Roz got up and whined at the door.
After letting the dog out, Lane went down into the family room, where he found Daniel sleeping on the floor and Christine sprawled on the couch, snoring, with one leg on the floor.
Lane went back into the kitchen and picked up the phone. “He’s here, asleep in the family room.”
“Thank you! Please get him to call when he wakes up.” She hung up.
Arthur lay on the couch in the living room. “Who was that?”
Lane walked out of the kitchen and into the living room. “Dan’s mom. How are you feeling?” He looked at the plastic containers draining from Arthur’s incisions and safety-pinned to the pockets of his pajamas. The containers were filling with a pinkish liquid.
“Tired.”
“I need to change your dressings and empty those drains,” Lane said.
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4
chapter 20
Dr. Alexandre asked, “You were there when the car exploded at the bridge on Friday?”
Lane reached for his coffee. “That’s right.”
“And the suspect was armed?”
“Yes, I get your point,” Lane said.
“You’re still angry with me?” Dr. Alexandre was wearing white slacks and a white blouse today. As always, her collar was buttoned all the way to the top.
Lane took a long breath. “Yes.”
“I see.” Alexandre sat back in her chair and wrapped her hands around an oversized cup of coffee.
She really knows her coffee, Lane thought, inhaling the aroma.
“Well?” she asked.
“Of course I’m angry. You said I was trying to kill myself, that I was taking risks as a way of inviting self-destruction. My reaction was immediate and raw.” Lane looked at the creamy coffee in his cup. “And it still feels like an open wound.”
Alexandre waited.
“Still, when I looked back on the pattern of behaviour – my pattern of behaviour – I didn’t come to the same conclusion that you did.
“Well?”
“I like the rush.” Lane blushed.
“You like being shot at?” Alexandre seemed taken aback.
“I feel totally alive. When I’m on the hunt for a killer, it’s the same. It’s real, it’s raw, it’s very elemental. I feel like justice is possible when I’m after a killer. And when there are kids involved…”
Alexandre waited.
“I found a dead child in a garbage bag, and I saw another child’s body in the back of a camper. Their parents murdered those children. I don’t ever want to see that again. I feel sometimes, when I’m after the killer, there’s a chance, a small chance, that a child can be saved.”
“Have you managed to save a child?”
“Perhaps twice. Yes, I think we were in time twice.”
“That’s what drives you?”
Lane tried to smile, but he felt it turn into a grimace. “That and the smell.”
“The smell?”
“The smell of death. It stays with me until I find the killer. I can’t get rid of it until I see the killer in handcuffs.”
Alexandre frowned.
“What?” Lane asked. You don’t believe me.
“Where did you first smell death?”
“In the neighbour’s backyard.”
“What?”
“I was a kid.”
“How old were you?”
Lane closed his eyes. “Five or six.”
“Can you tell me more?”
“The neighbours had a daughter. She was fifteen or sixteen at the time. They said she was sick and couldn’t go to school one winter. The next summer, I heard a baby crying. I even saw the daughter sitting with the baby at the kitchen table. Then there was no baby. A couple of weeks later, their dog was digging in the garden. The girl’s brother chased after it with a shovel. And for a long time, until winter came, I could smell something in their backyard. I didn’t smell it again until I found the little girl in the garbage can.” Lane opened his eyes. “I always wondered what happened to that baby. Now I know.”
“Did you mention it to your parents?”
Lane nodded. “I tried to tell my mother.”
“What was her reaction?”
“She used a belt on me and told me never to speak to anyone about it again. You’re the first person I’ve told since her.”
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 5
chapter 21
“Roz needs a walk.” Lane sipped coffee while he sat on the deck.
Roz’s head lifted at the mention of the word “walk.” Arthur dropped his chin, pretending, unconvincingly, to be asleep.
A car door closed. Roz lifted her head.
“What time do the kids get home?” Lane asked.
“Christine won’t be back ’til six. She’s driving the beer cart today. Matt should be back by noon.” Arthur reached for his coffee. He winced with pain.
Roz barked. The doorbell rang. Lane got up. “I’ll get it. Need a refill?”
“Please.” Arthur handed Lane his cup.
Roz followed Lane into the house.
Arthur closed his eyes and felt the warmth of the sun on his face and arms. He heard muffled voices inside the house. He opened his eyes when the back door opened.
“Hello.” Joseph stood in the doorway wearing a black golf shirt and casual grey pants.
“Go ahead and sit, I’ll bring out some coffee.” Lane looked at Arthur with an unreadable expression.
“It’s nice back here.” Joseph sat down and looked around at the variety of marigolds and gladiolas. He bent to pet Roz. She growled and backed away to get closer to Arthur. She crawled underneath his chair. The hair along her back stood up in a ridge.
Lane opened the back door, balancing a tray with three coffee cups, milk, and sugar. He set it down on the table.
“Where’s Christine?” Joseph asked.
“At work.” Lane caught a whiff of his brother’s aftershave. Smells like money.
“Oh? Where?”
“A golf course.” Lane bent down to pet and reassure Roz. “Which one?”
“Lynx Ridge. Matt works there too.” Lane watched his brother, who was avoiding eye contact. Lane fixed a fresh cup of coffee for Arthur and handed it to him.
Joseph stood to add sugar and cream to his coffee. He sipped. “Very good.”
Lane waited for Arthur to take the first sip of his coffee, then got up and fixed his own.
“Are you the person with the green thumb?” Joseph asked Arthur.
“Yes. It gets me outside.” Arthur studied Lane as he sat down.
“Very nice.” Joseph nodded with approval at what he saw.
What do you want? “You were in the neighbourhood? On your way to a golf game?”
Joseph sipped his coffee and looked at Roz, who kept watch from under Lane’s chair. “I thought perhaps we could reach an agreement over the will. There has been correspondence from your lawyer, a Mr. Thomas Pham.”
“Tom is our lawyer.” Lane looked at Arthur.
“It would be better if we settled this one like family.” Lane noted the patronizing tone in his brother’s voice.
Joseph looked at Arthur as if he expected him to get up and leave them alone.
“Arthur’s my family. As are Matt and Christine.” Lane felt the old rage clawing its way up his throat. Use it! It’ll keep your mind sharp!
“Very well,” Joseph replied, his voice dripping with disapproval.
You didn’t think I would get a lawyer. You thought it was a bluff. The realization almost made Lane smile. “What do you want?”
“I want to settle the will.” Joseph met Lane’s eyes and looked away.
“As I said before, we have two children to educate.” Lane set his coffee down. Before I throw it in his face! He’ll do anything to keep this quiet, to keep it out of the papers. Joseph Lane’s brother is gay!
Joseph inhaled. He pulled a pen and two sheets of paper from his pocket. He slid one over to Lane. “You write down a figure that you think is fair, and I’ll write down what I think is fair. Then we’ll negotiate.”