It was nearly seven-thirty when I pulled the rental car into Lindsay's driveway.
Merv was not even slightly glad to see me. “Don't you have a home?”
I pushed past him into the foyer. I tried not to elbow his gall bladder. Lindsay was curled up on the leather sofa. She smiled limply when I strode into the living room.
“This won't take long. Lindsay. You need a lawyer and I'm happy to represent you. In return, I need a favour.”
I raised my hand to silence Merv. “More trouble. Mrs. Parnell was attacked this afternoon while working on this case. She's in intensive care. We have to pull together to find out who killed Benning and framed Elaine before anyone else gets hurt.”
Lindsay crumpled onto the sofa and stared. “Attacked? Mrs. Parnell? But why would anyone hurt her?”
“How can you represent Lindsay when all you can think about is Elaine? You're on your own, Camilla.” Merv likes to be in charge. He obviously thought the job of the guy in charge was to keep Lindsay from facing reality.
Lindsay said, “Do you think the attack on Mrs. Parnell is connected with what's been happening?”
“You bet.”
“Forget it, Camilla. If she's hurt, it's because you've been sticking your nose into the wrong things again. Lindsay has been through enough. You're not getting her into any more rough situations.”
I loved that, like I created the Benning nightmare. But I didn't take the bait. “Listen to yourself, Merv. Lindsay's life is on the line here. Whether you want it or not, she's involved.”
Lindsay said, “She's right. What do you want me to do, Camilla?”
“You don't have to do anything,” Merv said.
She gave his hand a brave little squeeze. “It's time I stood on my own two feet.”
I'm glad she said it. Saved me the trouble. “Good. I want you to pay a visit to Elaine at the Regional Detention Centre. Visiting time for the public is evenings from seven to nine. You can still get there tonight if you hurry.” I handed her a list of names. “Find out if she saw any of these people on her way to your place. Don't let on you're working with me. Don't show her the list. Act like it's just a regular visit. After all, you are her friend. Then make sure every name gets worked into the conversation.”
Merv was ugly enough before he rolled his eyes.
Lindsay nodded. The list contained everyone I could imagine who might have spotted Elaine on her pizza run. It led off with Randy Cousins and included even unlikely candidates like Vanessa Gross-Davies, Chair of the WAVE Board of Directors, and that phony uncle, P. J. Lynch. I asked them to find out if she had seen any police officers at all.
Merv and Lindsay both lifted their eyebrows.
“And call me as soon as you find out. Leave a message if you have to. We've all had enough of this bullshit.” I didn't wait for them to answer. I headed back to the hospital for the night shift.
As I elbowed my way through the waiting room outside the ICU, I ran into Donalda and my father. Daddy had finished his bedside duty. I'd never seen him look so tired. He leaned heavily on Donalda's arm.
“Oh, yes, um, Camilla. I've been reading to Violet.” His copy of Chesterton's St. Francis of Assisi was still tucked under his arm. Poor Mrs. P. She was more the Winston Churchill type. Booze, smokes and rapier wit. Alvin had the right idea. Almost as soon as Mrs. P. was wheeled in, he'd draped a hot pink lei on her IV pole and left a copy of Frank magazine for her edification.
You can always tell when you're in an Intensive Care Unit. If you don't catch on right away, the subtle squeak of the nurses' rubber-soled shoes, the lines from intravenous drips, the half-light, the heavy hints of antiseptic and the muffled weeping will clue you in soon enough.
It was a long night. I wrapped up at daybreak, after spending hours doing paper analyses, grasping for the missing piece of insight that would clear up everything. I hadn't found it. I did slip out a couple of times to try to reach Lindsay and Merv on the pay phone. I kept getting their answering machines. And they kept getting mine. I spent the rest of the time reading the Ottawa Citizen to Mrs. Parnell's unconscious form. I made a point of not staring at her ashen cheeks, her cold, grey knuckles, or the lumpy skin on her hand with the needle for the intravenous feed. Since the ICU staff swore even unconscious people react well to voices, I picked out intriguing stories with military overtones. It's never hard to find some former Brigadier General belting out opinions in the paper. It made a nice change, I was sure, from my father praying or my sisters chatting about the mid-winter white sales or Alvin promising her some high-grade weed if she would just wake up.
Once an hour I left the unit to pace through the endless, 291 nearly deserted, hospital corridors. I needed to clear my head and to plan to let Randy Cousins get what was coming to her. I hadn't come up with a good scheme to prove she'd attacked Mrs. Parnell.
The rest of the night, I hunted for stories which might amuse her, say successful military capers involving helicopters. But I'd given up hope of hearing Mrs. Parnell's wheezy chuckle again.
“Ms. MacPhee, you'll never guess,” she said suddenly around four in the morning. I dropped my newspaper when I leapt off the chair.
