I hate it when I'm stuck. And I was stuck again. Alvin and Mrs. Parnell were having all the fun. I had nothing better to do than sit around and wait for someone to try and kill me. They were still at their research the next morning. I wasn't sure if they'd slept the night before. It seemed better not to ask.
I decided to leave them to it and enjoy an Alvin-free morning at the office. It just wasn't as pleasant as I'd expected. Every single activity at Justice for Victims was boring. Letters to be written, signed and photocopied. Filing. Briefs to be read. Briefs to be written. Plans for fundraising to be thought through.
Not to mention the kind of stuff Alvin puts off.
It would have been a good day to shop for a bridesmaid's dress, but apparently that was already taken care of.
I cleaned out the voice mail, including a breathless message from P. J. saying he thought I'd understand about the non-nephews if he could spend a bit of time explaining it to me. He had a tip for me too.
Delete.
I thought about the case instead. The biggest problem was obviously Elaine. The longer she stayed in jail issuing self-incriminating statements to the press, the more likely she'd get a hefty sentence. Elaine was stubborn, short-sighted and maybe even crazy, but there are worse traits, and, anyway, she'd always been there for me whenever I'd needed help. Trouble was, unless we could prove Randy Cousins' involvement, Elaine's neck would stay on the line. The cops would protect their own, and I had less than no pull with the Crown. There was nothing I could do without making the situation worse.
Or was there?
After an hour of pacing and muttering out loud, I had an idea.
And a good way to kill two birds.
“Hey!” I said, “it's Camilla.”
Complete and utter silence.
“Hello?”
Not even the sound of breathing.
“Leonard, are you there?”
“What do you want?”
“Is that anyway to talk to a friend? I need to discuss a few of the wedding arrangements with you. Do we have to fight?”
“Wedding arrangements?”
“Exactly.”
“Let's see if I understand. You want to talk about the wedding arrangements with me. Do I have that right?”
“You do.”
“Pull the other one, Camilla.”
“No, really. You know what my sisters are like.”
“What is your point? I have work to do here.”
“The whole is so much greater than the sum of the parts when it comes to the MacPhee girls. They are formidable when they're together. Surely you've noticed.”
“Okay, I'll concede they're…”
“You got it. They're a force of nature at the best of times. And Alexa is right over the top about this wedding.”
“Well, maybe.”
“So, its difficult for me to ask simple questions or make little suggestions without causing a blow-up.”
“I don't have all day.”
“Leonard, we're in the wedding party together, remember. I need to know what's going to happen when. I thought we could talk over coffee. But, look, don't worry about it. I understand you can't be seen with me because of this directive. I shouldn't have bothered you. Forget it happened, okay? I'll see you at the rehearsal.”
“Look, sorry. I guess it would be okay. You're not going to hound me about the Ekstein case, right?”
“Absolutely not. Well, you're the one with the time constraint. How about the Colonnade for lunch? Say one o'clock? You've gotta eat.”
He grunted before he hung up. I took that as a yes.
“Weather's warming up.” Mombourquette shook the slush off his boots.
“Terrific.” I was happy because he'd actually shown up. “At this rate the snow will soon be completely melted. They don't call it Waterlude for nothing.”
I could tell he was checking for signs of sarcasm. I reminded myself to cut it out.
“My treat. Name your poison,” I added.
Minutes later we were tucked into a table for two at the Colonnade, sipping hot coffee and waiting for our personal-size pizzas. I love the chicken, mushroom and green pepper version, so I might have been smiling.
“What happened to your face?”
“Came off second best in a fight with a snowbank. You can see why I don't mind if it warms up.”
“What…?”
“Never mind. Now, Leonard, the wedding. I thought we could strike a truce until it's over.”
“We'll both live longer if we do.”
“My point exactly.” I slapped a large wedding planner I'd picked up from Mags and Fags onto the table. “As members of the wedding party, we have obligations. I thought we could check them out.”
“I already know what to do.”
“You do?”
“Yes, Conn gave me a written list of instructions. It had my responsibilities laid out in point form with time frames and a place to check off each activity as it's completed. Came with a little pen.”
“Ah. That would be Edwina's doing.”
“I assumed all instructions would have come from Alexa.” Mombourquette picked up the Wedding Planner.
“Nope. It's Edwina's style.”
“Whoever. They're clear-cut, easy to follow. It's just one day, and Conn has been my partner for a lot of years.” He started leafing through the pages of the planner.
