Marv pointed back with his thumb. The headlights and grill of a black one tonne pickup filled the rear window.
“Speed up,” Les pointed.
Leona threw her cigarette on the floor. She pulled the oxygen tube over her head and dropped it. The lid of the jar opened easily. Nanny leaned forward and poured half the gas down the back of Marv’s golf shirt.
“What?” He leaned forward. “What the hell are you doin’!?”
Les turned.
She flicked the remainder into his face.
“My eyes! Gas! For Christ’s sake, she’s got gas!”
She reached into her purse. The oxygen tubes lay next to it. She put a smoke in her mouth and lifted the lighter.
“My eyes!” Les said.
Leona lifted the lighter and flicked the wheel. She leaned to touch it against Marv’s shoulder. Flame traveled across the back of his neck. Gasoline ignited on her hand. She saw the flames spread to Les’ face. Both men screamed.
Marv swerved into the left lane.
The van buried its nose under the trailer.
CHAPTER 23
“Ernie!” Beth shook his shoulder.
The dog growled.
“Don’t you growl at me, Scout! Ernie wake up. Where’s Nanny?”
Ernie’s mind was taking the long way back to consciousness. He opened his eyes and saw his mother. She was wiping her face with the back of her hand. The front of her white blouse was spotted where tears had fallen and turned the fabric translucent. Scout’s lip was curled back to reveal teeth. “Scout, stop that,” he said. The dog wagged her tail, ducked her head and moved closer to lick his face. Ernie sat up, wiping the back of his hand across his lips. “What’s wrong, Mom?”
“She’s gone and she left this on her bed!” Beth waved a white envelope.
“What’s that?” Ernie had never seen his mother like this, even during the divorce. He rubbed Scout under the chin, then the dog went to Beth and licked her free hand.
“A note. And money. Lots of money.”
“She told me to come down here and sleep. Said nightmares don’t like the cold. She was acting weird all morning. Wouldn’t leave her room. Watched all the cars coming and going.” Ernie stood.
“She’s never done this before.” Beth’s chin fell to her chest and her son wrapped an arm around her shoulders.
They went up the stairs. Ernie left her in the kitchen where the electric kettle began to boil. He took the stairs two at a time to the second floor. In his grandmother’s room, the plate and coffee cup sat empty on the end table with the mountain of cigarette butts and the binoculars. He checked each upstairs room after that. Coming downstairs, he noticed the oxygen machine continued to hum in the hallway. Air bubbled through the clear plastic container of water at the side of the machine.
“I’ll phone Nonno to see if he knows anything.” Ernie picked up the phone and dialed.
“I’ll check the back yard.” Beth moved to the deck door.
“Ten, he always picks up the phone before ten rings even when he’s in the back yard.” Ernie waited for 12 rings before hanging up.
The screen door opened and Beth stepped back in.
“She there?” Ernie said.
Beth shook her head.
“No other note?” He looked for one on the kitchen table.
“Nope, I checked.”
“She take the car?”
“I drove it to work today.” Beth turned toward the kettle. The water boiled.
“I’ll go to Nonno’s and check there. You want to stay here?”
She poured steaming water into the tea pot, “Don’t take too long.”
Lane leaned over and rubbed Riley behind the ears before the retriever would allow him to enter the back yard. “How’s the nose?” He looked closer to see how it was doing. “You sure heal fast.” Riley wagged his tail.
After the gate was closed, Riley pranced ahead, then returned to hurry Lane along.
“I know, we’ve got a visitor. I saw the car parked out front,” Lane said.
When they rounded the side of the house, he saw Arthur wearing a purple satin shirt and baggy black satin pants. Where did he get those? Lane thought then noticed Arthur wasn’t wearing shoes.
Arthur always wore shoes. And he sat back in his chair, one leg hanging over the other and his left hand resting on the top knee. His right hand was suspended horizontally and bent 90 degrees at the wrist.
Harper was still in his uniform; including a tie. Lane was glad to see he wasn’t wearing a Glock. The officer sat still, back straight as a baton, feet firmly on the ground and both hands on the arms of the chair. It appeared he had some difficulty fitting his football player body into the lawn chair. He looked at Lane and smiled with more than a little bit of apprehension.
Lane looked beyond them to the fence where, in between the vertical boards, he could see a silhouette. He joined the visible dots of yellow cotton fabric and flesh into a mental image of Mrs. Smallway. Somehow, he couldn’t yet bring himself to accept the fact that she was a swinger.
“Oh, he’s home.” Arthur stood and minced his way to Lane. Riley sniffed the air near Arthur as if trying to identify this human he knew intimately but had never seen like this before. Arthur grabbed Lane’s shoulders and landed kisses on either cheek.
“What the hell is going on?” Lane whispered.
“Just having a bit of fun,” Arthur whispered back. “Play along.”
Lane smiled.
“I’ll get supper.” Arthur said to Harper. “You behave yourself.” Lane took off his jacket and draped it over the back of his chair. He poured himself a tumbler full of iced tea, then filled up Harper’s glass. “Hello Mrs. Smallway!” Lane said.
The volume caused the birds in the tree to stop chirping.
“Lovely evening isn’t it Mrs. Smallway?!” Lane was sure anyone in the yard six houses down, would soon answer if Mrs. Smallway didn’t.
“Oh, is that you Mr. Lane?” This was followed by the snip of pruning sheers on a twig. “Just doing a little work in the yard.”
Lane grinned at Harper. Lane said, “Mrs. Smallway doesn’t ‘do’ gardening. She hires people to do that sort of work.” Then he increased the volume, “Beautiful evening for it!”
“Best be getting inside and out of the sun! Nice talking to you!” Mrs. Smallway said.
Lane waited till he heard Mrs. Smallway’s screen door close. He sat, looked at Harper, mouthed the word, “Wait,” and pointed to a window with a view of Lane’s back yard. There was the sound of running water, then silence.
“I think she sits on the toilet and eavesdrops for hours. One of these days we’ll have to call the paramedics when her legs go to sleep.”
“Who spends all of the time on this garden?” Harper looked around him.
“We both do.”
“I took up gardening after the shooting and I must say I’m hooked. Surprised?”
“No,” Lane said.
Harper lowered his voice, “I found out a few things this afternoon.”
“We have to wait for Arthur.”
Arthur backed out the door carrying a tray, salad bowl, black pepper mill and three plates. As he set tray and contents onto the table, Lane said, “He’s got some fresh information to share.”
Harper looked sideways at Lane.
Lane nodded at Harper, “The Chief wants you to know how I solve crimes. Since I haven’t had a department partner, Arthur has become mine.”
Arthur’s face became a study in concentration. He sat, stabbed at his salad, lifted tomato, black olive and feta cheese to his mouth and waited for Harper to begin.
“I checked to find out who was buried at Queen’s Park Cemetery the day Swatsky disappeared. Two burials in the morning and three in the afternoon. Seems the morning burials all happened before lunch and none of the afternoon burials began before 1:30. A service in the afternoon caught my eye.” He opened a note pad and put it face up on the table. He pointed at a name.
“You’ve got to be kidding.” Arthur dropped the affected accent and looked across the table at Lane.