“Said he was a pervert. Travels around with a love doll.” Lane stretched his lean legs.
“Silicone?”
“Life sized,” Lane said.
“Have you checked with whoever was working at the airport parking lot that morning?”
“It’s almost a week since the disappearance. I want to see what happens when I show up on the same day and time.”
“Good. Did you talk with the grandfather yet?”
“Think I should?”
“Only lives a block away,” Arthur said.
“Okay,” Lane said.
“He’s retired, right?”
“I assume so.”
“Wonder what the grandfather used to do?” Arthur said.
“I should ask, right?”
“Wouldn’t hurt.”
“Why?”
“Swatsky disappears-remember, he’s a mayor, a public figure. Three million dollars go missing. His wife goes missing but there’s a record of her boarding the plane. There is, however, no record of Swatsky doing the same. The guy is six foot four, weighs over 140 kilos and no one saw him.” Arthur pointed a finger at Lane.
“So?” Lane said.
“Ernie, his grandmother, mother and grandfather all live close together and one of them was the last to see Swatsky.”
“Oh, and there’s one other thing,” Lane said.
Arthur poured the last of the wine into Lane’s glass.
“A couple of years ago, Swatsky was close to being charged with sexual assault. The alleged victim was a 16 year old boy who decided not to lay charges but did end up with enough money to put himself though four years of college in the States.”
“Does Ernie know this?”
“I don’t know.” Lane studied the legs of the wine sliding down the inside of his glass.
“Should he?”
Lane considered the question before answering. “The kid’s really shook up about the assault. Don’t know if I want to dig too deep. I mean, his parents just split up and now there’s the attack by his Uncle. The boy’s face is bruised up, his nose is stitched and I don’t think he’s sleeping.”
When Arthur and Lane reviewed the case one month later, they decided this was where they’d made their mistake.
“Whether or not you talk with the boy, there’s one thing for sure.” Arthur put his empty wine glass down.
“What’s that?”
“Lisa and Loraine are coming over for dinner. Lisa may be able to provide some more background on Swatsky.”
CHAPTER FIVE
“Gonna sit right down and write that bitch a letter,” Lester drummed his hands on the steering wheel while they waited for a green light.
“You sure you wanna mess with the old lady?” Marvin said.
“Nobody’s afraid of some old bitch hooked up to an oxygen tank. What’s Leona gonna do to us? Wheeze?”
“She sounded like she meant it.”
The light turned green, diesel smoke puffed from the exhaust of the dump truck in front of them. Lester pulled ahead to turn right off of Crowchild Trail.
“Where we goin’? The motel’s the other way,” Marvin said.
“Gotta pick up a few things at the Drug Mart.” Lester started to whistle then sang, “Gonna sit right down and write that slut a letter.”
“What kinda things?”
“They got everything I need for one of my special letters.”
“Like what?” Marvin wiped sweat on his pants.
“Latex gloves, black marking pen, tape, envelope and a dirty magazine.” He started to whistle.
Marv shook his head. “I don’t like it.”
“We’ll see how brave she is after losing some sleep. She won’t be thinking too straight when I get through with her. Then she’ll tell us what we want to know.” Lester started to sing as he turned into the parking lot. “Gonna sit right down and write that bitch a letter!”
Monday, July 31
CHAPTER SIX
Red alarm clock numbers stared back at Ernie: 2:37 AM became 2:38. He peeled the comforter off, sat up, pulled on a pair of socks and sweatpants.
Scout’s dog tags rattled. The night light cast thick shadows in the hallway. He stepped over the plastic oxygen line running up the stairs into Nanny’s bedroom. The hum of the oxygen machine masked the sound of paws and feet going down the stairs.
Ernie waved his hand in the dark till it touched the wall and found the light switch. Blinking, he spotted the remote control lying on its back among Nanny’s pill bottles. He pressed the power button, sat in the easy chair, selected mute and swiveled to face the television.
The screen eased out of black and into colour. He skipped through the menus and found closed captioning.
He felt Scout’s paw on his right forearm and switched the remote to his left. Her cool tongue licked the salt inside his elbow. He scratched along her shoulder.
He tried to recognize the movie. Bullets pitted the wall behind a man ducking into a trash bin.
Scout had her eyes on him.
“You’re wondering why I can’t sleep.”
Her ears swiveled to capture his words.
“I have nightmares. And I can’t stop thinking about the things people say to me.”
Scout nudged his thigh with her nose.
“Nanny said, ‘If it weren’t for me, you’d be in jail.’ Now, what’s that supposed to mean?”
Scout licked the back of his hand.
“More mind games?” He looked for an answer from Scout. “And Nonno said, ‘He’s our only grandchild. It’s up to us to protect the boy.’ He talks to that stupid doll like she’s real. Even makes me call her grandmother.”
Scout’s nose nudged his hand.
He scratched the side of her face. “What the hell do they think I did wrong? Uncle Bob was the one with the knife. Some of the stuff he said I couldn’t remember until yesterday. I wish I couldn’t remember what Bob said to me. And, I can smell him. That’s the worst part.”
He touched the scar along the bridge of his nose, “Mom says he’s long gone. All the police found was the knife.”
Scout growled.
“Uncle Bob may be long gone but he’s still hanging around up here,” he tapped his head.
The V Channel weather man flashed onto the screen. He wore a green Gumby tie and yellow shirt with half moon sweat stains under the arms. To his right, the moon painted a silver swipe on the river. “Another hot one forecast for tomorrow. It looks like more of the same for the remainder of the week. The only cool place in town is along the river.”
Ernie watched the river.
“So, enjoy the warm weather and the rest of the movie.”
Something floated behind the weatherman. A log moved lazily. It bobbed once and rolled over to expose an extended limb pointing at the stars. Then it slid back into the darkness.
Ernie felt a shiver start at the base of his spine.
Scout barked and stood up. She barked again and raced for the door. Ernie ran after her. “Stop it, you’ll wake everybody up.” Ernie flipped the outside light on and peered through the peephole. He got a glimpse of a grey car and red tail lights. He turned the dead bolt and opened the door. Leaning out, he heard the sound of a car’s engine racing away. “Back,” he said to the dog and closed the door behind them.
“Who’s there?” Nanny said.
“There was a car outside and Scout started barking.” Ernie stood at the bottom of the stairs.
“What kinda car?”
“Looked like the same one those two guys were driving. You know, Uncle Bob’s friends.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
“How could I not protect Ernie?” Nonno waved his right hand in the air and changed lanes without looking. There was a scream of brakes. A horn howled. He glanced in the rear view mirror. The driver behind gave a single finger salute. Nonno returned the favour. “Okay, okay,” he said to the doll and placed both hands on the wheel. They turned into the parking lot.
“There’s a couple of nice dress stores here,” Nonno said. He eased in between a Chevy pickup and Toyota Corolla.