“Winifred, you’ve got a gash on your cheek. Do you want me to wash it out and get some disinfectant?”
“No.”
Aside from Marie and Noel, the only other suspects who knew she’d gone to Parksville were Gabrielle and possibly Birch. Gabrielle probably told Birch everything that had happened over there, and hitting women wasn’t new to him.
Panic shot through Casey. Was he still in the house? Winifred moaned again. Casey swallowed back her fear while she stared at the open bedroom door. Her gaze darted to the closed closet door. She held her breath and listened for sounds, but the pounding in her ears made it tough to hear anything.
“Casey?” Winifred squinted at her.
“I’m here.”
“Your fault,” she mumbled.
TWENTY-SEVEN
RUSH HOUR HAD BEGUN AS Casey drove east toward Coquitlam, but she didn’t mind the slowing traffic. She needed to think before she met the Gallenskis. She called them twenty minutes ago to see if the sunflower footstool was still available. Ursula warned her that she’d only hold it for an hour. Casey wasn’t thrilled to see Ursula again, but staying alone in the house was worse. Winifred’s assailant was out there somewhere, probably waiting for her or Summer.
The paramedics thought some of Winifred’s ribs might be broken. They’d also found large dark bruises on her lower back, where she could have been kicked. Casey told the police that Elliott Birch could resort to something that vile and suggested they contact Corporal Lundy about him.
Explaining things to Summer had been tougher. When she heard about Winifred, she cried. She’d wanted to visit Winifred at the hospital, but with a killer running loose Casey had said no.
“I can take care of myself,” Summer had insisted. “And Lou and Barb and you can protect me. Don’t hospitals have security anyway?”
“It’s not that simple.”
And on it went until Casey cut things short by saying she needed to call Rhonda. When she heard about Winifred, Rhonda said, “What kind of coward would attack an old woman, and why on God’s earth was Mother still at the house? What if the psycho’s waiting to get Summer?”
Rhonda had then demanded Barb’s number so she could tell Summer to stay away from the hospital. She’d also decided to take a more active role in parenting her daughter. Casey’s job was to simply ensure that Rhonda’s rules were followed. Her diminished role as guardian made her feel incompetent.
She pulled up in front of the Gallenskis’ apartment building and scanned the street for Gabrielle’s Jetta or Birch’s Dodge Dart. What if she’d missed something in the rearview mirror? By the time Casey shut off the engine, her body was so tense that a tap on the shoulder would catapult her through the front entrance. She needed gum. Chewing would at least unclench her jaw. She popped a piece in her mouth, stepped out of the car, and jogged up to the door. The sound of Ursula’s voice over the intercom already annoyed her.
“This is Casey.”
“You got the cash?”
“Yes.” Geez, this wasn’t a drug buy, for heaven sake.
The intercom buzzed and Casey entered a lobby cluttered with boxes and full plastic bags. A woman and two guys were pushing a sofa toward the door.
“Moving day, huh?” Casey asked.
“Yeah, thank GOD,” the girl replied.
“It’s that bad here?”
She barked out a laugh. “You could say that.”
“Really? I was thinking about moving in.” The tenant headed for the door.
“Please, I need to know. I’m about to give them a damage deposit.”
The girl turned around. “Stuff goes missing around here.”
“From the laundry room?”
“From your bloody apartment. Coins or a five dollar bill; things they don’t think we’ll notice.”
“Has it happened to others?”
“Two that I know of.” The girl headed for the door. “Run while you can.”
“Thanks.”
Casey continued to the Gallenskis’ apartment. Ursula answered the door dressed in blue jeans and a T-shirt that barely covered her bulging stomach. A sudsy bucket and a pair of yellow rubber gloves sat by the door. Casey tried not to smile. She’d never pictured Ursula as the cleaning type.
“You look busy,” Casey said.
“People moving out, people moving in.” Ursula removed a key from the board by the door. “I hate these losers.” Ursula handed her the key. “Bring it back when you’re done. Someone else is supposed to drop by, so leave the door unlocked.” She put on the gloves. “You won’t take off without paying, will ya? I’ll be in suite three-ten.”
“Of course not.”
“Right, you’re one of the good guys.” Ursula watched her. “I heard you’ve been tracking down the skanky half sister.”
Casey frowned. “Who told you that?”
“That dingbat Marie told Paval.”
Just great. “Why would she tell your husband?”
“They’re friendly. Why, I’ll never know.”
So, Ursula now knew about her interest in the murder. Damn, damn, damn. Casey stepped into the corridor. “I’ll get the stool.”
“What did that cold witch have to say?” Ursula asked.
A suspect would want to hear what she knew. “Gabrielle warned me to stay away from her mother.” Paval walked up to her, carrying a basketful of clothes. A tiny baby slept on top of the clothes. “Cute bundle you got there.”
“Warm laundry puts them right to sleep.” His smile faded. “Did I hear you mention Gabrielle O’Reilly?”
“She threatened Casey,” Ursula said. “I think that chick’s more than capable of blowing someone’s head off.”
“I told Corporal Lundy that Gabrielle and Birch are a couple. She’s the one you spotted in his car.”
Ursula didn’t look surprised. Paval, on the other hand, seemed baffled. “How do you know?”
“I saw them together, and Gabrielle admitted it yesterday. She claims she wasn’t in Vancouver the day Jasmine died. Anyway, she’s on the mainland now. We rode the same ferry over.”
“She’s here?” Ursula asked. She put her hand on her swollen belly and avoided Casey’s gaze.
The longer Casey watched her, the more nervous Ursula seemed. “Did you know about Birch and Gabrielle?”
“No, what a stupid thing to say.” She started to leave.
Paval stood in the doorway. “Did you recognize Gabrielle in Birch’s car?”
“All right, I did, yeah. I thought they’d hooked up to hurt Jasmine and maybe even take Jeremy. It looks like they decided to kill her instead.”
“Did you tell the police?” Casey asked.
“What for? It would only be my word against theirs.”
Maybe Ursula had seen Gabrielle up close and decided to blackmail her. She might have already stooped to stealing from tenants. “I’d better get that stool.”
“It’s twenty bucks.” Ursula held out her gloved hand.
“Let her see it first, darling,” Paval said, “then we’ll work out a fair price.”
“Look, Pav, I’m trying to do everything I can to put money aside. You know maternity benefits won’t cover what I get from tips. We can’t slide into poverty either. I’m not going through that shit again.”
The phone rang.
“I’ll get it.” Ursula put down the bucket and removed one glove.
“Be right back,” Casey said, and started down the hall.
She unlocked Jasmine’s apartment and stepped into a room reeking of garbage and over-used kitty litter. The red shag looked dirtier than she remembered. The only furniture in the living room was the sunflower footstool and a broken wooden chair.