Lori poked her head into Lane’s office. “Harper and Simpson want to see you as soon as possible.”
“Me?” Lane pointed at his chest.
“Both of you.” Lori pointed at them with the first two fingers of her right hand.
Ten minutes later, they waited outside of the Chief’s office where his secretary tapped at a keyboard and answered the phone.
Chief Simpson’s door opened, and he poked his head out the door. “Sorry to keep you waiting. Come in.”
Nigel followed Lane inside where Deputy Chief Cam Harper sat in one of four chairs set around the coffee table. Dwarfing everyone else in the room, Harper stood to shake hands with the detectives. He had apparently surrendered to the inevitability of an ever-expanding bald patch by shaving his head.
All sat down and Simpson started the meeting. “We’ve been gathering information on the assault involving your nephew.”
This isn’t what I expected. “What have you found out, exactly?”
Harper glanced at a sheet of paper on the coffee table. “Two men were taken into custody last night at the Rockyview Hospital. One had injuries to his knee. The other had dog bites to both legs.”
There was a knock at the door. Harper rose, returning with a tray of four cups of coffee, sugar, and cream.
Nigel leaned forward, grabbing a cup.
“What are their names?” Lane asked.
“Robert Pratt and Michael Milton, both of Paradise. Their story is they were assaulted by a man with two dogs.” Harper reached for his coffee.
Simpson sat back.
Lane looked out the window at the white smoke rising
from the heating-plant chimney across the street. The sky behind the smoke was winter blue.
Simpson said, “An independent witness named Donna Laughton made a report indicating Pratt and Milton pulled up in a truck, exited the vehicle, and proceeded to assault Matt.”
“It matches with what Matt told me last night.” Lane looked at the coffee, decided to wait.
“Is Matt okay?” Harper asked.
Lane nodded. “Black eye. Tommy Pham called last night and wants pictures. He wants evidence because he thinks the assault and the attempted abduction are connected. And now it appears that’s what you are saying.”
Simpson nodded. “It looks like it. Pratt and Milton have been tightlipped, but we have established they are well connected in Paradise.”
Harper crossed his right leg over his left. “We want to know how you and your family are doing.”
Lane shrugged. “It’s tough. Christine finally got out last night and then this happened. She was pretty upset when she got home. At least now she’s wanting to fight back instead of hiding out.”
“And Arthur?” Harper asked.
“Looking after everyone else.” Lane gave in and leaned forward, adding sugar and milk to his coffee. He sat back and sipped.
“Dan and the baby?” Simpson asked.
“Seem to be okay. Dan’s kind of hunkered down. Indy is oblivious and pretty content.” Lane wrapped his fingers around the cup. “In fact, Indy keeps us laughing.”
“There have been related developments.” Simpson nodded at Harper.
“At least two sizable withdrawals have been made from Milton’s bank accounts. One was the donation to the Children’s Hospital. People who regularly contribute to the Red Cross made a series of donations that total up to the other. A sample was contacted. None could recall making the donations. Milton’s lawyer has some questions about the transfers.” Harper studied Lane, then Nigel.
Lane said, “That’s odd. I’ve been wondering about that as well. Especially since the donations indicate Milton perjured himself when he requested legal assistance. He claimed he didn’t have the financial resources to fight a polygamy trial.” He looked back at Harper and then at Simpson.
“What about the Randall investigation?” Harper asked.
Nigel said, “We are tracking two persons of interest.”
“Cori and Andrew Pierce?” Simpson asked.
Nigel nodded. “That’s correct.”
Harper leaned forward. “So it’s clear Byron Thomas is in jail for a crime he didn’t commit?”
Lane put his cup down. “We’re both convinced Thomas is innocent. At this point, our focus is to prevent any further murders and gather sufficient evidence to arrest those responsible. We have added another team to follow the Pierces.”
Nigel said, “We also discovered they’ve recently added a second mortgage to their house, effectively removing equity from their home. Border authorities have been alerted to their status and their identities.”
“So do we have them on false identities?” Simpson asked.
Nigel shrugged. “Probably.”
Harper glanced at Simpson before saying, “We need as many teams as possible to track the suspects without jeopardizing the investigation. The first priority is to prevent further killings. The second is to arrest the actual killers this time. There will inevitably be fallout, because the wrong man was arrested and other murders have occurred as a result. We need to deal with that. You two need to get the killers off the street.”
Lane looked at the Chief and Harper in turn.
Simpson asked, “Phelps is on this?”
“Night shift,” Lane said.
“All of the other murders took place at night?” Harper asked.
“That’s correct.” Lane waited, then asked, “What about Roz?”
“What?” Harper asked.
Simpson studied Lane.
“Either Pratt or Milton killed my dog,” Lane said.
Simpson said, “Your home is covered. There will be no more threats.”
Lane stood. “If that’s all, we need to get back to work.”
Nigel remained quiet for the next few minutes as they made their way back downstairs, then sat at their desks. Lane waited.
“They killed your dog? How come you didn’t tell us?”
Lane looked at the wall. “I just got in when we were called to go upstairs. You can imagine how my family reacted. Even Sam, the other dog, is in shock. By the way, you didn’t have much to say at the meeting. Not like you at all.”
“Don’t change the subject. You nailed me with the comment about how I’m punishing myself for not being able to save my mother. So answer my question.”
Lane looked at Nigel’s face, seeing the resolve and a bit of a smile at the corners of his mouth. “It’s hard to talk about Roz. She was part of the family. My family is threatened, and I feel like there isn’t much I can do to help them.”
“Was that so difficult?”
Lane tried to smile. “Yes.”
It was a couple of hours later, while they were waiting outside of Platinum Hair Salon, that Lane wondered, Why did Nigel change the subject when I asked him why he was so quiet in the meeting?
The streetlight cast a soft glow on the pavement where Lane walked next to Matt. Sam pulled on the leash when he spotted a dog across the street.
“No!” Matt growled.
Lane used his right hand to grab hold of Sam’s leash. They walked on a patch of pathway that hadn’t been shovelled. The snow was compacted into a slippery crust, making footing precarious.
The dog across the street passed. Sam tried to turn but found himself caught between two humans who were ready for him. He reared up on his hind legs, whimpering, then surrendered to walking between Matt and Lane.
“He’s a handful.” Lane exhaled. His breath formed a cloud in the minus-fifteen-degree air.
“You didn’t have to come, you know. I can take care of myself.”
Lane looked right at the dark shadow of the bruise just visible between Matt’s toque and the turned-up collar of his winter jacket. “I needed a walk.”