Dan Sharp Mysteries 4-Book Bundle (78 page)

“Brown manila?”

“No. It must have been Ked.”

Dan’s heart lurched.

“Anything important?”

“Nothing that can’t wait for later,” Dan said. “Don’t let me keep you. What time is supper tonight?”

“Supper’s at six. Ked’s got a game this afternoon. He said he’d meet us there. I’ve got a full day too. I’ll probably go straight from here, if that’s all right with you.”

“No, that’s great. See you then.” He paused. “I love you.”

“I love you, too, Dan. See you tonight.”

The line clicked off.

Fear returned. In an effort to avoid its grasp, Dan turned and ran smack into the banister. He lost his balance, sliding to the ground and clutching his solar plexus. The pain was intense. He pictured Darryl Hillary’s ruined face staring down at him from the meat hook.
You won’t get me
, Dan declared to the unseen Bélanger.
I have far too much to live for
.

Then reason crept in. This was a threat from a sixteen-year-old. A desperate sixteen-year-old, but still,
he wasn’t a madman with an Uzi prowling the corridors of a high school picking off his victims. Dan simply had to avoid dark corners, not let himself get caught in places where someone could aim a crossbow or come at him with a knife. The police would catch him eventually. How long could an invisible kid steer clear of them? Rogue planets rolled around in his head until they crashed into some imaginary force field. He’d get through this, one solar system at a time.

The afternoon sun was blistering red as he headed west. He was travelling north of the city, around the Tenth Line. To Dan, it was all foreign territory up there. Everything looked the same: trees, houses, open space. No defining landmarks in a place where everything replicated itself perfectly. The outer limits. Surely he was a city boy if ever there were one.

He found the Tile Place, went in, and asked for Andy. A well-groomed, muscular young man came out beaming with confidence. Dan had expected someone soft and inefficient, someone he was prepared to feel sorry for in advance. Not this demi-god. Maybe the boy was phobic about phones.
It takes all kinds
, he thought. You could never tell about voices on phones.

Trevor had picked a plain tile, matching it with an intricate border that offset the colours nicely. Of course he would have done, Trevor was an expert. Not that Dan cared about tiles right at that moment. He just needed to focus on the small details to get through this day.

He paid Andy, smiling like a satisfied customer. Next he stacked the boxes in his trunk and headed for the highway. If he acted normal then he might feel normal. If he could feel normal then all might be normal. Or not. Tonight, he reminded himself, he was having dinner with his male lover and the mother of his child, a woman he’d never really dated, let alone married. There was going to have to be a new normal before he could claim any part of it.

In the distance, fields gleamed with giant orange bubbles, pumpkins ripening in the autumn sun. They made him think of the nursery rhyme:
Peter, Peter, pumpkin eater …
For other kids, it had been a simple tale embodying the absurdities of childhood in a ditty straight out of
Monty Python’s Flying Circus
or Doctor Seuss. For Dan it had always held ugly, sinister connotations: misogyny, imprisonment, cannibalism. Why hadn’t Peter been able to keep his wife? Maybe he was gay and couldn’t be bothered to fake it. Still, why put her in a pumpkin shell? Or maybe Peter was like Jack Spratt and just wasn’t attracted to his wife. Far better to put her in a pumpkin shell then.

But why cut off an ear?

He zoomed past the fields, well over the speed limit. Trying hard to forget. Trying to break the sound barrier and outstrip his life, leaving it all far behind him.

Candles flickered and sucked air when Dan opened the door, before settling back into place. He felt calmer just being there. Kendra came up to him, soft and flowing. He breathed in her scent as she kissed his cheek. Subtle, like cornflowers on a summer’s evening. Hers was a beauty hard to claim or pin down. It was elusive, always in motion. Her eyes carried a rare intelligence. Had he been a straight man, Dan thought, he would have fallen for her, but he never could have married her. Not simply because her Muslim family would have forbidden it, which they would, but because he would always feel outclassed by her.

He put her in a pumpkin shell …

Trevor lined up behind Kendra for a kiss as Ked came out of the kitchen to greet him. Maybe this was the new normal.

“Mom made lamb,” he announced.

“Well, aren’t you spoiled,” Dan said with a wink at Kendra.