“So Conn gave you a sheet. But I don't have the equivalent sheet for the maid of honour? I wonder why?”
“I bet it's because you wouldn't follow any of the instructions, no matter who they were from. They probably farmed out your chores to other people.” Mombourquette stopped flipping and pointed out a sizeable checklist. “Did you help address the invitations?”
“Is that a joke?”
“Did you arrange the shower?”
“Of course not, Edwina and Donalda did all that. They'd never leave me in charge of something like that. Is there more?”
“Lots of stuff on the wedding day. Help the bride to get dressed. Ensure the other attendants are presentable. Witness the wedding certificate. Remind the bride of the reception time table. Help the bride get ready…”
“This is the first I've heard about any of this. Except maybe the witnessing.”
“It's all standard stuff. I guess your family doesn't believe you'll do it. Or they don't believe you'll get it right.”
“I'm glad we're having this talk. What happens at this rehearsal?”
“Use your brain.”
“Listen, Leonard. It's on Friday, three days before the wedding. I just need to know is there a reason for that timing?”
“Not that I'm aware of. Just a scheduling thing. You should know all this.”
“No need to be snippy, Leonard. I guess we're expected to dress up?”
“I'd say we should look respectable. And you should make an effort to be polite.”
“I guess I can do that, since the damn thing means so much to Alexa. Even though it's obviously brought her to the brink of psychosis. But hey.”
“Good.”
“On a related topic, Officer Randy Cousins. You've worked with her quite a bit. Did she ever have a relationship with Ralph Benning?”
His cup hit the table with a bang. “What?”
“You heard me. Is that what the police are trying to keep secret?”
“Did you get me here to talk about that? You are reprehensible.”
Big word for a little rodent. “Hey, don't get me wrong. I needed to talk to you about the wedding stuff. I seem to have the wrong effect on people over the phone for some reason. Since I can't go to police HQ, I figured you wouldn't mind. We're practically family.”
“You're barking up the wrong tree about Randy, Camilla.”
“Am I?”
“Yes, you're also full of shit.”
“Could be. But you might want to check and see how many times she was involved with Benning's arrests, charges and other stuff.”
“No, I don't want to. Randy is one of the finest officers I ever met, and I can tell you she has never been involved with Ralph Benning in any inappropriate way.”
“She was on guard at Lindsay's house the night Benning was killed. Kind of a coincidence. She a friend of yours?”
“She's someone I have a tremendous amount of respect for.”
“We hate it, don't we, when it looks like our friends are unjustly accused. I found out the hard way. Give it a bit of thought.”
“You're a real bitch, Camilla.” He pushed back his chair.
“You know something, Leonard? I checked the Confederation Park site and guess what, there's no video surveillance there. I mentioned it to Conn and to Mia Reilly. Neither of them deny it.” I had him.
“I know,” he said.
“How did you get the tape?”
“It was dropped off in the police station.”
“Oh, great. Speaking of security, did anyone catch sight of the person who dropped it?”
“It was just left in the second floor hall.” He wasn't meeting my eyes.
“That's interesting. Someone who had access to the police station without being noticed. Someone like, let's say for the sake of argument, a police officer? So, Leonard, who do you suppose took that video footage?”
I could tell by the way he shrugged that he'd been asking the same question.
“If you're about to suggest she did it herself to get media attention, then why was she so careful not to show her face? We both know why. Because it wasn't her. It was someone else. And your job should be to find out who. Here's another question for you. Why did you head for Lindsay's house the morning after Benning died? Did Officer Cousins suggest it?”
“No, she didn't. An anonymous tip.” Mombourquette was on his feet, gripping the table.
“Was your anonymous tip from a police cruiser?”
“No, it wasn't.”
“Where was it from?”
“A phone booth. Not that it's your business.” We had the attention of everyone at the neighbouring tables by this time.
“It is my business. You know what I think?”
“I don't give a rat's ass.”
It was hard to let that pass, but I stuck to my guns. “Officer Randy Cousins was in Benning's pocket, and Benning was getting too hot to handle. Maybe she helped him to escape, killed him and then decided to frame Lindsay Grace. She was in a position to do it.”
Mombourquette's incisors gleamed. “Listen to me. And listen good. The first domestic Randy pulled, the husband murdered the wife. Stabbed her with the carving knife. Thirty-one times. Randy held her hand while she died. She was covered in the victim's blood by the time the back-up showed. The perp pleaded down and got out in eighteen months. Randy hates wife-beaters. She's a big supporter of WAVE and all those other groups. There's no fucking way she had anything going with Benning.”
