In Winter's Grip (24 page)

“I saw them together ,and there've been other signs. I've chosen not to confront him for reasons that seem unimportant now.”

“Will you be able to work it through?”

“I'm not sure. Since I've been back here, I've started questioning if I even want to. It's been good in a way, having people see me as Maja Larson and not Maja Cleary.”

“What was wrong with Maja Cleary?”

“She got lost in the shuffle. I'm not even sure how or when it happened.” Misery filled me, and I took a drink from my glass. I didn't want to think about it any more deeply. I cleared my throat. “And you?” I asked.

Jonas sighed. “Claire's tired of living in Duved Cove. Has been for a long time. My bouts of depression haven't helped.”

“Do you think it's affecting Gunnar?”

“I'm sure it has. If you haven't noticed, Claire is overly protective and not adjusting to the fact that he's becoming a teenager. I've given up trying to intercede.”

“That isn't good, Jonas.”

“I know, but in some things with Claire, I have no say. That's just the way it is.”

I wanted to ask about Claire's relationship with our father, but now was not the time. There might never be a right time, and perhaps there was no need to even discuss it. Jonas was the one to bring up Becky, the subject we'd been avoiding since we sat down.

“Becky never forgave me for picking Claire over her. We were on friendlier terms the last few years, but Becky sleeping with Dad wasn't easy to digest. I never let on to Becky that I knew.”

“Who told you? Dad?”

“No, although he hinted enough. It was actually Claire who made the big announcement in one of our fights. She wanted to hurt me because she thought I still cared for Becky.”

“And did you?”

“Not the way Claire thought. I made my choice in high school, and I never regretted it.”

“Did you ever bring up the subject of Becky to Dad?”

Jonas grunted. “I wouldn't give the old bastard the satisfaction.”

“We should probably go,” I said.

Jonas shook his head. “No need. Claire will figure out where we are, and I don't think going home will make either one of us feel any better.”

We ordered two more drinks—another double Scotch for me and a ginger ale for Jonas. I felt the effects of the first drink. It was nice to feel the sharp edges of grief slipping away. Still, I had to keep some of my wits about me, so I ordered a plate of cheese and salsa-covered nachos. I considered what it could mean that Claire still hated Becky.

People came and went. We overheard people talking about the murdered woman found in our father's house. They looked at us as they talked, but nobody came over to our table. It was as if we had a “do not approach” sign flashing over our heads. Hadrian put on a tape of Scottish ballads and turned up the volume. Another round of drinks arrived, compliments of Hadrian. He waved at us from across the bar.

“I'm thinking you might need to drive us home, Jonas,” I said.

“No problem. We got all night.”

The phone rang at the bar, and Hadrian stood speaking into the receiver with one hand over his other ear. He dropped the receiver and came over to our table. His eyes were question marks but he kept his voice neutral.

“Claire wants you to come home,” he said to Jonas. “Sounded kind of upset.”

“Sure thing,” Jonas said. After Hadrian was out of earshot, he added, “She must have heard about Becky. You stay and finish your drink.”

Jonas had just pushed himself to his feet when the front door of the bar opened. I looked over my shoulder and saw Tobias standing in the entranceway. He surveyed the room until he met my eyes. Then he started walking in our direction.

“Hey, Tobias,” I said as he sat across from me. “Jonas is just heading home to see Claire.” I fished in my pocket and handed Jonas my keys.

“I'll bring Maja home if she wants to finish her drink,” Tobias said to Jonas.

I looked at my empty glass and the full one next to it on the table in front of me. No wonder I wasn't as upset as normal at Tobias's presence. Jonas was looking tired again, and I nodded. “I'll get a lift with Tobias. You go home and rest.”

“See you back at the house then,” Jonas said. He patted my shoulder before he weaved his way through the tables to the door.

Tobias went to the bar to order a drink while I sat and contemplated life. He was back before I noticed, carrying a cup of coffee and a big bag of chips.

“Still on duty?”

“Yeah, still on duty.”

