*Silverton was just on the other side of the bridge from Tangle Falls, but whenever Bobbie visited Leif, she always felt keenly that she was in another country. For one thing, there were the flags. Americans loved their flags and liked to display them on flag poles, in windows, on T-shirts and, well, almost everywhere.
She didn’t blame them for being proud of their country. Sometimes she wished Canadians had a little more pride in their own. Although, after covid, she’d become leery of too much nationalism. The golden rule was meant to be applied across borders, last she’d checked.
The people in Silverton seemed a little more outgoing, they played their country music a little louder, and they sold beer and wine in their grocery and convenience stores, which seemed to her like a pretty sensible idea.
All in all, she felt lucky to be able to visit a different country by simply walking over a bridge. And she especially enjoyed her visits to the 88 Cattle Ranch—named after 1888, the year Leif’s great-grandfather earned the deed to the land. The ranch was just a thirty-minute drive south of Silverton. Leif had picked her up at the American side of the bridge and now as they passed a local landmark—a large billboard listing the Ten Commandments—Bobbie thought of the many times she and Colin had enjoyed the Karlson’s hospitality, sometimes even staying the night so they could go on a trail ride the following day.
Nowadays her invitations to the ranch were rare, and only for a picnic lunch and a trail ride, never dinner or overnight, but she cherished them all the same.
The final approach to Leif’s ranch always took Bobbie’s breath away. Majestic Mount Elizabeth presided over green rolling hills and the forget-me-not blue waters of Curlew Lake. Nestled up against the northern edge of the lake was the homestead itself. The original two-story log home—which Bobbie had been inside rarely, but which always impressed with its vaulted thirty-foot ceiling and massive stone fireplace—had the place of honor on a slight rise with the best view of Mount Elizabeth and the lake.
When Leif’s wife died, he’d moved out of that house, ceding it to his oldest son, Tyler, and his wife and kids. Tyler was in the process of taking over the management of the ranch from his father. The two men clashed frequently, in predictable ways, but there was a strong foundation of respect and love that held fast during these skirmishes.
Leif drove past the approach to the main house, continuing a quarter of a mile to the two-bedroom guest house he’d co-opted as his retirement home. Nestled in a grove of pines with an unnamed creek bubbling within view of the front door, it was both comfortable and private, and Bobbie always felt Leif had his own little corner of heaven up here.
“Let’s have an alfresco lunch before we saddle up,” Leif said after they got out of his truck. He gave her a second look. “Why are you smiling?”
“I’m wondering how many cowboys have used the words ‘alfresco’ and ‘saddle’ in the same sentence. But yes, I love the plan. Much as I love Tangle Falls, it’s great to have this break.”
He led her to the porch where he had a cooler waiting with wine and a beautifully prepared charcuterie spread. “What’s getting you down? Is it the homicide investigation?”
She settled into one of the cushioned chairs and nodded. “It’s got me on edge. I’m looking at people differently. Even Dean’s poor girlfriend, Amanda, who works at my hair salon. I can’t stop thinking about motives and alibis and capacities for violence.”
Leif opened a bottle of Cabernet Franc and filled their glasses. “Leave it behind for now. Enjoy the wine. Eat some food.”
For a long while after that they were silent. Enjoying the view, the nuances of the wine, and the array of carefully selected local cheeses and meats.
Finally she asked what he was thinking about.
“My sister. She’s been on my mind a lot since her old house was sold. I wish you could have known her before she got married.”
“What was she like?”
Leif’s face softened with an indulgent smile. “Happy. Energetic. Cheerful. She never walked anywhere. She was always dancing or skipping. Since she was a bit younger than me, I spoiled her rotten, but I couldn’t help it. None of us, not me or my parents, could say no to her.”
“Where did she meet her husband?”
Leif’s expression hardened. “At the Golden Buckle Saloon. I never understood what she saw in him. Yeah, he had charm, but it was all superficial. Looking back, I wish I’d done whatever I could to break them up. But like I said, none of us were good at telling Odette she couldn’t have what she wanted.”
“Were they happy for a while? She and Neil? Or was it bad from the start?”
“She told me it was like Neil became another person the day after they were married.”
“That’s what Mom said. She said it was like a switch had been flipped.” People could hide their true natures when they were dating. But their true selves eventually emerged.
“Neil started monitoring my sister’s phone calls, discouraging visitors, not giving her access to their one vehicle. She was essentially trapped on that farm. She even gave birth to her daughter at home, with assistance from a local midwife, though she did manage to phone us with that news. I tried to talk her into leaving him then, but things got better for a while. Neil allowed her to bring Annabelle to visit us once a month, though we were never invited back to their place.