Ked gave him a look. “It was for you guys, not me.”

“Actually, I made it for all of you,” Kendra said. “You’re all my special boys.”

Dan glanced around at this tastefully modern home. There were a few reminders of her Syrian upbringing, but these were trimmings on the package.
She had no problem breaking practices that didn’t suit her needs. She dressed from the pages of
Vogue
, readily imbibed alcohol, and ate what she pleased. Her television was poised on the W Network at all times, even when she wasn’t at home. Dating and sex were at her discretion. She would not be circumscribed by tradition.

Her one reservation, the one taboo she’d been unwilling to break, had been Kedrick. Kendra’s family knew nothing of his existence. It would have caused a permanent rift, she claimed. Dan felt that keeping them ignorant amounted to the same thing.
It’s like Ked doesn’t exist
, he thought. Kendra visited Syria every other year, letting her family believe she was upholding Islamic practice. The charade seemed not to bother her at all. In fact, it meshed perfectly with her elfin personality.

She ushered them into the dining room. The table was set with hand-woven cloth, delicate china, and gleaming crystal. Dan seldom saw her domestic side, but he knew she had one when required. Her cooking was always top of the line. He joked that she could have had the best Middle Eastern restaurant in the city, if she’d wanted. But she was a businesswoman at heart and clearly wasn’t ready to give up her career.

Dishes arrived from the kitchen, bringing the scent of stewed figs, dates, apricots, almonds. Dan sipped soda and looked around the table at his family. Nothing could be allowed to threaten this, he told himself. Everything was going to be fine.

He was momentarily distracted from his thoughts. Kendra was looking at him questioningly.

“Are you with us?” she asked.

“What? I’m sorry.”

“You were in La-La Land again,” Trevor told him.

Kendra smiled and shook her head. “I swear sometimes he doesn’t hear a thing I say.”

Dan looked at her laughing face. “Sorry. What did I miss?”

“I asked how work was going. How are you managing without your regular salary?”

“Oh, that.” He shrugged. “It could be better.”

“I’m afraid I haven’t been much help,” Trevor said.

“You are a big help,” Dan insisted. He turned to Kendra. “He’s doing all the work on the new house singlehanded. Just having him in my life is reward enough. I don’t know how I managed without him.”

“Ah, so sweet,” Kendra said.

She caught Dan’s eye and nodded to the kitchen. He excused himself and followed her.

“You’ve really changed, Daniel. I’ve never seen you so sweet on anybody before.”

“I know. Is it sickening?”

“Not at all. I think it’s time you opened up your heart to someone. He’s a wonderful guy, so good for you.”

She handed him a dish. It was the prelude to something, he could tell.

“I don’t know if Ked mentioned his date to you yet …”

“Date? No, nothing.”

She smiled. “He will. He’s a bit shy about it, so try not to make a big deal out of it when he does.”

Dan made a face. “Are you saying I make a big deal out of things?”

“No!” She swatted him with a dishtowel. “I’m just warning you not to make any jokes.” She giggled. “He doesn’t want you to be disappointed that he’s interested in girls.”

“Oh, that. We talked about it before. I thought he knew I was fine with whatever he does.”

“He does. Sort of.” She shrugged. “He will be. You’re the centre of his universe, Dan. He does everything to please you.”

“I know. It’s a bit hard trying to live up to the legend some days.”

“Cut it out. I don’t think a kid could have a better father, frankly.”

Dan smiled “If it hadn’t been for your brother …”

“I know, I know. You weren’t exactly my type, either. But it was a happy accident.”

They went back out to the dining room.

Supper proceeded apace. Eventually, Ked brought the subject around to his upcoming date. Dan listened to his plans for taking a young lady out to a movie the following evening.

“Any questions?” Ked asked when he’d finished, as though he’d just given a term report and was expecting to be grilled.

Dan’s eyes darted to Kendra then back to his son. “Just one. How old is Elizabeth?”

Please let her not be too young
, Dan prayed.

“She’s, um, sixteen,” Ked said quietly.

“Sixteen?” Dan repeated.

Ked nodded, looking apprehensive. “Is that all right?”

“An older woman,” Dan said, relieved. “Yes, it’s fine. It’s terrific. I hope you enjoy yourself.”

