Читать книгу Butterfly Kills - Brenda Chapman - Страница 12

The darkness gathered in the crevices and over the tree line the farther Kala drove west and away from downtown. She turned off the air conditioning and rolled the windows all the way down. The air smelled earthier and greener and she could almost see herself here for longer than a day. She drove past the limestone turrets and sand-covered walls of now-closed Kingston Penitentiary, continuing on past a drug store and single-home dwellings that lined both sides of the road. The pavement hugged Lake Ontario with stretches of beach and water shimmering through the trees in the moonlight. Taiku sat at attention next to her, taking in the view through the front windshield, his nose sniffing the air and the gusts of breeze ruffling his fur. Bonnie Raitt’s bluesy “River of Tears” filled the truck cab and trailed out the windows into the passing darkness of the countryside.

Fifteen minutes from downtown, Kala glimpsed the turn-off to Old Front Road tucked inside a cove of brush and trees. “Almost there, boy,” she said, and reached over to ruffle Taiku’s head. She made a quick right and drove slowly down the paved road, peering at large homes behind the oak and maple trees. A few minutes down the gently curved road, she spotted the red mailbox on a white post that marked Marjory’s driveway on the left. She’d visited the year before on a long weekend when she was stationed in Ottawa. It had been the first time she and Marjory had ever met. Tonight, Marjory had left the outside lights on to guide her way.

Kala parked the truck next to Marjory’s Subaru and leaned over Taiku to open the passenger door.

“Out you go, boy.”

She let him run down to the water and stood looking out over the lake while he snuffled through the underbrush and ran along the shoreline. The heat of the day had been broken by a breeze sweeping off the lake. Crickets chirped in the swaying sweet grass while a sprinkle of fireflies flashed in the grass near an ancient maple. The night air held the dusky scent of jasmine and roses from a garden built into the incline. Kala inhaled deeply and closed her eyes. She heard the back door open and turned in time to watch Marjory run lightly across the deck and down the steps to where she stood. Marjory enveloped her in a bear hug.

“I was starting to get worried. I thought you might have gotten lost.”

“I should have phoned but I got involved in a police call.”

“In my heart I knew that you could look after yourself.” Marjory took a step back to look at Kala. “You’re thinner than last time I saw you, but you look rested.”

They linked arms and started back toward the house, a greyish-blue two storey with a red roof. Taiku bounded ahead of them. “I’m so glad you made it tonight,” Marjory said. “I leave for Northern Ontario in the morning. I’m researching a court case that will take months.”

Kala’s heart dropped. “I was hoping we could spend some time together. When will you be back?”

“Likely not until November, and then only here for a visit. I’ll be gone a year, probably longer. I’d like you to stay and house-sit for me, that is if it suits your plans.”

“I’m not sure how long I’ll be staying.”

“When Ray called day before yesterday to tell me you were on your way, I told him that I was going to ask you to stay for a while. He said good luck with that.” Marjory smiled at her.

Kala returned the smile with a shrug. “It’s just that I don’t know where I want to be.”

A shrill whistling and the smell of marinating herbs, red wine, and beef greeted them as they stepped inside. Marjory turned, “I put the kettle on when I heard you pull in. I have stew on the stove if you’re hungry.”

“I’m beyond hungry. It smells delicious.”

Kala fed and watered Taiku while Marjory got the food ready. The kitchen was wide and bright with pine cabinets and a large window that looked out over the water. The grey slate tiles felt cool underneath Kala’s bare feet. The room’s neutral colours were warmed by a woven red-and-orange rug positioned under the pine table near the sliding patio doors. Kala looked down the hallway and into the living room at the Inuit paintings on the wall above a wood fireplace. She remembered them from her last visit.

They took plates of stew, homemade dinner rolls, and a pot of tea to the back deck and settled themselves at the patio table. Marjory lit a camp lantern and candles while Kala poured the tea. Taiku flopped down at Kala’s feet and stretched out with a grunt. The distant sound of waves rolling onto the shore soothed something in Kala’s soul, like a faithful friend waiting to be rediscovered.

“This is so good,” Kala chewed a spoonful of stew. She ate quickly, ravenous from hours in the truck and the energy used to comprehend the crime scene. The evening had gotten away on her. The nervous anticipation in the pit of her stomach when the murder call came in, the surge of adrenaline that always accompanied the first glimpse of a killer’s trail had kept her from thinking about her own needs until this moment relaxing on the deck with Marjory.