“You told Kevin. . .?”

“Yup. It went about as you'd expect.”

“He obviously had no idea what had happened to her.”

“Obviously. The man's in shock, as near as I can tell.”

“Do you have any leads?”

“Now, you know I can't talk about that, Maja.” We were silent for a bit. Then, Tobias said, “Are there any leads you'd care to give me?”

“None that I can think of.”

“Damn. I can't say any of this is adding up.”

We sat nursing our drinks and munching on chips. I noticed the other patrons stealing looks our way but trying to be subtle about their interest.

“Was the door locked when you and Jonas arrived today?”

“I think so, but maybe not. We never used to lock it but have been now that it's vacant most of the time.”

Jonas tilted his head. “The thing is, somebody killed her at a different location and placed her body in your laundry room. We found her car in the back of the hospital parking lot behind the dumpster.”

“So she was either abducted or she trusted her killer enough to take a ride with them.”

Tobias's eyes were fixed on mine. “I also have to wonder if the method of death for Becky and your father was a coincidence.”

“Was Becky hit with a shovel?”

“Not sure. We're sending her body to the forensic lab in Duluth for testing, and we'll know more in a day or so.”

Another few days
. It was going to be impossible to make Sam's trip. The distance between us felt like a fresh sprain that I didn't want to put much pressure on just yet.

Tobias looked past me to the bar and nodded. I turned in time to see Wayne Okwari motion with his head toward the washrooms. I turned back around, and Tobias appeared to be studying his coffee cup with curious interest. After he'd eaten the last of his chips, he said, “If you'll excuse me for a minute, I'm hearing the call of nature.”

“A call you should always answer,” I said. I watched him thread a path quickly between the tables toward the washroom. It couldn't be a coincidence that Wayne Okwari had disappeared in the same direction moments before.

When Tobias returned a few minutes later, I already had my coat on and was waiting by the door. He grabbed his parka and followed me out into the parking lot.

“The temperature has dropped again,” I said, blowing a plume of white frost in front of me as I talked.

“My car'll heat up fast.”

Tobias opened my door first and shut it behind me. I shivered as the cold from the seat penetrated my pants and coat. Tobias let in another blast of winter air when he slid into the driver's side. He started the engine and turned on the headlights, then he rubbed his gloves together. “Damn, but it's one cold night. I think there are icicles on the icicles. You and Stan have it warmer up there in Ott ee wa?”

“Sam. His name is Sam, and yes, Ottawa has its cold snaps too.” I leaned closer so I could watch his face in the dashboard light, “What was that all about anyhow?” I asked.

“What do you mean?”

“You and Wayne Okwari. In the men's room.”

“You are one curious woman, Maja Larson. I never met Wayne in the washroom.”

Tobias looked at me then over his shoulder as he backed out of the parking spot. He glanced at me again as he straightened the wheel, but he didn't say anything more about Wayne. After a while, he made smalltalk about changes to the town. I half-listened. I was mulling over why Tobias suddenly seemed to be hiding something and why a feeling of unease made me wary of confiding in him. Perhaps it had to do with the look in his eyes when I'd asked him about Wayne. His words had been light, but his face had been guarded. After all, what did I really know about Tobias except from when we were kids? People changed. If my father had been up to no good, who better to help him than Tobias, who'd told me the first time we talked that he was planning to head south, just like my father and Chief Anders?

The connections in my brain started to become disturbing. Wayne Okwari was always hanging around the bar, and I'd seen him the day I went to visit Billy and Fortune Bay Casino, the same casino my father frequented—my father, who worked at the border. Now, Tobias and Wayne were giving each other signals across a crowded bar and holding a secret meeting in the public washroom. Small town police forces got into things they shouldn't all the time. They could be as corrupt as big city forces. They had better ways of covering up than the average citizen. The law was on their side and a good front for illegal activity.

Once the ideas started falling into place, it was like a set of dominos tumbling across the floor. There were hidden relationships in Duved Cove, and I needed to get away from Tobias to think them through. I needed to come up with a plan to bring the truth out into the open.

