Two hours later, Lane had the names and events mapped out on his computer. Corresponding images were added as visual reminders. Events and people were connected with arrows.
“Good morning.” Keely put a cup of coffee on his desk. She sat down at her desk and sipped her cup. “Thanks for sending Dr. Weaver over. Odd character, that one. When I left, Dylan was trying to start up a conversation – without much success.”
“That’s Fibre for you. Great with the dead. Hopeless with the living. Thanks for the coffee, by the way.” Lane took a taste. “Perfect.”
Lori stood at the door to their office. She held a cup of tea in her hand. “Who do I thank for this?”
Lane pointed at Keely. “You’re easy to train,” Lori smiled.
Keely tilted her head to one side to see what Lane was working on. “The faxes came in this morning,” he said.
“Then I’d better let you get to work.” Lori left.
“What do you want me to do?” Keely asked.
“Take a look at these faxes, see what you can make of them. Add another perspective. How long do you think you’ll need?”
Keely flipped through the pages. “An hour, or maybe a bit more.”
“Can we meet at nine o’clock then?” Lane stood up. “I’ve got an appointment at eleven.”
Gregory appeared in the doorway with his hands raised, palms pushed against either side of the doorframe. “Taking time off again, I see.”
“That’s right.” Lane crossed his arms and waited for the staff sergeant to finish.
Keely sighed.
Gregory looked at her and nodded in Lane’s direction. “Don’t learn any bad habits from this one. He won’t be around for long.”
“I was hoping you’d return.” Dr. Alexandre handed Lane a cup of coffee and sat across from him at the round table.
Lane set the coffee down and looked around the room. There were certificates on the wall and plants thirsty for water. He looked over the fresh cut flowers on the table. “You didn’t think I’d show?”
“No.” Dr. Alexandre waited for Lane’s reaction.
It’s odd being analyzed instead of doing the analysis. “What kind of coffee is this?” Lane asked.
“Trade secret,” the doctor said.
“Perked?”
The doctor nodded. “Your powers of observation are not in question here.”
“I’m not sure what you mean,” Lane said.
“Yes you do.”
Lane hesitated. He’d heard the “Let’s cut through the bullshit” tone in her voice.
“If you want to ask, then ask. Let’s get it out of the way,” the doctor said.
She trusts you. She’s not judging you. Maybe you should give her the same courtesy. “When did you have reassignment surgery?”
“Fourteen years ago.”
“You don’t mind being asked?”
“No. Do you mind being asked about being gay?” The doctor took a sip of coffee and waited.
Loraine said you could trust her. That’s all you really need to know. Except maybe that you’re not going to get out of this black hole on your own. “Depends on who’s doing the asking.”
“Yesterday, you spoke of being locked out of your family home,” Alexandre said.
“Yes.”
Alexandre leaned over to put her coffee down. Again, Lane spotted the doctor’s Adam’s apple as the collar of her blue sleeveless top fell forward. I’m glad that’s out of the way. “Last night I had a nightmare. I used to have them quite a bit after what happened when I was thirteen.” Lane sat back and studied the doctor. Alexandre was still, her face a mask.
What the hell - if she wants to know, I’ll tell her. “It was a Sunday afternoon. A church picnic. My parents were talking with friends. My brother and I were down by the river bank throwing rocks into the water.”
“Your brother’s name?” the doctor asked.
“Joseph.” Lane looked out the window, remembering the details of that day. “It was windy. I threw a rock into the water. The wind carried the splash back at us and Joseph got most of it. He started yelling at me. Calling me a queer, a freak. Then he lunged at me to shove me into the river. I stepped to one side. Joseph lost his balance and fell into the water. The river was running fast, and it swept him downstream. I started screaming for help and running down the trail along the bank. Joseph never could swim very well. He was splashing around, trying to keep his head above water. He hit a rock or something and went under.” Lane closed his eyes so that he could see it. “I ran down ahead of him. There was a branch leaning out into the water. I got into the river, held onto the branch, and grabbed Joseph by the arm. He was panicking and punched me in the face. I just held on until help came to pull us both onto shore.”
“What was it like, after?”
You’ve got a knack for cutting to the heart of it all. “At first, it was exhilarating because we were alive. Then my mother asked what happened.”
“Well?”
Lane looked back at Alexandre. Alexandre waited.
“In front of everyone, Joseph accused me of pushing him into the river. My father punched me in the side of the head. They took me home in disgrace. No good deed goes unpunished.” Lane felt his voice wavering. That’s odd. I haven’t felt much of anything in the past two months. Now I’m feeling what I felt that day.
“Did any recent events cause this memory to resurface?” Dr. Alexandre asked.
“My father died recently. Joseph and his wife Margaret want to make a deal so I won’t contest the will.”
“Really?”
“I told them that unless they make provisions for Christine and Matt’s education, I’ll get a lawyer.” Lane shook his head.
“Christine and Matt are your niece and nephew?”
“That’s right.” Lane looked at his watch.
“Could we meet again?” Alexandre wrote on the back of her business card.
Lane nodded.
“Before then, I want you to think about what else might have triggered the memory of your brother in the river.” Alexandre handed Lane the business card with the appointment scrawled on the back.
Keely sat at the head of the conference table and sat Lane just around the corner. The faxed pages were fanned out in front of them. Lane looked at the printed copy of his map of names and events.
Keely sat behind her laptop. “Well, it looks like we might have Mladen’s last name.”
“Nezil. His name is on several of the documents.” Lane pointed at an oval on his diagram.
“Didn’t you have trouble reading some of these first-hand accounts?” Keely watched for Lane’s reaction.
“You mean the execution of Mladen’s brother, uncle, and father? The rapes of his mother and sister?”
“Yes.”
“That wasn’t what was especially disturbing.”
“What was so disturbing, then?” Keely tried unsuccessfully to hide the sarcasm in her voice.
Lane took a breath and let the automatic angry reaction to sarcasm fade from his eyes and voice before he answered. “This part.” Lane pointed at a quote he’d highlighted on one of the faxes and read it. “The militia took a break, drank some plum brandy, and a few even napped after they returned from executing the men. Then they were ordered by Borislav Goran to systematically rape the females and a handful of the boys.”
Keely stared at her computer screen.
“It’s so cold-blooded,” Lane said. “It was like the militia treated murder and rape as if it was a job that included a necessary coffee break. That’s what was particularly disturbing for me.”
“I’m sorry. It’s just that I’ve never seen anything like this before.” Keely tried to smile and failed.
“If Goran is the name of the dead man we found, and if this is the same Mladen who watched what happened to his family, it certainly appears to be a motive for murder.”