Canyon Secret (32 page)

“Glad you didn’t give me flowers to celebrate our special event,” stated Hannah in her deadpan voice. “I think we have plenty.”

In an uncharacteristic move, Mikhail slowly made his way across the room to stand directly in front of her. He gently laid his hands on her waist and pulled her towards him. Mikhail lowered his face. Hannah looked up and raised herself on tiptoes. Their eyes locked briefly and then closed as mouths met with a long and passionate kiss. The easy and natural meeting of their bodies that were so different in stature surprised them. He felt her soft breasts through her sweater and she noted an emerging hardness through his jeans. They remained embraced for several minutes after the kiss ended.

“Let’s eat. I’m starved.” Those were the first words out of Mikhail’s mouth after the kiss. “I can’t make proper love to you on an empty stomach.”

It slightly disappointed Hannah that the kiss didn’t lead to more, but she quieted her feelings knowing that the whole night was ahead of them. Besides, she could use a bite to eat as well, and the restaurant had such a great local reputation.

“Great. Let me freshen up some. I’ll just be a minute.” Hannah went to the water closet that was part of the room. She congratulated herself on selecting the reservations based on not having to use a community facility down the hall. She came out smiling from ear to ear, grabbed Mikhail by the arm, and pulled him towards the door.

“We walk down the stairs together, Mikhail Anzich. No ogling my bum on the way down!”

The afternoon light roared through her dining room window. With less than a week left of September, signs of the coming sunlight changes warmed the window plants she cherished. Betty Hansen intently listened to the telephone conversation with her husband. She jumped as the knock on her door resonated off the hardwood floor in her living room. “I got to go, there’s someone at the door.”

The voice on the other end finished his message abruptly, “Well, that’s it then. You can draw money from that account as needed. My lawyer will mail you the divorce papers next week.

Goodbye, Betty. Good luck to you.”

She gently set the phone receiver back on the wall hook. His unexpected words lingered in the air as she shook her head. Another loud knock on her front door broke the stunned stare at the telephone. Betty Hansen walked to the front door. Still dazed, she opened the door and greeted the three men standing in her doorway. Her eyes moved up and down the men wearing the pressed suits in front of her. “Yes, may I help you?”

He looked her straight in the eyes, “We are FBI agents. My name is Ted Hughes and these are Agents Moore and Taylor. We have an arrest warrant for your husband, R.J. Hansen. We also have a search warrant for your house. Is your husband here?”

Betty Hansen backed into her living room and sat down on the flower-patterned couch. “He isn’t here right now. What’s going on?” She reeled from the phone message her husband just delivered, and now the FBI stood in her living room. “I don’t understand, what—”

Moore and Taylor strolled by her while Hughes spoke, “Where is your husband, Mrs. Hansen?”

She fidgeted with her fingers near her mouth, “He’s gone.” “Apparently so. But where is he?”

Tears burst from her eyes as she struggled to answer, “Can’t you tell me what’s going on?”

The other agents opened desk drawers, cabinets, and looked under beds and in the closets. Agent Hughes moved and stood directly in front of her. “Mrs. Hansen, I can’t tell you what’s going on. Now where is he?”

She lowered her cupped hands from her mouth, “I, I just hung up the phone. He told me he filed for divorce. He’s driving somewhere. He said goodbye and good luck.”

Hughes determined he needed to turn up the heat. “If you shield him, or lie to us, we will arrest you. One last chance. Where is your husband?”

Betty Hansen stood up and raised her voice, “I don’t know where he is! I’m in shock that he left. He went to work as usual this morning, and then—”

“We went to his office at the contractors. He never showed for work today. His assistant said he stayed home with a cold.”

Moore joined them in the living room, “Nothing in the bedroom or kitchen, Ted. I’ll check with Taylor.”

She sat back down and wiped her nose with a used Kleenex, “I think I’m entitled to know what kind of trouble he’s in.”

He unbuttoned his suit jacket, “No. No you’re not.” He wrote down his name and the phone number at the Glacier Inn. “When you hear from him, call this number and ask for me. If you interfere in any way, you will be arrested.”

His partners returned from searching the other rooms. “Nothing as far as records here. Let’s go back to his business office at the contractors.”

She watched the three men through the corner of her lace curtain. After they drove away from her curb, she picked up the phone and called Sheriff Patrick Schustrom.