That was loud enough to get everyone's attention, even the crowd waiting for take-out at the other end of the café.
“Her name turns up in connection with his dozens of times.”
“There's a good reason. She pulled out all the stops to get him. She was out to nail the bastard.”
“Maybe you shouldn't shout, Leonard.”
“Maybe you should learn to listen.”
“Okay, I get it. Randy Cousins couldn't have killed Benning because she was out to nail him.”
“You got this assbackwards, Camilla. Every member of the force will go out of his way to stop you from hassling Randy.”
“I understand why she attended his funeral. I'm not letting this one go, Leonard.”
“You'd better. And stay away from Randy.”
“Oh, and you asked about my face. I picked up my new look in an attack right after I left you in the police gym. Who followed me out of the gym, Leonard? Think back. Whose raised knees would match up with my kidneys, right here?”
He headed for the door and turned, “Get a rabies shot, Camilla, unless it's too late.”
Every eye in the Colonnade followed him as he stormed out the door. I felt the heads swivel back to me.
“See you Friday, sweetie.” I blew him a kiss.
I kept my chin up until the two personal-sized pizzas arrived. Then I smiled. Watching the take-out section had given me an answer.
Everyone's coffee must have been drugged at the same time. The pizza had never been alone. Elaine had brought the coffee from the WAVE office. Someone who knew where she was headed must have fiddled with the thermoses.
For sure she'd been to the Colonnade. She would have waited at least a few minutes. With the snow banks on Metcalfe and the side streets as high as they were, even Elaine wouldn't have been able to park right in view. She would have tucked the SUV into the back parking lot of the Colonnade. She'd probably left the thermoses there while she picked up the pizza. I checked the lot as soon as I left. Busy as the Colonnade is, a suitably devious person could have tampered with that coffee without attracting attention.
Who better than a police officer in uniform? And I knew just the one. I was certain I had it figured out. I just had to wait for an answer from Conn McCracken to confirm how she got into the SUV. Which reminded me, Randy Cousins was still out there. Tall, strong and carrying a gun.
It gave another meaning to the need for police protection.
While I waited for various well-stirred pots to boil over, I had areas where nothing was cooking. Mainly I needed to find out whom Elaine had seen or talked to from the time she picked up the coffee from the WAVE office until she showed up at Lindsay's place. Given the limitations of my bail restrictions, this was proving tricky.
But I knew one person I didn't have to stay away from, and I was smiling as I rang her doorbell.
“Merv take the day off?” I said when Lindsay peered through the glass. She opened the door and gave a weak grin.
Good start. Not everyone liked my jokes.
“Actually, he took the day on.”
“You mean, he's here?”
“I mean he's back at work. He seems to be getting better, and his doctor said he could go back to work part-time.”
“Great news.” Great because he and his gall-bladder wouldn't be there to run interference.
“You're looking better yourself, Lindsay.” I don't know why I said it, since it wasn't true.
“Am I? Well, as they say, life goes on.”
She sank wearily onto the sofa, and I took the chair.
“I need to talk to you about Elaine and the murder. I know it's tough for you, but I'm trying to understand what goes through the mind of a woman under Benning's spell.”
She blinked. “Elaine wasn't under his spell.”
“Right. And she didn't kill him either. But somebody did. I need to figure out what would have pushed that person to murder him. But I don't want to upset you any more.”
I had worked up that piece of dialogue and practiced it on my way over. The truth was I felt like shaking her. It was obvious at the funeral she was grieving for Benning. But she took me by surprise.
“I like you better when you're yourself, Camilla. Nobody is going to fall for the phony sympathy.”
My turn to blink. “That obvious, am I? Good to know. Let me start again. You were genuinely grieving at the funeral.”
“It's not impossible to love someone who's dead.”
“I learned that the hard way. But it's not the issue. When he was alive, he terrorized you. He made you an emotional hostage. You broke free with a lot of help from Elaine, and yet he kept his hold on you. He had the same hold on Rina. She went out to meet him despite the danger. What compelled her?”
She gazed out the window. “I don't know why anyone would do that.”
“Yes, you do. Because you did it too.”
Her back stiffened. Bingo.
“No.”
“The night he was killed, you left the house.”
“I didn't.”
