Deadly Expectations (27 page)

“I guess I got flagged somewhere for my … traits … and was quietly recruited at eighteen by the Canadian government to take on some challenging work that most of the real soldiers wouldn’t have the stomach for.
 
The shrink’s records disappeared a long time ago.
 
You won’t find them.”

I stood.
 
Andre had helped me take Paul’s knife again without him even knowing.
 
Andre’s knife work was going to help me sell my story.
 
I balanced it by the handle on my fingertips.
 
Paul’s hand went slowly down to his scabbard.
 
He shot me a look but didn’t say anything.
 
I started bouncing the knife in the air.
 
It would go almost up to the ceiling before I balanced it again. As I continued I caught it in my palm and flipped it over to the back of my hand to balance it like I had at Willy’s.
 
I spun it on my knuckle and watched it like it was something beautiful.

“I work under several names.
 
You might know a couple of them.
 
I have valid ID as the wife of all the men I pretend to be.
 
Passports as good as yours.
 
Nobody suspects a woman …” I let my voice trail off.

I launched the knife up in the air again, meaning to get the back of my hand under the point, between my knuckles and break its fall slowly.
 
I got it between the knuckles fine but I didn’t slow its fall quickly enough.
 
It sunk in a good quarter inch into my hand.

“Whoops,” I said quietly.
 
I licked my lips as blood began to drip from my hand.
 
Andre only did that one with gloves on I remembered and I giggled.

“Jesus Anna …” Paul said.

I went back to bouncing it by the handle.
 
“I don’t … feel any pain from a knife wound,” I said distractedly as I watched the pretty knife.
 
Then I pulled up my shirt to show the eye on my stomach.

“Damian gave this to me a couple of weeks ago,” I shook my head as I let my shirt drop.
 

“Nothing,” I said.
 
“Felt nothing.”

I put Paul’s knife on the counter and wrapped my hand in a clean towel.
 
Blood dripped off my elbow.
 
I was surprised how little my hand hurt.
 
Andre would be impressed with how sharp Paul kept his knife.

“Mrs. Richards can’t tell you anything interesting that she has done in the past six years any more than Captain Richards could ever tell me what he’s done in the past fourteen.”
 
I sat back down.
 
“I thought I had moved on from all that.
 
I was rather insubordinate and a bit of a danger to anyone unlucky enough to be assigned with me.
 
My leaving was mutual.
 
I didn’t get off on the work any more.
 

“But I guess here I am,” I peeked under the towel, looking as fascinated with what was underneath as I had with the spinning knife.
 
Blood was still welling up.
 
“Mrs. Richards certainly appreciates a good cover story.”

“Ray … do you have a minute?” I said sweetly.
 
“Can you excuse us a minute or two gentlemen?”

There were looks of shock on all the faces around the table.
 
I had no idea what Paul was thinking.
 
He hadn’t known about my record.

“Uh, yeah Anna,” I got up and went down to the first aid room.
 
Ray followed.
 
I’d left quite a mess for Paul to clean up with the Colonel.

Ray looked at the wound and shook his head.

“Do you think he bought it?” I whispered.

“Anna, we all bought it.
 
I think Paul believes he married Mrs. Hyde.”

“I thought the Colonel wanted to know if I could pull off whatever cover story there might be,” I said.
 
“Ouch, that’s really starting to hurt.”

“He did … but I think your knife act might have sold it as the truth.”

Ray froze my hand and stitched it up.
 
Then he wiped the blood off and wrapped it.

“The black sleep is hitting me soon Ray, I need to get to bed.
 
Any idea how long it will take to wrap things up with the Colonel?”

Paul came in then to answer my question.

“The Colonel is going down to brief the cleanup crew, they just got here … you got your security clearance,” he shook his head.
 
“He’s going to make a couple of phone calls to see if your story is true.
 
He left the paperwork behind … .but a criminal record Anna?”

“It’s sealed … could be for jaywalking for all he knows.
 
It’s for exactly what I said it’s for and I don’t think he could get it open.
 
I had to be honest just in case he had seen the file.
 
You knew I got in some trouble.”

Paul sighed.
 
“And who is Rex Nielsen?”

“Andre’s Lieutenant.”

“You didn’t.”
 
Paul said he rubbed his hands on his face. “You’re ageing me.”

“I did,” I told him.
 