“What?” Not the most effusive greeting for someone who regains consciousness after a long and frightening twelve hours.
“A strange man named Eugene told me my family has been sitting with me round the clock. Isn't that amazing?”
“Eugene's your nurse this shift. Why is it amazing?”
“Everyone in my family has been dead for years. This is well beyond the call of duty, wouldn't you say?”
“Maybe they're not as dead as they look.”
“What happened? You said Eugene's my nurse and this appears to be a hospital.”
“You're in Intensive Care.”
“Explains the appalling lack of sherry. I want to get home and get my new speakers set up. There'd better be a damned good reason for keeping me here.”
“There is. You were checking out Randy Cousins and someone conked you on the head and tucked you out of sight to die of hypothermia.”
“Nevertheless, apparently I didn't die. Too stubborn.”
I pulled closer to the bed. “Tell me, what's the other guy look like?”
“I wish I could remember, Ms. MacPhee. Everything's blank.”
“Ah.” There went my hopes.
She lifted her hand to her head and massaged her temple with two bony fingers. “I'd prefer a good old-fashioned hangover any day.”
“In that case, you should avoid icy, dark and deserted parking lots.”
“I was in a parking lot?”
“Yes. Across the street from Randy Cousins's house. Ring any bells?”
She shook her head. “Ouch.”
“Save the head-shaking for a better time. Do you recall why you checked out the parking lot?”
“Ms. MacPhee.”
“What?”
“Could you welcome me back to the living before you begin the third degree?”
“Welcome back, Mrs. Parnell. You have been missed.”
“By my whole family, apparently.”
“Plus Lester and Pierre send their regards. As does your cat. And the guys delivering the speakers.”
A throat cleared behind me. That sweet and burly guy named Eugene. “Somebody's awake. We'll get the doctor over to see you.”
“Better tell him to take a number,” said Mrs. P.
“We'll need to examine her now that she's conscious.” Eugene pointed to the other side of the curtain, like he expected me to take the hint.
“Don't talk about me as if I'm not here,” Mrs. Parnell said. “I may be old, but I'm formidable.”
“Formidable's good,” Eugene said.
“I hope my car hasn't been towed, Ms. MacPhee.”
“Lucky I had your spare keys. Alvin drove it home for you.”
“Excellent. Help yourselves to it. No good to me here.”
“Time's up,” Eugene said.
“I need a minute. I have a couple more questions.”
“No questions. Step outside.” I didn't rate a smile.
“Good-bye, Ms. MacPhee. See if you can get my friend Harvey to drop in for a visit, will you?”
Alvin and I were both in fairly good humour, since Mrs. Parnell had given new meaning to the phrase bounced back. Daddy and Donalda were on the job. I figured Daddy could keep Eugene in his place.
I needed to get moving because the day-to-day business of Justice for Victims had been piling up. People with problems needed to be advised, politicians needed to be badgered, funds needed to be raised, briefs needed to be barbed and bills needed to be stalled. I needed to catch the hell up, and Alvin needed to get the lead out. I did not need to sleep. A couple of hours upright on a plastic visitor's chair was plenty for anyone. I was thundering up the stairs to the hospital parking garage when the Level 3 door opened and I found myself nose to chest with Randy Cousins.
We both stood our ground.
“Well, well,” she said.
I checked around. For once, not a soul crowded the metal stairway.
“I hear you're interested in my activities.”
She was one scary lady. I kept quiet. Where the hell was the rest of the world when you needed it? Unless I was very wrong, this was the woman who tossed Mrs. Parnell behind a salt box and left her to die of hypothermia. Not to mention dumping me headfirst into that snowbank on the canal. I didn't feel like arguing with her at the top of a metal staircase without any witnesses.
“Let me fill you in,” she said. “We're not on opposite sides.”
“Right. If you're trying to find yourself alone with Mrs. Parnell, forget it. Two people are with her at all times. And she doesn't remember her assailant.” I tried to deke past her and scoot through the door to the parking area. At least there'd be witnesses.
She extended her arm and blocked the way. “No wonder you piss people off.”
“That's my goal in life.” What the hell. She might be about to toss me down three flights of stairs, but I didn't have to snivel.
“Everyone needs a goal,” she said. “We're not so different. My goal was getting that little prick Benning locked up forever.”
She sounded like she meant it. That came as a surprise. I said, “I'm listening.”
“I hear you think I killed him.”
“Did you?”
“I hated him. I could probably have done it, but we have departmental rules.”
“Maybe it was an extracurricular activity.”
She chuckled. “For somebody, it probably was. I'm just as interested as you are in finding out who the somebody is.”
“I'll send you monthly activity reports. How about that?”
“You're a riot. Connie and Lennie tell me your elderly friend might make it. I hear she was checking out my neighbours when she was attacked. That makes me wonder what's going on. I hope it makes you want to leave this investigation to the pros.”