“You seem lost in thought,” Tobias said as we pulled into Jonas's driveway. “A penny for them.” He flashed me a smile. His face was open but his eyes were holding back secrets. I was wary.

I swung my door open and set one foot on the ground before I turned to give him a shaky smile. “I'm just tired and maybe had one more Scotch than I should have. Thanks for the lift, Tobias. I owe you one.”

I darted out of the car and slammed the door without giving him time to respond. My feet slipped dangerously as I made my way up the icy driveway to the back steps. I kept my head down and concentrated on keeping my feet under me. There was no way I intended to fall with Tobias watching.

TWENTY-FOUR

B
illy Okwari visited me that night—not in person, but in my dreams. This time, his visit filled me with sadness. We sat in the shadows of the spruce trees in my front yard, nestled against the roots of a giant cedar. Billy needed to tell me something, and his words kept slipping in and out of my consciousness. His eyes were inky pools burning into mine. I tried putting together the pieces of the dream as I drifted back to sleep, but by morning, the threads had nearly disappeared from my memory. All that remained was a bittersweet heaviness, like honey on my tongue that would stay with me throughout the day.

A long time after the sunlight had begun to weakly filter through the bedroom window, I lay on my side, focusing on the play on shadows on the wall and trying to piece together all I'd witnessed over the past week, trying to reconcile this new reality with images from the past. Somebody had dumped Becky's body in our house, and the choice of location had to mean something. Following the trail of relationships, her killer was logically someone who knew of her affair, with my father and who harboured hatred in their heart. Becky's husband Kevin Wilders, Claire and Jonas had all been hurt by the affair and each had opportunity. I refused to believe that it was Jonas. That left Claire and Kevin, but I didn't like either option. Was somebody else part of the equation of whom I wasn't aware? Could that person be Tobias? It was a small town, and he was a single, attractive man who had flirting down to an art form. His path would have crossed Becky's often, not to mention that she was needy, or
had
been needy. I still couldn't believe she was dead.

I climbed out of bed and changed quickly into jeans, a white turtleneck and emerald green fleece. It was Saturday, and nobody was up. I went through the morning coffee ritual and drank the first cup while eating a bowl of cereal. Sam would be leaving in two days for Bermuda. I had no doubt Lana would be going with him. I wouldn't think about it yet. I felt restless and knew I needed some exercise. I was used to going to the gym at least four mornings a week in Ottawa and keeping a full work schedule. While packing up my father's house was work, it wasn't the workout my body was used to.

I put on my parka and boots and went outside, intending at first to go for a walk along the highway. A second look at the tree line made me suddenly long for a view of the lake, and I went back inside for my car keys.

I parked my car in the barely plowed parking area and started down the path towards the beach. It was slow going, because the puddles of melting snow had frozen over, but I took my time and stepped carefully. Another set of footsteps was visible, leading the way toward the lake. Perhaps, I should have been cautious, but there was no other vehicle in the parking lot, and the prints had to have been made the day before. If I hadn't been so preoccupied, I might have noticed that the footprints were leading to the beach with none returning. That would occur to me later.

I kept my head down, watching where I was going. A strengthening in the wind was the first signal that I'd exited the woods, and I lifted my face in the direction of the lake. When I looked past the huge chunks of ice along the shoreline, I could make out the blue-grey water that bled into the horizon. The sun was a watery ball hovering in the sky, obscured by ribbons of cloud. The snowmobile trails that crisscrossed the snowy beach were icier than on my first visit but still manageable. I started walking, glancing around me as I went, inhaling the fresh air in deep drafts and enjoying the gusts of wind that buffeted me at steady intervals. I wasn't a quarter of the way into my journey before I stopped to survey the wide expanse of beach, and it was then that I spotted the dark mass ahead of me, closer to the frozen shoreline. It looked like a black blanket, lying in a sea of white, billowing when the wind caught under its folds.