he asked. “If you had to guess?”

  “I don’t know. Tristan maybe. He could have found out the baby was his brother’s, but then why would he incriminate himself by killing his wife in the same location where his high school girlfriend was murdered?”

  “You’ve talked yourself out of Tristan.”

  “No, just thinking out loud. Jealousy can cloud reason and I understand he has the green-eyed temperament.” She paused, her face thoughtful. “Adam might have wanted to keep Vivian quiet too. Not to mention the Delgado men believed Tristan killed Zoe and could want to seek revenge. This exercise won’t flush them out.”

  “I hope we find the killer and this doesn’t drag out another fourteen years.”

  “Don’t we all.”

  She turned to look out the window again and was silent the rest of the way to Grenville Crescent. Gundersund matched her silence with his own, wondering what kind of a person could kill a pregnant woman and slide back into their own life as if nothing had happened.

  When he pulled in behind the van with their mobile unit, she turned to him. “In answer to your question, I think Lauren is up to this,” she said. “I see a toughness in her eyes mixed in with the pain. She has a strength of character that you can’t fake.”

  chapter thirty-nine

  The heard the murmur of their voices in the dining room and took a deep cleansing breath. Here we go, she thought and didn’t know if she’d actually said the words aloud. Clemmie met her at the bottom of the stairs, obviously woken up from a nap. He stretched his front legs and licked her hand, his tail wagging back and forth at a half-hearted speed as if the angry energy in the house had drained him too.

  “Here we go,” she said out loud, this time knowing she was speaking to Clemmie and those listening in the van outside. They’d told her they’d be parked a few doors down but close enough to record every word being said. Officer Stonechild would be in the van too, listening and watching the TV monitor with her intelligent black eyes, ready to rush in if necessary. The thought of her nearby gave Lauren strength.

  She stood in the doorway to the dining room for a moment. Her brothers were seated across from each other while her mother and Mona brought in the food from the kitchen. She smelled roast beef and gravy and watched Mona put a large bowl of mashed potatoes on the table next to Adam.

  “There you are,” she said, beaming in Lauren’s direction. “I set you a place just in case.”

  “Thanks,” said Lauren. She remembered at the last second to set her purse with the camera on the end of the hutch and angled it to catch as much of the table as possible.

  Mona went back into the kitchen and returned with a bowl of green beans and another of salad. Evelyn followed her with the platter of beef already sliced. Her mother’s eyes flicked over Lauren and her mouth formed a tight line of disapproval.

  “I suppose you’ve been in the bar again. I trust you aren’t here to make a drunken scene.”

  “I’ve made so many.”

  “Leave Lauren alone,” said Tristan without any force behind his words.

  Lauren looked closer at his pale face and red eyes. He must have spent the afternoon smoking dope in his room again, steeped in his grief. She told herself that he didn’t deserve the impatience she was feeling for how long he was taking to get himself together. His lack of backbone was making her weary. She had to ignore the guilt she was already feeling for what she was about to do that would add to his pain.

  She took a seat next to Tristan while Mona sat down next to Adam, directly across from her, with Evelyn taking her usual spot at the head of the table, nearest the kitchen. They began passing the food and filling their plates. Lauren took enough to make it look as if she planned to eat even though she doubted she’d be able to swallow a bite.

  “The storm’s letting up. Did you make your plane reservations for tomorrow?” asked Evelyn, looking from Adam to Tristan and ba
ck again.

  “You trying to get rid of us, Ma?” asked Adam, grinning at her, his boyish charm on full display.

  Her stern face thawed into a quick smile. “You need to get on with your lives.”

  “We leave on the afternoon flight for Vancouver.” He took a bite of roast. “Delicious as always, Mom.”

  “I thought you and Mona were coming with Tristan and me to Edmonton for Vivian’s cremation,” said Lauren.

  Eyes on her, Adam chewed and swallowed. “Mona wants to get home to Simon and I need a day before I start back on the flight rotation.”

  “I was hoping you’d be there with us,” added Tristan. “It would have meant a lot to Viv.”

  Lauren made her voice sound antagonistic, playing the role of the loyal sister defending her weak younger brother. “Adam, would it kill you to take one extra day before you go home? What if the police had kept us here another day? You could have managed. I can’t believe you aren’t going to support Tristan through this.”

  Mona had kept her head down until now. She looked at Tristan. “I really need to get home to Simon. I’m sorry, Tristan. Perhaps you could come visit us afterward.”

  “You’re asking a lot of Adam and Mona,” said Evelyn, who could never keep quiet when Adam’s golden boy status was being questioned. As if pronouncing the final verdict on the matter, she added, “Vivian won’t know one way or the other anyhow.”

  Lauren knew this was the opening she needed but she was reluctant to split the wounds open. She looked at Tristan, her wreck of a brother, and Adam, sitting across from him, so self-assured. It was as if Adam grew stronger the more Tristan struggled. He’d slept with his own brother’s wife, for god’s sake. She picked up her fork and scooped into the potatoes.

  She lobbed as casually as she could. “Vivian told me that she considered herself very close to you, Adam.”