“What investigation? I thought the Benning case was a done deal. Elaine serves time because the cops can't believe she's innocent.”
“Of course she's innocent. We're not idiots.”
“Really? Maybe I'm wrong.”
“You're wrong about a lot of things.”
The metal door to Level 3 opened, and three people pushed into the stairwell. Randy Cousins moved sideways to let them pass.
“Oh, good. Witnesses. Courts love them.” I turned and spoke to them as they clattered down the stairs. “I'm Camilla MacPhee and this is Constable Miranda Cousins. Please note the time and the fact that we're having a dispute, in case you hear that I've gone missing.”
Those three certainly could scurry.
“Very funny.”
“Since we're being candid, answer this. If your only involvement in this case is the pursuit of truth and justice, why was Mrs. Parnell attacked across the street from your house?”
Her jaw knotted. “I don't know. And I intend to find out. It will be easier without you making Connie and Lennie go ballistic every ten minutes and putting your friends and family in serious jeopardy. You know, Lennie has to swallow half a bottle of Mylanta every time he hears your name.”
“Big deal. He's supposed to care about Elaine, and he's not even willing to put up with a bit of indigestion?”
“He does care about Elaine. A lot more than he should, if you ask me. Why do you think those two guys are still working on this case?”
She had me there.
“So take a bit of advice. You have strict bail conditions. Stop getting in our way, or the judge will hear about it, and you can worry about Elaine's problems from the same side of the bars.” She pushed past me and headed down the stairs, shoulders squared.
My first real encounter with Randy Cousins, human being, had been full of surprises. Two minutes of observing her up close, and I knew why McCracken and Mombourquette backed her solidly. An impressive woman. And maybe, just maybe, she was telling the truth. If so, who was lying?
To be on the safe side, I headed back into the hospital to make sure my family and all the nursing staff knew that Mrs. Parnell was not to be alone with anyone, including police officers. I gave P. J. a call too and told him what had happened to Mrs. P., in case the police didn't send out a press release on her. While I was at it, I tried once more to reach Lindsay. I left a message suggesting she leave the name or names on my voice mail if she didn't catch me the next time. I'd fill in the details later.
I felt better afterwards. I couldn't imagine any perpetrator getting past one of my sisters or even my father. Not to mention Mrs. P's day nurse, Derek, who was even bigger than Eugene.
I couldn't work. I paced restlessly, which isn't all that easy in a tiny office with two people in it. Eventually, I checked out the images on Alvin's painted window. After that, I decided to leave. I had plenty of time to go home, shower, shampoo and get respectable for the rehearsal.
“Or else.” Edwina's words. I'd show her by turning up at the rehearsal in the little black number. I had fun anticipating her expression.
Then I remembered something I should have done much earlier. “I don't know what's the matter with me. I meant to take a look at the site along the river where Lindsay claimed she found blood and signs that Benning had been there. With all the upset about Mrs. P., I put it out of my mind,” I said to Alvin.
“You can't think of everything. Lot of serious shit going down.”
“Most charitable of you, Alvin, but it's important. It's probably where he was killed. I'm going to whiz by and take a quick glimpse. I'll kick myself if the rain has washed away every bit of evidence.”
“It was raining before Lindsay even mentioned it. Which reminds me, she was trying to reach you.”
“Damn. We're telephone tagging. Any message?”
“Just that the names you were looking for didn't come up.”
In view of Alvin's good behaviour, I didn't lean on him about not mentioning Lindsay's call earlier. “I might drop in and see her after I check the river site.”
Alvin jerked his head and banged his sunglasses on the lamp. “Recurring death wish, Camilla?”
“Why?”
“If you're late for this rehearsal, try to picture it. What time is Stan picking you up?”
“He's been pressed into service running errands, so I'm getting myself there. No big deal. I'm glad to go somewhere without Stan.”
“He has heated seats, though, in the new car. Leather.”
“Who cares? The weather's heating up. The whole city's a giant puddle. The ice on the canal is practically melted.”
“I beg you, check the site another time. Don't take the chance. I'm the one who has to work with you after your sisters finish screaming. Wait a minute. Here's an idea. I have some little Valentine's chores I need to do first…”
“What kind of chores? Nothing to do with long distance calls, I hope.”
He managed an expression of tremendously affronted dignity, amazing for someone with an orange tan, three Day-Glo leis, nine earrings and a ponytail. “No. Lindsay's had such a hard time lately, I wanted to make her a card, plus get some special chocolates and drop them off for Violet in the hospital. But that won't take long. I've got the LTD. Give me the details of the location, and I'll head over and take a peek at the site. I'll let you know what I find.”
I couldn't think of a good reason to say no. Even though it was Alvin, and there had to be something fishy about the proposition.