“You did. And you'd better tell me about it. I am not the enemy, Lindsay.”
“It isn't true.”
“You planned to meet him that night, and something terrible happened. Is that why your cream cashmere tunic and pants were missing in the morning?”
“They're here somewhere.
“If they're here, let's see them.”
“You can't. I gave them away.”
“Okay. Who did you give them to?”
“I dropped them in one of those boxes for the Sally Ann.”
“Which one?”
“I don't remember.”
“People are weird. When they give away this season's latest style in cashmere, they don't drop them into boxes and forget about them.”
She was crying. I felt like a shit. But that didn't matter, because I feel like a shit half the time, and we were getting somewhere. It took another minute before the fight went out of her. “He called.”
“What did he say?” I felt a little rush of blood to my head. “Why in God's name would you go?”
She held up her hand. “Look, this is hard for me to admit. But I don't need you to yell at me.”
I took a deep breath. “Right. Sorry. But you're an intelligent woman. And you took such a risk.”
“It didn't seem dangerous to me.”
“After what happened to his wife? After he beat her to death?”
She raised her chin.
I tried to calm myself. No point in shouting at the victim. It wasn't up to me to decide whether she should have had more sense, which she should have. Lindsay still wasn't the bad guy.
“I hadn't heard about Rina.” She had a little resistance left.
“Don't get mad. I'm trying to understand. You were hiding out.”
“Yes.”
“Terrified he would come after you.”
“Yes.”
“We were there to protect you.”
“Yes.”
“What could he have said to make you…” I took a breath.
“Stupid?” she said.
“Well, you went to meet him. In spite of everything you knew.”
“I'm not sure I understand it myself. He contacted me.”
“How?”
“By phone.”
“But we were sitting right in this room all evening.”
“Everyone had flaked out when I woke up at about eleven-thirty. I crawled up to bed. He called on my cellphone. I keep it next to my bed.”
“Okay. So he phoned.”
“Yes, and I spoke to him.”
“You didn't try to wake us up?”
“I was half-asleep when I answered. I don't know what I thought.”
“Or if.”
“He said he was hurt. He sounded faint.”
It took a lot of effort not to scream that he couldn't have called. He would have been dead long before.
“He said he had been hit by a police bullet during the escape. He had lost a lot of blood. A lot.”
“Go on.”
“He had been hurt again when he chased Alvin, I guess.”
“He said that?”
“He didn't mention Alvin in particular, but he told me he'd bumped someone with a car and then hit his head and he wasn't feeling right.”
“Okay.”
“He thought he was going to die. I pleaded with him to turn himself in. He believed the police would kill him. He'd never even stand trial. I tried to reason with him, but it was no use.”
I asked myself if I could fall for such a stupid setup.
“I'm sure you find this unbelievable.”
“Who am I to talk? I made the wrong move after a phone call once and two people died as a result.”
“Someone died as a result of this.”
“But that wasn't your fault.”
“Maybe. I didn't kill him. I just did what I thought I had to.”
“What happened?”
“I tried to convince him he'd be better off with medical attention. He was getting upset. He was almost incoherent. His answers didn't make sense. He wanted to say goodbye to me. He said he loved me, and he was going to die. I believed him.”
I had a hard time with the pleading look in her eyes. “So then what did you do?”
“I went back downstairs. Everyone was snoring.”
“Where was he?”
“I believed him. I took my cellphone. I thought I could get close enough to see what was happening and then call for an ambulance.”
“The cops didn't see you?”
“No, I left from the basement parking.”
“What? This house was surrounded. Two cops in the front.
One in the back. You couldn't get out of parking without being seen.”
“My neighbour's in Florida for the winter. I have her keys. I took her car. I wore a scarf on my head and a pair of glasses. It's what I've been doing since I've been here, every time I left the house. I thought I'd nod at the cops and then…”
“They could have stopped you.”
“Yes. I was ready. I would say I was feeling panicked. What could they do? I didn't have to tell them about Ralph.”
“Words fail me.”
“I realize how stupid it was. But anyway, it didn't matter, because they were asleep.”
“All three of them?”
“The one in the back of the house had his nose squished right up against the window.”
“Did you see the officers in the front?”
“The one with the mustache had his head back against the headrest.”
“And the other one?”
“I didn't notice. I didn't hang around to see. I floored it and headed out.”
I was so caught up in Lindsay's story I didn't even hear the front door open.