“I want Damian to know exactly who he is dealing with.
 
This isn’t ending his way.
 
I have to keep his focus on me … to keep it off my sister.”
 

Ray looked at Paul, puzzled.

“I’ll fill you in later,” Paul said.

“Damian’s in
Toronto
?” I asked.

“Yes.”

“I could have told you that.
 
Hopefully as long as he’s mad at me …” I wished now I wasn’t going to sleep for a while.
 
“I can’t wait much longer to get him away from Alina.
 
I have to get to bed now unless someone wants to pack me upstairs.
 
I think I’ve run out of time.
 
See you in a couple of days.”

Paul followed me upstairs.
 
I quickly stripped and put on pyjamas.
 
He stayed with me until I fell asleep.
 
It didn’t take long.

Chapter 25

I didn’t remember anything, other than a dream.
 
A dream I was with my daughter.
 
She was all grown up … living in Paul’s house with a nice young man who loved her deeply.
 
I was going to be a grandmother.
 
We sat on the porch together in the shade.
 
She wore a purple summer dress with a high waist, comfortable and roomy.
 
She expected her baby soon.
 
I was still in my pyjamas.
 
She didn’t seem to find that at all odd.
 
Neither did
I
.

The baby’s father is like my father … he’ll be like both of them.

Like me?
 
I asked her.

No.
 
You’re not like any of us at all
, she smiled at me
.
 
Not this time.

I didn’t understand.

I want to show you something.
 
Wait here a moment.

She came out with a small handbag then she took my hand and led me down the stairs.

The house is the only part of this place I kept up,
she told me as we walked south past the cabins.
 
I looked at them as we passed.
 
The paths to them were overgrown.
 
Some were leaning, their windows broken when the glass refused to bend with the passing years.
 
Their siding faded to match the forest that had protected them and now welcomed the land back.

Uncle Joshua kept the land in trust for me until I turned eighteen,
she explained
.
 
He and his wife raised me after Camille got sick and died.
 
Ron didn’t live much past her.
 
They had always been so much in love …

I didn’t want to think about what that meant.
 
Not at all.
 
Just past the last cabin the road took a sharp right to the gate.
 
A well worn foot path continued on straight into the forest.
 
I looked around as she towed me through the trees but I couldn’t spot the one I had slept against the day Damian’s men came.

After a few minutes the smell of the forest changed.
 
Grass and flowers.
 
Sunlight welcomed us to the pond.
 
We crossed the flowered meadow until we reached the edge of the water and then followed that to the far side.
 
I had only seen the pond through the eyes of the third man who had come for us.
 
Through the dark, frozen over in the heavily falling snow.
 
It was hard to believe this was the same place but it was.
 
Unmistakably.

Twenty feet up the bank at the south side of the pond was a fenced off square.
 
The fence was metal, wrought iron, a small gate in the centre of the side that faced the pond.
 
She let us in.
 
The markers were weathering already, but the names were clear.
 
She sat us on a small bench facing them.

Yes,
she said in answer to my questioning look
.
 
This is how you are here with me now.
 
You’re here alone … I don’t know where my father is.
 
Camille always said he was at
Arlington
but I’ve been there and he isn’t.
 
I don’t think they found him.

Uncle Ray put you here.
 
You passed away in the house just after I was born.
 
You showed up here alone … dying … he had to take me from you as your heart stopped.
 
At least with a marker for my father it feels like we’re still together.

She wept quietly.
 
Her grief had long past, leaving only sadness.

Let’s sit by the water for a while,
she wiped her eyes and smiled at me
.
 
Uncle Ray said you would come.
 
Not for very long … but to expect you before the baby comes.
 
That was years ago.
 
I’ve had a lot of time to think about what I wanted to do with the small amount of time we would have.

At the side of the pond she put her hand on my stomach.

That’s me in there,
she said
.

Yes.

Sit
, she gestured to the ground and carefully lowered herself down in front of me then she dug around in the bag and passed me a hairbrush.

Please mother.
I took the brush and ran it through her hair.
 
Her dark hair was part way in between my waves and Paul’s curls.
 
Closer to mine.
 
The dark brown was all Paul.
 
The curls smoothed out as the brush went through and then sprung back as I brought it back up for another pass.
 
Her face tilted up to the sun.
 
The smile on her lips reminded me of my mother and Alina.
 
She sighed.