A Nose for Death (21 page)

Joan promised her mom that she'd come home as soon as she could then she hung up. Gazing out the window, she realized that she was staring at the same parking lot where Marlena had sat waiting for her dad thirty years before. No wonder Marlena had attacked her at the gas bar. Joan had believed it was because she wasn't cool enough, was inferior. In reality, Marlena was probably trying to retaliate against Vi, who had witnessed her shame. It would have burned Marlena to know that Joan never mentioned the attacks to Vi. Up until this trip to Madden, Joan hadn't shared any bad news with her mother, fearing that she was too delicate.

Appearances meant everything to Marlena, then and now. She'd still do anything to protect herself. Joan thought of Daphne. If Daph was fooling around with Ray, it could explode like a grenade. She decided again to warn Daphne to watch her back.

When the band arrived at the cultural centre to set up for the much-anticipated Rank performance, Ed Fowler was enjoying a game of hearts with Daphne. He had a bad feeling that Ray was being overly friendly to her, that she wasn't comfortable at the Stanfield house. She hadn't said so, but she was spending a lot of time at the Couch. Daphne was a pretty girl. Today she had rushed in with her hair still wet. Instead of the stiff up-do that she'd worn since she arrived, her hair hung in soft ringlets. What would Marlena do if she picked up the scent of Ray tom-catting? He'd told Daphne that she could stay at the centre as long as she wanted. He'd even bring in a sleeping bag from home if she wanted to sleep on the sofa. She had declined but he'd brought it anyway in case she changed her mind. He swore to himself that he'd do whatever he could to protect her. It wouldn't be the first time.

Ray entered the room carrying a small amp. When he spotted Daphne he made a beeline for her and grabbed her by the belt loop of her jeans.

Ed was shocked. “Ray Stanfield, unhand that girl!”

Ray just smiled. But Daphne turned and said something to him that Ed couldn't hear. Ray blanched and stepped away. Ed couldn't contain a grin. It was good to see that Daphne had learned to take care of herself. For the next hour Ray concentrated on setting up the sound system, darting the occasional glance toward the pretty woman.

Poor little Daphne Pyle. She'd almost sunk before she learned how to swim. Ed realized that he was probably one of the only people left who knew what had happened to her. The sexual revolution of the sixties had hit Madden early and hung around long after AIDS was making headlines in the eighties. In the late seventies Ed was doubling as the school counsellor at Madden High. One afternoon Daphne came into his office and burst into tears. It was only two months from the end of the year, but she already had a significant bump. Her situation was complicated by the threat of her father. Ed Fowler knew that Harold Pyle beat both his wife and daughter. According to the old man, the Bible demanded that he keep them in line. In their fundamentalist church pre-marital sex bought you a one-way ticket to eternal damnation. Daphne was scared to death of her father and knew that her mother couldn't risk a hand in her defence. Ed, for once, agreed that it was better not to tell her folks. He'd always been able to reason with parents in the past when it came to pregnancies and other life-altering events, but this time the risk was too great. He offered to help her find someone who could do an abortion, but she said it was too late and was adamant about keeping the child. She never said who the father was but Ed thought he knew. He could've been fired for helping her leave town. Now she was back again, he was curious about the outcome of her pregnancy. Part of him wondered if she'd like to talk about it, but he didn't want to raise unhappy memories. Poor girl. She'd suffered enough. Now she'd pulled herself up and made something of herself. Good for her, he thought. Good for her.

Marlena opened her door wearing yoga gear that outlined her muscular body in detail. She was warm and chatty, which caught Joan off guard. Daphne wasn't there and Marlena had no clue where she'd gone.

“It's been fun having another woman in the house. The girls adore her. When she told them that she'd kept a diary as a kid, the girls actually read her their latest entries. Can you imagine that? God, they won't even tell me what they want for breakfast.”

It appeared that Marlena hadn't figured out what was going on between Ray and Daphne. Maybe it had been a one-time fling and Daphne had come to her senses. Regardless, with Marlena's history with her philandering father, who knew what she'd do if she discovered that her husband was fooling around.

After the Stanfield's, Joan stopped at Jacques. The waiter remembered Daphne, but she hadn't been there either. Joan wound her way to the Madden Cultural Centre, peering down side streets for a glimpse of Daphne's champagne-coloured rental car.

When she parked at the Couch, Steve and Rudy were carrying music gear in from Steve's roofing truck. It gave Joan a twinge to see all the tools of her father's trade tidily stacked against the back. The unmistakable odor of tar permeated everything.

