Sam Little could fix a leaky roof, weld a bed frame or paint a house. He did good work for not much money. He also spent as much time trading gossip as he did working on the job at hand. Now he sat in Max’s office, wearing a blue shirt and jeans with a red kerchief around his neck. His long gray hair was tied back in a ponytail. He looked like Willie Nelson’s younger brother.
“Let’s see,” Sam said when Max asked where he had been that day. “I read the paper at Tim Hortons…”
“Is that where you met Ryan Kelly?”
“That’s right,” Sam said. “Saw Billy Ray there too. Saw him talk to Ryan a bit. When Billy Ray left, Ryan came and told me Billy Ray had a gun. Said he might use it. Said I should tell you or Henry.”
“And did you?”
“I told Henry. See, I left just as that storm hit. Boy, that was something, wasn’t it? I stopped the truck under a bridge when the rain came down hard. When it was over I saw Henry coming. I waved him down and told him what Ryan Kelly had told me. I said maybe one of you should go to Billy Ray and get him to see some reason.”
“What did Henry say?”
“He said he would look into it.”
“What next?”
“I went home to start putting down new floor tile. The wife has been at me for weeks to get it done. Then Ivan called to say there was a meeting at his office. Said I should come and help decide what to do about Billy Ray.”
“Did you go?”
“Sure did. I was glad to go. Hate doing tile. Down on your knees all day—”
“Just tell me what went on at the meeting,” Max said.
“Well, when I got there I told Ivan what I had heard from Ryan. That’s when things got started. We all agreed we had to do something. I mean, short of murder, right? Nobody talked about that. Next thing I know we’re walking the couple of blocks down Main Street to Billy Ray’s. When we got there, Ivan is so worked up he lifts the garage door before anybody can say anything. And there he is. Billy Ray, I mean. We knew he was dead as soon as we saw him.”
Max told Sam to go back to the boardroom and to stay with the others until she said they could leave. As he was about to go out the door, she said, “How well do you know Deborah Edwards?”
Sam turned back to smile at her. “Not near as well as I’d like to.”
When Sam left, Max called Henry Wojak to her office. “Did Sam Little tell you Billy Ray was in his garage with a loaded gun on his lap?” she said.
Henry thought, then said, “Yes, he did.”
“And did Sam think one of us should go and talk some sense into him?”
“Uh-huh,” Henry said. “He said that too.”
“What did you do about it?”
“Nothing.”
“Why?”
“Thought it might be best for you to do it.”
Max sat for a time and stared at Henry. “Why would you want me to face Billy Ray?” she said.
Henry looked edgy. “I thought he’d listen to you,” he said. “Never listened to me. Never paid me any mind.”
“But you didn’t tell me, did you?”
Henry look down and nodded. “Forgot all about it after we found him dead. Thing like that can shake you up. Kinda wipe your mind clean. If you know what I mean.”
Max stared at him a moment longer. Then she said, “Tell them all I’ll be there in a minute,” she said.
When Henry left, Max looked at her notes. The key was there. One of the people she had just talked to had shot Billy Ray. She knew it.
All of them had a reason to do it. And each had a chance. It would take less than a minute to walk to the window at the rear of the garage. Rip some branches off a cedar tree and drop them on the ground. Lean through the window, take aim, and shoot Billy Ray from behind. Then go. If it was still storming, nobody would be around to see you. And no one would hear the shot with all the rain and thunder.
They would not have a problem with a gun. Guns were as common as crows in the area. Folks didn’t keep track of all the guns they had. You could buy a .22 rifle in these parts and nobody would know you had it.
Were they all part of a plot to kill Billy Ray? Max thought about that, but it didn’t make sense. They had all moved around too much when the storm hit, when Billy Ray had been shot. No, she told herself, Billy Ray had been killed by one person. Two at the most.
Something someone had said in the past half hour told her who had done it. She was sure of that. She just had to figure out what it was and who had said it.
Max sat and read over her notes a second time. Then a third time. Where was it? What was it? She wondered if one of the hotshots at the would spot it. If they did and named the killer right away, would they tease her about it? Would they say small-town cops like her should leave murder to them? Of course they would. She hated the idea. But she had to be honest. She was a good cop, and good cops get help when they need it. It did not make sense to stay stubborn and pig-headed. Like Billy Ray had been. She should swallow her pride and turn everything over to the OPP.
She sighed, knowing she would have to call the OPP. If she could not solve the crime before they arrived, she could at least build a thick file of clues for them.
She could hear Ivan Curic’s voice through her open door. He was speaking to everyone in the boardroom, and she went to hear what he was telling them.
Ivan’s back was to her when she entered the room. “I’ll treat us all to coffee, snacks and maybe some of Ryan Kelly’s wine,” he was saying. Margie was near the window with her arms folded, looking bored. Henry was leaning against a wall. “We can get a lot done now that—”
“Now that what?” Max said.
Ivan turned and tried to smile. “I was just saying now that…” He stopped to think of the next word to say.
“Now that Billy Ray is no longer alive?” Max said.
“Well, look,” Ivan said.
“Ivan means that we can get some things done now,” Ryan said. He was more cool than when he had spoken to Max in her office. “We can meet tonight and talk about how to get that resort built.”
“That’s right,” Seth said. “It’s too bad, Billy Ray being shot and all, but that’s how things go. Those folks in Toronto, the money people, they can go to Billy Ray’s wife. When they get her on their side, we’ll be on our way.”
“Maybe she won’t sell,” Ben said. “Maybe she’ll be like Billy Ray. Do you think so?” He looked at Ivan.
“I’ll talk to the resort folk, tell them about Billy Ray and that we hear his wife will get the land,” Ivan said. “My guess is, they’ll wait for the will to be settled. And I’m betting that his wife will sign for a million cash. Who wouldn’t?” He turned to Max. “What do you think?” he asked.
“None of my business,” Max said. “What time is this meeting you’re talking about?”
“Eight o’clock,” Ivan said. “At my office. You’re welcome to come. The whole town is welcome. You come by and I’ll save a coffee and butter tart for you.”
“Forget the coffee and tart,” Max said. She turned to leave and got the keys to the new cruiser. “But I will be there.” She stopped to look back at them. “I want all of you there too,” she said. Then she asked Margie to come to her office.
“Call the provincials in Cranston,” she said. “Tell them to bring their homicide team. I’m on my way east to the Point.” Walking to the door she said, “Keep an eye on things while I’m gone.” Then she added in a lower voice, “Including Henry.”