“You went to see Ray?” Marjory asked.

“Yeah. We flew in and canoed Sand Lakes. It took about a month. Your dad’s doing well for a guy in his seventies.”

“Ray didn’t tell me why you were heading back this way.”

“Just tying up loose ends.”

“Ray told me that you found Rosie in Ottawa.”

“That’s right. I was looking for her in Ottawa last year when I came to see you.” Kala had forgotten that she’d told Marjory. Now she wished she hadn’t because Rosie hadn’t cared enough to stick around once they’d made contact. The rejection still hurt.

“You call her Lily, don’t you?”

“Yeah. Rosie is Lily to me. She used to call me Sunny.” Kala grinned. “Hard to believe, I know.”

“Ray said she’s got a daughter.”

Kala nodded. “A twelve-year-old girl named Dawn. Nice kid. Lily’s involved with some guy who did time for robbery. They disappeared after I made contact.” She was silent, reliving the moment when she discovered them gone; the moment her dream of having a family evaporated like morning mist.

Marjory shook her head. “Lily’s picked a difficult path. You must have found it hard to lose her so soon after finding her.”

Kala nodded again but didn’t say anything.

Marjory dropped her head and Kala knew she was deciding whether to keep going or leave the subject alone. Her dad, Ray, wouldn’t have said much, she knew that. Marjory raised her black eyes to Kala’s. They were kind eyes, non-judgmental eyes, the reason Kala had returned for a visit at Ray’s urging. Marjory nodded as if telling herself to let it go.

“Ray and I had that falling out when I left Birdtail Rez to follow Tommy Lightside to Winnipeg. I was just sixteen years old — thirty years ago if you can believe it. God, I thought I knew it all back then, and man, was I wrong. It took a few years but I went back home and Ray … Dad was still there, waiting. He’s why I got on track and finished high school. I never would have gotten the law degree if I’d stayed with Tommy.”

“I know what you’re trying to tell me,” Kala said. “It’s not going to happen in this case. Lily won’t be looking to change her life anytime soon.”

“People have a way of coming around. Lily knows you’re there for her when she needs you. She still keeps in contact with Ray, if only sporadically. He’s there for her too.”

“I wouldn’t put any money on Lily.” Kala wasn’t prepared to talk about her any longer.

Marjory took the hint. “So, where are you planning to go when you leave here?” she asked. She refilled their mugs with tea and settled back against the cushions.

“Back to Red Rock, although I’m not sure that’s even a good idea.”

“Why not?”

“It’s complicated, but the man I was seeing has moved on.” Moved on back to his wife and baby. “I just don’t want to stir up what’s best left alone.” Kala put her fork down and leaned over to pet Taiku’s head. “I guess Taiku and I’ll stay here and house-sit until you finish your research up north. This might be the space I need to figure things out.”

“Well now, that would be a help to me. I’ll be on the road a lot these next few years and worry about leaving this place empty.”

“I’ll just commit to the next month if that’s okay with you. I’ll be here in November when you return but can’t promise anything longer.”

“Fair enough.”

Marjory lowered her head to eat but not before Kala saw a smile turn up the corners of her lips. Kala picked up her fork and dug it into the warm stew. With a slight nod in Marjory’s direction she acknowledged Marjory and Ray’s small victory of manipulating her into this decision before tucking into the last of her meal.

An hour later, Kala settled into the back bedroom on the second floor. She’d slept here on her one previous visit and was happy to be back in this small room with its casement window and window seat looking out over the water. She propped herself up on the cushions for a while, letting the day’s events settle and her mind decompress until she felt that she could sleep. Taiku appeared to also have remembered being in this room on their one and only visit. He’d immediately stretched out on the hooked rug at the foot of the bed, snorted a long sigh, and fallen asleep.

Kala reached across and opened the window as wide as it would go. The wind rushed in as if it had been lurking outside, waiting for an invitation. It blew the hair back from her face and billowed the curtains around her. It filled her nostrils and lungs. No matter how difficult her day had been, the wind always made her feel connected to something bigger than herself. It brought her a measure of peace.

She stepped back and slipped out of her clothes, then climbed naked between the crisp sheets on the double brass bed. She lay awake a while longer, listening to the waves lap onto the shore as she began to drift off to sleep. Rouleau’s concerned face, strong and sure, hovered above her just out of reach as she finally let go of the day.