She was relieved to find Daphne with Mr. Fowler and waited until they finished a hand of hearts before suggesting to Daphne that they get a breath of air. Mr. Fowler had his jacket on in an instant. It would have been awkward to leave him behind. Thankfully, Steve interrupted with a question about the power supply. The two men headed to the basement to check out the electrical panel, and Joan quickly led Daphne out of the building.

The playground behind the school blended new with old; a climbing wall with bright plastic holds next to remnants of the playground that had been there when they were kids: the old metal swing set, a spiral slide, and monkey bars. The women sat side by side on the swings. Joan wasn't sure how to warn Daphne about Marlena without admitting that Gabe had told her about the Elgar Motel. She started by mentioning the class picture, saying that she'd seen it at Hazel's.

“You and Roger were holding hands. You were dating?” Daphne gave her a startled look, then turned her head away. “I'm not sure. Kind of.”

Joan waited while Daphne pulled a vivid image from her fractured memory.

“The whole time he was effin' around on me. And I was stupid enough to keep seeing him. All he could think about, besides sex and girls, was splitting from here so he could be some big rock star.”

Joan considered. Roger had been a drug addict and alcoholic but had he also struggled with sex addiction? It was a problem without a name thirty years earlier.

“He held your hand in front of other people. That may not seem like much, but for him that was a huge deal, a public declaration.”

“Really?” Daphne looked bemused.

“According to other girls, he'd resolved to appear single. He was afraid that his career would bomb if he were attached.” Then Joan warned her. “He was crazy about you, Daph, and that may have been enough to make someone else angry. People carry grudges.” She stopped her swing and looked at Daphne. The other woman was staring down at her feet as she dug her heels into the sand. She was listening intently and looked so sad, so much more fragile than Joan had yet seen her. “Promise me that you'll be really careful.”

“You're talking about Marlena, aren't you?” Joan nodded. Daphne's tone became cold. “I can handle her. Don't you worry.” She brightened. “I'm really glad you came to the reunion, Joan.

You were kind. It's been a dream of mine to say ‘thank you' one day.”

“You mean because I agreed to split the lemon gin?” laughed Joan.

But Daphne was serious. “You loaned me books and gave me a sweater.”

“You remember that?” asked Joan.

“I still have the sweater, a mauve pullover.”

Both women shoved off on their swings at the same time, heads back, looking up at the clouds, the squeaking sound of the chains transporting them back in time.

C
HAPTER
S
EVENTEEN

J
OAN SAT IN HER
A
CCORD IN
the parking lot of the Couch, drew the copy of the grad photo from its folder, and studied it. Rank band members Steve and Rudy wore sunglasses. Possibly to hide dilated pupils, but more likely a tribute to the Blues Brothers, whose shtick and music was smoking hot at the time. They stood shoulder to shoulder in matching jackets and ties. The one band member missing from the photo was Ray. He'd graduated a year earlier and was well on his way to earning his plumber's ticket by the spring of 1979. Although Sarah and he were officially engaged, Ray's evenings and weekends had apparently been devoted to Roger and the boys. Rank had played together from junior high school until Roger left town. Their dedication to their music, and to one another, propelled them to the top of the local touring scene. They'd even had a hit single. “Love Stop” made it to the top ten on local radio stations and stayed there for two months. Roger had used the song as a springboard for his career, claiming international fame. On a clear night, CXGO could be picked up on radios in the Northwestern United States and anywhere on the planet with shortwave.

Joan tucked the photo away and pulled out her small spiral notebook. She'd convinced Gabe that she should speak to Rudy and Steve before he made his official visit about Peg's death. There was a chance they would reveal more to her in a candid discussion. He had filled her in on the interview he had conducted with the band members on Saturday morning, hours after Roger had been stabbed to death. It all seemed routine, straightforward. After the gig on Friday night, they'd rehearsed until Roger got so drunk he was falling down. He'd gone to his cabin. Steve and Rudy continued without him until Marlena's scream sounded the alarm that something was horribly wrong. Just over half an hour between those two events. Rudy had been very precise about the time. Somewhere in there Roger had knocked on Joan's door. She estimated that he'd been there for no more than five minutes. At the time it had seemed an eternity. It was probable, according to Gabe, that someone had waited in Roger's room and stayed hidden while he undressed. This, combined with the fact that nothing appeared to have been stolen, posed various possibilities. His attacker hadn't planned to harm him. Or the killer needed to work up the nerve to commit the crime. Or the killer waited until Roger was in bed so that he was at his most vulnerable. Was the killer uncertain of his strength to overpower Roger? When he'd been at Joan's door he couldn't stay on his feet. It wouldn't have taken much to get the better of him. Did this point to a woman, or possibly someone older?