Agent Taylor drove Hughes back to the Glacier Inn Motel to check in on David Sednick. In the meantime, the other two agents planned to search Hansen’s accounting files in his office. Taylor slowly pulled the blue Ford away from the motel parking lot but stopped suddenly as Hughes rushed out of their motel room and waved his arms. He ran to the back seat door and climbed in, “Sednick’s gone! He took his bag with him and his truck isn’t out in back where he parked it. That idiot! How the hell we suppose’ to protect him? Now what do we do?”

Taylor spun the tires and shot gravel into the motel shrubs, “We go find him is what we do. I’ll bet you he’s headed for a bar back up the canyon. He isn’t the smartest guy in the world. We’ll find his truck.”

In Columbia Falls, David Sednick sat in the Stockman Bar and enjoyed the Jim Beam glow that he missed over the past few days. He flicked the long ash from his Pall Mall into the glass ashtray. He squinted as the smoke rolled past his eyes. From her barstool, the older blond lady used her eyes to flirt with him as her husband and his friend racked the pool balls for another game. Sednick flashed his patented barroom smile and seductively sipped his highball. Over the years he perfected the knack of seeing the eyes of husbands and communicating with the wives or girlfriends at the same time. She pushed her chair from the table and signaled to her husband she needed to pee. He ignored her and fired the cue ball into the tightly racked pool balls. On her way by Sednick, she lifted her eyebrows and tilted her head in the direction of the restrooms. David put out his cigarette, took a look at the pool players, and nonchalantly walked back to the restrooms.

Roy Devers sat in his car and took in the view of the alley behind the Stockman Bar. He watched the backdoor and David’s black pickup. He praised Sednick for leaving the safety of the motel and the protection of the cops. This uncomplicated things. Now all he had to do was wait for dark and the perfect time to get his work done. Only a few hours now remained. Then on to Spokane and his final meeting with Slick Hansen.

The bright light in the hallway by the women’s restroom became unkind to the blond lady. Her age and hard lifestyle gave away her true looks. She combed her hair with her long fingernails as David approached her. After a good look behind him, she sidled up to him and pressed her sagging chest against him. “I can meet back here at ten thirty when he goes to work. What do you say?”

“Sure, I’ll be here. See you then.” He walked into the bathroom and talked to the smoke-damaged mirror, “You bet old lady. I’ll be here at ten.” He laughed and relieved himself at the cigarette-filled urinal. After another Jim Beam highball, Sednick entered the dark alley and climbed into his truck. His watch read nine o’clock. The engine fired up and David adjusted his rear view mirror. Thoughts of his current life worked their way into drunken thoughts. “Maybe I’ll run by and see my daughter. I gotta right to do that. Give her grandpa somethin’ to think about. I’ll be long gone tomorrow anyway. Ya, I’ll go see my little girl.”

Katya opened the front door, “David. What you doin’ here? You’re, you’re drunk! You can’t be here.”

He slurred his words as he spoke, “Katt, I want to say goodbye to my little baby girl.”

She blocked the doorway and stuttered as she searched for the right words, “Anna’s been asleep for an hour. There’s no—”

He forced his way into the front room, “I gotta right to see her. Let me see her.” He elevated his voice, “Anna! Baby girl! It’s your daddy.”

With all her strength, Katya pushed him toward the opened door. “Get out, David! Come back tomorrow when you’re sober. She can’t remember you like this! Get out!” She continued to shove him. He tripped and fell awkwardly into the new table lamp and end table. The lamp crashed to the floor and the table collapsed under his weight. He struggled to stand up but fell back down on the splintered wood.

From the back bedroom Anna’s sleepy voice penetrated the mayhem. “Mom, is that Daddy?”

Katya streaked toward her daughter’s bedroom and stopped in the doorway; she gathered herself and breathlessly spoke, “No. Go back to sleep, sweetie. Everything’s okay.”

The wall near the door allowed David to regain his feet. He staggered toward Anna’s bedroom and knocked over another new table lamp. David slurred his words as he spoke, “It’s me. I’m here for you little girl. I love you so much. It’s Daddy.”

She closed the door to her daughter’s bedroom. With three quick steps, Katya met David in the middle of the front room. “You ain’t seein’ her. Get out!”

He swung his right fist as hard as he could and punched her directly in the nose. Blood exploded from her broken and now disfigured nose. She went down hard on her left side and narrowly missed the edge of the coffee table.