“About eighteen months went by. Then we got hit by a real hard winter. Record snowfall and terrible roads. Neil wouldn’t let Odette drive anywhere. We didn’t hear from Odette for months and then suddenly she called me. She said Neil was getting bad again.”
Bobbie wished she didn’t know what was coming next.
“I begged her to leave him, and she told me she would think about it. A few days later, I drove to their farm at a time when I hoped Neil would be out doing chores. My sister wouldn’t open the door to me. She talked to me through the kitchen window and told me I had to go. That Neil would be coming in for his afternoon coffee at any minute.”
He had never told her this story in this much detail before. Bobbie could guess how hard it was for him. How much he must wish he could go back in time and change what happened next.
“I wanted to throw her and Annabelle into my truck and take her home, but she said that wouldn’t work. I think she was afraid of what Neil would do to our parents and perhaps to me too.”
Bobbie listened with the awareness that this had all happened over forty years ago. Domestic abuse was still a big problem, but at least now there was more public awareness and hotlines and agencies where the abused could turn. Back then there’d been nothing.
“That was the last time I saw her alive. One month later she was dead.”
*
Turned out Alec Cudworth did not take on small projects. But since Mrs. G had been his grade-seven science teacher, he agreed to install a safety railing for the shallow three steps up to her gazebo. Before he arrived on Sunday morning, Bobbie searched her old yearbooks to refresh her memory. She found his photo among the class of 2001, which meant Alec would now be about thirty-four, give or take a year. Bright red hair, freckles with a pointy chin and small mouth that gave him a feline appearance. A slightly below-average student, she recalled.
He arrived punctually and Bobbie led him to the gazebo and pointed to the stairs.
Alec whistled. “Beautiful gazebo this.” He examined the custom woodwork on the ceiling trim. “Real craftsmanship.”
“Thank you. My husband built it. He passed away quite a while ago.”
Alec looked at the stairs next. “Sure you need a railing? These are pretty shallow steps.”
“My mother loves the gazebo but she’s in her mid-eighties and not as steady as she used to be.”
He nodded. “Okay. Got it. I’ll take some measurements then run out to Rona to get supplies. I’ll start Monday and should be finished by noon on Tuesday.”
“That sound wonderful. Would you like a glass of lemonade before you go? I’ve got some in the gazebo.” When she could tell he was going to turn her down she quickly added, “And some freshly made cookies, as well.”
“Homemade cookies? Never turn those down.”
Once they were seated, Bobbie finally had a chance to take a good long look at Alec. His hair had darkened to auburn and a dark tan hid most of his freckles. But his features were still cat-like and his lean, lithe, muscular body also reminded her of a cat, the mountain variety.
“I hear you were a friend of Dean Kavanaugh’s,” she said, opting for a direct approach.
He paused mid-bite into his second cookie. “Yeah. We liked to hang out. Do some fishing. How did you know we were friends?”
“His girlfriend Amanda works at the hair salon I go to.”
“Amanda’s cool. Dean didn’t know how lucky he was.”
“Well, he wasn’t lucky that morning…”
Alec winced. “No.”
“Too bad he was fishing alone. If he’d had a friend with him, maybe he wouldn’t have been a target.”
“Yeah.”
Alec shifted uncomfortably and eyed the exit from the gazebo. She had to speak quickly before he bolted.
“My nephew Jesse has been talking to the RCMP. He says they’re interviewing all of Dean’s friends and fishing buddies. I suppose they’ve talked to you?”
Alec gave a short nod. “I wasn’t much help. I had to drive to Grand Forks early that morning, to get some supplies for a small bathroom reno. Turned out they didn’t have the tiles I needed, even though their website said they did. Real waste of time.”
Sounded like a pretty flimsy alibi to Bobbie. She studied the young man’s face for signs of anxiety. Dishonesty. There were always tells. Like the way he’d suddenly started jiggling his right leg.
“Amanda said the three of you were planning to start a business together? Flipping houses?”
“That was the idea. I was going to do the reno work and Amanda all the fluffy stuff. She’s got great taste and she’s pretty talented with a paintbrush. Couldn’t get Dean on board, though.”
Before Bobbie could line up another question or comment to extend their conversation, Alec sprang up from his chair in a move that once again reminded Bobbie of a mountain lion.
“Better get a move on if I want to get that railing finished by Monday. Thanks for the snack Mrs. G.”