“It's a deal.”
As he headed out to the Byward Market to hunt for handmade paper and Belgian chocolates, Alvin narrowed his eyes and reminded me to go straight to the rehearsal. I told him to keep me in the picture about what he saw at the river. I pressed my cellphone into his outstretched palm. “And remember, no, count them, no phone calls to Cape Breton.”
“Okay. And on your part, get to the church on time.”
“Piece of wedding cake.” I closed the door behind me.
Lindsay had left a message on my home machine too. No joy from the RDC. Elaine knew Randy Cousins but hadn't run into her until she arrived at Lindsay's, where she recognized her as one of the officers. There was one other thing that might be useful, but probably it wasn't important. Of course, Lindsay didn't answer her phone.
Merv didn't answer her phone or his. I left messages asking that the next message have some information about the thing that was potentially useful. I fed Mrs. Parnell's cat and chucked some food at Lester and Pierre without getting bitten. Next, I took a long bath, this time with a peach bath bomb, and drifted off to sleep for a while in the tub. Afterwards, I wound my wet hair into a French roll. It was only the rehearsal. The wedding wasn't until Monday. Surely, someone would have made me a hair appointment before then.
As I anchored the hair, I noticed the message light flashing on my phone. Just like Alvin to call when I'm in the tub.
“Lord thundering Jesus, Camilla. I've been by the river. Looks like Lindsay was right. It's a great clue. Just like a Nancy Drew book. It's the break we need. Hey, it's nearly five, and I have things to do. See you later.”
Well, that was useless. I dialled my cellphone number. Alvin didn't answer. Not much point in leaving a message for myself either. By this time, I had on my new rehearsal outfit and a pile of makeup. I looked fine if you care about these things. As Alexa does.
I checked the time. Five-thirty. I figured the rehearsal would start at seven. The next couple of days would be entirely given over to hair appointments, wedding, reception and all that crap. Then I could get back to the business at hand. Finding out who killed Benning. Finding out why that person would also go after Mrs. Parnell. And then fixing him or her but good.
Monday morning I'd be back on the job, with Alvin's new information making a difference. Or not. The only fly in the ointment was the unavailability of Alvin. But what the hell. Relax, stroke the cat and watch the view for the first time in weeks.
The cat sounded happy. That made one of us.
I tried Lindsay's one more time, expecting to leave another peevish message. She took me by surprise when she answered the phone.
“Camilla!”
I didn't want to beat around the bush. “So what did Elaine have to say?”
“We didn't have any luck at all. It looks like Elaine didn't see any of those people. Of course, it's hard to be sure, because I couldn't come right out and tell her what I wanted to know and why. Merv did his best, though. I think you would have been impressed with how sneaky he can be. We eliminated everyone on the list, I think.”
“That's a letdown.”
“I'm sorry. We did our best. And I'm ready to do anything else you can think of. Merv is, too. Seeing Elaine behind bars was so distressing. We have to get her out of that place. How can we help?”
“First, do not attempt to hang up without telling me about the potentially useful thing you mentioned.”
“Oh, that. Stupid really. It wasn't easy to talk to her about this without giving you away. Elaine mentioned she saw Mia Reilly while she was waiting at the Colonnade. I think Elaine was distracted that day because she was worried about me, but maybe Mia noticed someone from your list. Why don't you ask her? Would she help you in spite of their complaint to the law society?”
“Oh, yes, she'll help, all right. And Lindsay.”
“Yes?”
“Thanks. A lot.”
Anyone in the room could have heard the pieces clicking into place in my tired little brain. It took a full five minutes for my mind to process that key bit of information. And when it did, holy shit.
Mia Reilly. Of course.
Who had been in the Crown Attorney's office when so many of the charges against Benning fizzled for lack of evidence? Who would have been in a position to engineer his escape? Who knew exactly how the Crown and the police thought? Who had an insider's view of how criminals act, where drugs are available, how cars are stolen, how evidence is planted? Who was an exercise junkie, strong and flexible? Who had a legal career and a new fiancé to lose if the word oozed out she'd had a relationship with scum like Benning?
Why the hell hadn't I thought of Mia? Now all I needed was enough time to prove it.
I called my cellphone number. Alvin didn't answer. I tried again. The cellphone couldn't have been out of juice, because I'd charged it before we left the office. It couldn't have been turned off, because then I'd get the little message that the subscriber was currently not available. Alvin couldn't be talking to his mother because it would have been busy. Could Alvin have left it somewhere?
Alvin would never lose a phone. I tried one more time. He could have been in the middle of an intersection dashing across traffic on an icy road. But that would not deter our boy. Five-forty. Alvin had called before five. Where the hell was he? Somewhere where he couldn't call? Say, a hospital where you can't use cellular phones.
I was on my way.