The bedroom door squeaked opened. Anna stood in the doorway and clung to her Raggedy Ann doll. She started to breathe deeply as she looked at her mother lying unconscious on the floor. David swayed back and forth as he attempted to stand still. He slowly glanced back and forth between his daughter and his motionless wife lying on the floor.

From the open doorway to the outside, a booming voice broke the ugly scene, “What the hell’s goin’ on in here?” Bud Reynolds stood and held the dog leash in his hands. His playful golden retriever puppy pounced into the room. Bud stepped toward Katya as David brushed by him and fell down the step that led to the sidewalk. He managed to get to his feet and staggered to his truck. Bud used the wall phone and called the operator, “Get the ambulance over here right now. A woman is hurt bad.” He waited for the operator’s question and then answered, “1800 Columbia Drive. Send Doc Green too.” He hung up the phone and went into the bathroom. Bud talked calmly to the crying and wheezing Anna as he returned with two towels, “It’s going to be okay, honey! I’ll take care of your mom. The doctor’ll be here in just a minute. You best go put on your oxygen mask.”

In the distance, he heard a faint siren. Katya moaned as Bud gently applied the corner of the towel to the front of her bleeding nose. Her eyes rolled as she felt the firm hand cradle her neck. Bud squeezed her nostril in an attempt to stop the flow of blood.

He looked up as he heard Anna crumble to the floor. Bud placed Katya’s hand on the towel. He rushed to Anna, picked her up, and hurried into her bedroom. The nightlight revealed the portable oxygen mask and tank. He gently laid her down on the bed and propped her pillow to support her head. The oxygen mask slipped on easily over her head. Bud pushed the white button on the tank and thanked God once the sound of air pushed through the tube into her mask. “Come on, honey. Breathe. Breathe.” Anna coughed. Her face lost its blue hue. She coughed again and started to breathe. “Good girl. Easy does it now. Easy does it.”

The siren roared louder. Through the bedroom window, Bud saw the blinking red lights. The siren stopped, and he heard the medics out in the living room. He smiled at Anna, patted her arm, and went to the living room. “This lady here most likely has a broken nose. The little girl back here is upset and back on the oxygen. Go slow with her. Her name is Anna. She’s scared.”

One of the medics knelt over Katya with his open first aid kit. He stuffed both of Katya’s nostrils with cotton pads. With his support, she sat up and leaned against the front of the couch and laid her head back. Bud and the other medic went into the bedroom with Anna. Both of her hands squeezed her doll. Bud introduced the medic. “Honey, this man is kind of like a doctor. He’s here to help. Okay.”

After Dr. Green and the police left, Sara and Bud made coffee and prepared to stay the night. Dr. Green reset Katya’s nose and gave her something for her pain. Bud called the quonset hut at the Dam, “Ya Jack. Bud Reynolds.”

“Hey Bud, what’s goin’ on?”

“Do me a favor. Tom Anzich is up top workin’. Probably near one of the towers. Will you get him to come home early? Just tell him to come to his sister’s house. We had some trouble down here.”

After Bud’s friend Jack dropped him off at his dad’s car at the quonset hut, Tomas drove to Columbia Falls and sprinted up the driveway and burst into the living room. Out of breath he spoke, “What happened? What’s goin’ on?” Bud and Sara sat on the couch with coffee cups in their hands.

“Take it easy. Everybody’s okay, now. Sit down and I’ll fill you in.” Bud set his coffee cup down on the coffee table. “We had some trouble here a while ago. Your sister got a broken nose. And little Anna got pretty upset, but she’s good now. Your—”

Tomas stood up again and started for the bedroom, “How did it happen? What—”

“Your brother-in-law came in here drunk and punched Kat. He—”

Tomas peeked in and saw the large bandage that covered his sister’s nose. The front door opened and slammed in one swift

movement. Tomas gunned the engine and spun the tires as he

roared away from the curb. The 1949 Chevy peeled around the corner and into the main street of Columbia Falls. The words of

the policeman in Butte after his fight at Clark Park jumped into his

mind, “Be careful of that temper. You could hurt somebody sometime. You don’t know your own strength.” Tomas ground the

gears as he hit third gear. He ran the red light near the Catholic Church and passed two cars a block later. He yelled as he swerved to miss a third car, “You’re right. I’ll hurt somebody sometime. Tonight! I’ll hurt him real bad for what he did to Kat and Anna.”