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Halifax, October 24
8:13 p.m.
“Jesus,” Audra said. “I don’t know if it was testosterone or male stubbornness. But I almost couldn’t stand it in there.”
Allan stood at his office window, absently watching the light traffic on Gottingen Street.
“What do you mean?” he said.
“You, getting a bit standoffish with Gagnon.”
“Oh.”
Audra moved up beside him. “Hey, you okay?”
Expelling a breath, Allan ran a hand through his hair. He had a terrible sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach.
“This case,” he said. “The whole thing is getting to me.”
“I’ve noticed. It’s frustrating me too.”
Allan turned to her. “It’s more than that,” he said. “Ever feel like you’re running against the clock?”
Audra frowned. “In this job, always. The worst sound in our world is the tick of the clock.”
“Not that.”
“Then what?”
Allan tipped his head back, shutting his eyes for a couple of seconds. “I stopped by the Driscow house last Monday.” He grimaced. “I don’t know why. I just wanted to see Mary’s parents. See how they were doing.”
“Guilt?”
Allan nodded. “Yeah.”
“Something happened.”
“I found out Joyce, Mary’s mother, died in August. I didn’t know. And to make matters worse, Bill Driscow has advanced liver cancer. Doctors gave him a few months. By the looks of him, I doubt he even has that long. I wish I had never gone over there. I’ve been thinking about him ever since.”
Audra didn’t say anything. Allan found her waiting him out with a concerned gaze.
He said, “I want to give him closure. Do you think we can do that? Do you think we can catch this guy before Bill Driscow dies?”
“Remember what you told Gagnon. That he’s taking the Pringle case too personally. You’re doing the same with the Driscow case.”
Allan felt the truth of that. “Keep your emotions in check, right? Don’t wear your heart on your sleeve. That’s what they tell us. I managed to do that in the first few years on this job. Young. Full of piss and vinegar. I thrived on the challenges.”
“I remember that man,” Audra said. “I was the same way.”
“You still are.”
Audra smirked. “Not so young anymore. But still full of piss and vinegar.”
“So what are your thoughts on these other cases?”
“Like I said earlier, I’m reserving judgment.”
Allan walked back to his desk, sat. “I’m trying not to get my hopes up. I just want to catch this guy so fucking bad.”
Audra took a seat across from him. “So do I.”
“You must have some theories.”
“A few, yeah.”
“The Pringle case looks random to me,” Allan said. “You get that feeling?”
Audra spread her hands. “We can’t rule out that it’s connected to Li Chen.”
Allan tilted his head to the side. “What are you thinking?”
“Let’s consider the possibility. What if Hailey Pringle was the suspect’s first? It could explain the difference in his behavior.”
“When I look at that case, I see a suspect who seemed spontaneous. Sloppy. Rushed, even.”
“Nerves. He doesn’t have experience in killing. He’s not comfortable with it yet. He hasn’t developed his technique.”
Allan could see her point. “There’s also a space of thirty-four months between the Pringle and Chen murders. Repetition makes you better, more comfortable. That’s quite a lull.”
“You think he might’ve committed other murders in that time frame?”
“We have to consider it,” Allan said. “Cross all the t’s.”
Audra clasped her hands together. “Let’s check into unsolved murders out there. Those specifically committed in parks.”
“How far do we go back? Four years? More?”
“Keep it at four for now,” Audra said. “See how many cases we find.”
“There’s an average of ninety unsolved homicides in Canada every year.”
“I know. Let’s focus on Ontario and the Maritimes. That’ll keep our number down a bit.”
Something new popped into Allan’s head. “The homicides in Huntsville preceded ours.”
“I thought about that,” Audra said. “You think the suspect used to live there and moved this way after Chen’s murder?”
“I wonder.”
Audra shrugged. “Dunno, Al. For all we know, he doesn’t reside in either location.”
“A transient?”
“Another angle to consider.”
Allan groaned. “Shit.”
He picked up the phone and called Denis Gagnon.
“Detective Stanton,” Denis answered. “What are you saying tonight?”
In the background, Allan could hear glasses clinking, people murmuring and laughing.
He said, “Doesn’t sound like you’re at the hotel.”
Denis chuckled. “Henry House. I’m a bit gutfoundered. Never ate all day. The bellhop at the Westin told me to try the steak-and-ale stew. You know the place?”
“Never been there, but I heard good things.”
“Two-minute walk from the hotel,” Denis said. “Did you call it a day? Or still at the department?”
“Still here,” Allan said. “Detective Price and I are racking our brains.”
“Hmm. What conclusions have you come to?”
“No conclusions. Just more questions.”
“Uh-huh. I hear ya.”
“I have a few questions for you,” Allan said.
“Shoot.”
“What airport did you use to fly down here? Pearson?”
“Yes.”
“That’s the closest one for you?”
“Yes.”
“What about Billy Bishop?”
“It’s an extra hour’s drive from Huntsville. Why?”
Allan said, “I’m just wondering—if I were the suspect and lived in the Huntsville area—what airport I’d use to fly down here.”
Denis paused. “Pearson and Billy Bishop are your likely choices. Billy Bishop if you wanted to fly Porter. Pearson for Air Canada and Westjet.”
“Excuse my lack of knowledge about Huntsville, but how far is it from Toronto?”
“Two hundred kilometers.”
“A two-hour drive, then?”
“Thereabouts.”
“If I were the suspect living here, I’d have to line up a car for once I got to Toronto.”
“You could do that,” Denis said. “Or take a bus. Shuttle Ontario has two departures going a day.”
Allan watched Audra leaning forward in the chair, her eyes narrowing.
“I can see the hamster running that wheel in your head,” Denis said.
“See where I’m going?”
“I think so.”
“We need to get passenger lists from the airlines,” Allan said. “See who flew to Halifax from Toronto and vice versa in the days leading up to each murder.”
Denis blew into the receiver. “Cross-reference for matching names.”
“Exactly,” Allan said. “We’ll also check with bus stations and car-rental companies. The whole nine yards.
“Detective Price and I also discussed looking into unsolved homicides through Ontario and the Maritimes. Have a firsthand look at them.”
Denis said, “I’ll handle the Ontario side.”
“Deal.”
“What time do you want to meet in the morning?”
“Just a second.” Allan put his hand over the receiver. He asked Audra, “What time in the morning?”
She said, “Seven?”
Allan nodded. “Seven okay with you?”
“That’s six Ontario time,” Denis said. “But it’s fine.”
“Just don’t have too many beers.”
Denis chuckled again. “One glass of McAuslan...er...maybe two.”
Allan smiled. “See you in the morning.”
As he hung up, Audra checked her watch.
“Quarter to nine,” she said, standing. “Better get home. Try to catch some sleep, Al.”
Allan watched her walk out the door. Then he leaned his head back over the chair, gazing up at the ceiling.
Despite his exhaustion, he couldn’t relax. Shutting his eyes, he tried to empty the doubt and depression from his mind. Found it hard to do.
Tomorrow was a new day, he told himself. Maybe it would bring something good for a change.
The thought made him shake his head.
Who the hell was he fooling?