Steve's first response when Marlena had screamed hadn't been to call the police. He had immediately called Ray and reached him on his home phone line. Why was that? Had Marlena really been waiting
outside
Roger's motel unit?

Joan found Rudy on a tall ladder in the former gym, adjusting lights on the grid. It surprised her to see the large accountant move so nimbly. He climbed down when he saw her.

“Man, I'll need another shower before we go on tonight. I hope I have enough time.” He wiped his forehead with a paper towel. “So what's up, Joan?”

“I'm tired of sitting in my motel room all by myself. I thought I'd come help.” She smiled innocently. Soon Rudy had her wrapping the bright electrical cable that he'd unhooked from the grid. “It's so horrible about Peg. I still can't believe it,” she said.

Rudy nodded in agreement. “I bet most of us plan to die of old age, then something like this happens. It's creepy. Monica won't let me out of her sight.” He nodded toward the wall and there she was, reading
Chatelaine
and drinking take-out coffee. “Ever since Roger was, you know, she doesn't want to be left alone.” He went on to describe the rest of their weekend. The previous morning, when Peggy had died, they'd ordered breakfast to the room and read the newspaper. “Whoever would have thought that's where we'd get our kicks, eh Joan? An exciting morning in bed with the
Globe and Mail
? By the time we got downstairs, the wine-and-cheese thing was happening. We planned on heading back to Prince George, but Ray called.” Rudy seemed embarrassed. “He begged us to stay to play this gig.” He shrugged. “What the heck, eh?”

“I didn't get to see Peggy at all last week. Did you?” asked Joan.

Rudy nodded. “She dropped by our tech rehearsal on Wednesday. Just like the old days. Peg was always there with Marlena and Candy, watching us rehearse in the garage.”

Joan asked him if he knew how her name got on the invitation list and explained that the RCMP staff sergeant from Kamloops was asking questions about it. Rudy said that he knew nothing about the list and seemed genuinely surprised that anyone would object to Daphne and her being there. “We all grew up together. Why would it make a difference?” He gave her a squeeze. “We're all glad you're here.”

“Thanks.” She knew that not everyone was glad. “You know where I can find Steve?”

“In the truck. We're having a hell of a time with the sound system. He's Mr. Fix-It, you know? When we played on Friday we used the built-in system at the hotel. These speakers at the Couch are candy-assed. Our old ones are kick-ass.”

“You still have them?”

Rudy smiled and nodded in response. “You bet. Steve dragged them out of his uncle's barn on the old family farm. With a little tweaking, they should work great.” Then he added, “We hope. They've been in storage for thirty years.”

Joan approached the Madden Roofing company five-ton that was doubling as the band's equipment truck. She and Steve Howard hadn't done much more than nod hello over the past few days. Her relationship with him was awkward. They had a history that went so far back that neither of them could remember life without the other.

Chuck Howard, Steve's father, had been Leo Parker's first employee in the roofing business. Chuck and Leo were like brothers. As a toddler, she'd stayed at the Howard's house when her mom went into the hospital to have her brothers. Steve and his three sisters stayed with them when his parents went on their one and only vacation without kids. He had called Joan's mom and dad Auntie Vi and Uncle Leo; she'd called his parents Uncle Chuck and Aunt Alma. It had all changed, like an iceberg abruptly surfacing on the open seas, after her dad died. It came to light that Leo owed Chuck more than just back salary. Her dad had convinced Uncle Chuck to invest in the company. For years Chuck had believed the illusion of success that Leo had conjured and had turned large portions of his salary back into the company. One cloudy afternoon, shortly after Leo's funeral, he'd come to see Joan. Nobody wanted to upset Vi, and since Joan behaved like an adult compared to her peers, she was the obvious Parker to approach. She remembered Chuck Howard avoiding her eyes as he stood in their front hall. He pulled files from a musky, old-style accordion briefcase, then handed her a wad of papers. They were reports that her dad had given him, estimating the company to be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. The reports were fantasy. When she was younger, Joan believed that her dad had made an unintentional mistake. Now she knew too much about business to swallow the lie. When she thought about it now, with thirty more years of living behind her, she understood why the Howard family had cut them off. It may not have been the kindest reaction, but her father had shattered their world. They'd been betrayed. She hadn't had a conversation with Steve since.