Ked gave him an awkward smile. “Thanks, Dad.”

Dinner resumed. Dessert was brought out on trays, silver spoons handed out, cups and saucers extended. As much as he tried to shake it, Dan’s working class upbringing was never far off, always under his skin in one form or another. Yet here he was, tonight, having this very cosmopolitan dinner at an elegant dining table, eating Middle Eastern food with his teenage son, the woman who had given birth to him but whom he had never married, and his male lover. It was so far away from anything he’d been raised to expect. At times it was hard to say what was real and what a dream.

He looked across at this disparate gathering of people who were so important to him. He was filled with a sudden joy at how his life had turned out. To have all this, and love too. At times, it seemed too much. He wouldn’t allow himself to think that it might be taken away from him again. He wouldn’t allow himself to think about an envelope left at his front door with a threatening image of severed ears.

For a moment it seemed as though all would go well, that everything was going to be fine. It was, if not quite normal, then at least sane.

Twenty-Eight

Stepping Out with My Baby

Dan still hadn’t mentioned the photograph to Trevor. He knew it wouldn’t be fair to keep it to himself forever, but the Saturday night dinner had been just the thing to make him feel his life was more or less safe and secure. He clung to the fiction. Still, he knew he couldn’t afford to forget the threat that had been delivered to his home.

On thinking it over, he decided to tell Ed. Predictably, Ed counselled full disclosure to the chief. Reluctantly, Dan agreed. To his surprise, the chief asked if he wanted protection. The threat was so nebulous Dan was inclined to turn him down, but agreed to having an officer in a patrol car on the street over the next few days for Ked and Trevor’s sake. His man would be there that night, the chief told him.

Dan’s nerves were on edge, but he managed to pass a pleasant afternoon with Trevor. It was their first uninterrupted day together since his return. Trevor had received news that morning: he’d already had an offer on his villa in BC. They made plans to celebrate later in the week. A fun evening out, perhaps Easy & The Fifth, one of Dan’s favourite restaurants for when he craved a bit of conspicuous consumption. In the meantime, they spent the hours lounging and reading newspapers, legs intertwined on the sofa. A shopping trip completed the day’s events.

After supper, Trevor excused himself to phone his real estate agent. The conversation sounded as though it might go on for some time. Dan looked over at Ralph, who leapt up, sensing opportunity. Dan put his leash on and they stepped outside.

In his excitement, Ralph lunged down the steps. Back in Dan’s drinking days, the dog would have managed to get him off balance, enraging him. Dan kept him in check now, letting Ralph guide him around the neighbourhood. Ralph still surged forward as if they were on a treasure hunt, but Dan maintained his command. He looked, but did not see the patrol car yet.

They passed a number of down-at-heel watering holes Dan had frequented in his single days. They held no appeal for him now, so far in his past as to have belonged to another person. Cinderella before her glass slippers came on the scene.

Ralph’s stride quickened along Queen Street East. With the return of the cooler weather, his energy had picked up. He seemed to enjoy his nightly walks more now.

“
Is you is or is you ain’t my baby?
” Dan sang playfully under his breath, feeling more than a trifle goofy. He wondered where the hell that little ditty had sprung from, which overworked synapse had released it right then.

Passing a florist’s window, he saw a disembodied face staring back, an alien self he didn’t recognize. It seemed like an apparition in a horror film intended to get a rise out of the auditorium, empty but for a man and his dog walking along an abandoned street. Dan moved his arm and the reflection moved with it. The ghost within, always showing up when we least expect it.

At the next corner, he caught the headline. Bélanger had made the news again:
Martyred Cop is Killer’s Fourth Victim
. Dan leaned down to read, caught Pfeiffer’s name, then stood up, not wanting to read any further.

He steered Ralph toward home. He didn’t want Trevor to find out. Not just yet. Dan would have to make sure the news was turned off till they went to sleep. He needed to find a way to bring up the photograph without spooking him, but that seemed a fruitless exercise. Anything further that happened would fuel Trevor’s fears.

His mind drifted back to the previous night’s dinner. Something was playing out at the back of his mind. Something Kendra had said was trying to catch his attention, like a spark in a windstorm. It was too distant, not near enough to grab onto. He couldn’t recall it, whatever it was.