My Sister's Keeper (6 page)

“I’ll lock the back door,” I called to Cheri. She was just getting into the shower. “Back in about an hour.”

“Take your time,” she called.

I stepped onto the deck and locked the back door. Already the air was cooling down. A breeze had blown in clouds from the west. I looked into the sky and sniffed the air. Rain was coming but a ways off yet. I should have lots of time to get in my run.

I stretched on the lawn in the shadows. I slipped out the side gate and ran down Maple Street, past the park toward Prince of Wales Drive. Manotick was a growing town trying to hang on to its village charm. I followed the side streets at a slow pace, taking time to look at yards and late-
summer gardens. Old oak and maple trees lined the roads. Hardly any cars passed me and I enjoyed the silence. A cool wind pushed me along, making the jog easy. My body felt lighter just being outdoors in the fresh air.

I used to run marathons and work out in the gym. After leaving Ottawa, I stopped running and working out. I stopped just about everything, including keeping in contact with my family and friends.

My father had always seemed like a rock. I wasn’t sure how I felt hearing that he might be sick. The idea that he might even die was too much to swallow. I picked up my pace.

A man walking his collie came toward me. I’d never seen him before and nodded as we passed each other. Another block further on, I checked my watch. I’d been running just over half an hour. The shadows had been replaced by complete darkness. I took the next street back toward Cheri’s house. I’d left her alone long enough.

I
didn’t notice anything out of order . . . at first. I took a few minutes in the backyard to stretch. I could see through the patio doors into the kitchen. Cheri wasn’t sitting at the table but a file was open. An empty wine glass sat next to it.

I climbed the steps and took out my key. The door was still locked. I opened the door and stepped inside. The house was quiet and still. I figured that Cheri must have gone for a nap and shut the door as quietly as I could. I slipped off my runners and padded over to the sink for a drink of water. Halfway to the sink, I stopped and looked over at the table. Something was out of place.

A second wine glass sat on the table. From the angle I’d looked in through the window, the glass had been hidden behind a vase of purple coneflowers. The glass was half filled with white wine.

Cheri hadn’t said that company was coming over. I pictured the road in front of her house and the driveway. The only parked car was Cheri’s. So two questions: who had dropped by and why hadn’t they finished their wine?

I turned back to the sink but something else caught my attention: a folded sheet of white paper with Jimmy’s name on the top. I hesitated. If Cheri hadn’t shown such bad judgement lately, I wouldn’t have even thought about reading it. But these were crazy times.

I moved closer and picked up the paper. I held it for a few moments, then flicked it open. My eyes skimmed the typewritten words with a signature written in pen. I stopped and read it again more slowly.

It was my sister’s signature all right. However, the message was crazy. She hadn’t been depressed an hour ago. In fact, she’d been excited about Jimmy and Evan moving home. She also seemed to be saying in the note that she’d killed Hannah Jones over her affair with Jimmy. At one point, Cheri had thought Jimmy might be having an affair with someone at his work. If she’d suspected Hannah, she would have told me. I hadn’t told Cheri about Hannah’s visit to Jimmy before the hit and run . . . or after. Plus, Cheri’s car had not hit Hannah.
Details.

I looked at the second wine glass again. Cheri had let somebody into the house. They’d sat here and shared a glass of wine. It must have been somebody she knew and trusted. Where could they have gone? If her death was meant to look like a suicide, the killer would have to come back to wash out their glass.

A muffled crash from beneath my feet made me jump. They were still in the house! I walked
quickly and silently down the hall toward the front entrance.

The door to the basement stood open.

I
’d seen enough horror movies to know the evils that could await you in the basement. I took a moment to return to the hall closet. I picked a nine iron from Cheri’s golf bag and started down the stairs. The stairs were carpeted and I was able to step silently to the bottom. I kept to the wall, hoping I wouldn’t be seen.

The main room with the wide screen TV and sound system was empty. I stood still for a moment and listened. Someone was talking from the direction of the furnace and laundry rooms. The doorway was to my right. I lifted the golf club up to my shoulder.

I angled my head around the corner of the laundry room and took a quick look. This room was empty. I stepped inside and crossed to the next doorway. A man’s voice grew louder.
Please not Jimmy.
I still couldn’t make out what he was saying.

I crept closer, keeping to the wall. The man’s back was to me in the middle of the room. His bald head shone in the ceiling light. Cheri was sitting on the floor across from the doorway. Her back was to the wall. Terror filled her eyes as she watched Roger Little loop a short rope through the I-beam that ran across the nine-foot ceiling. He’d placed a chair next to him. A hunting knife lay on the seat.

“Just another minute,” he said. His voice was friendly, almost kind. “This may not snap your neck, but you’ll strangle soon enough.”

“I still don’t understand,” Cheri said. She whimpered.

Roger laughed as if they were sharing a joke. “It’s simple. I want to be partner. I convinced Hannah that I could drive you out of the agency. She went along with it for a while. It was working too. You should never have come back from stress leave.”

“Hannah was in on this?”

“Oh yes, but she started getting cold feet when I drugged your tea and your kid got left in the park. She got
really
bummed out when I cut your brake line. She thought I’d gone way too far when you ended up in the hospital. But I was just starting to have fun.”

“You nearly killed me.”

“I know! Who would have thought that I’d enjoy myself so much? The rush I got from breaking you down was incredible, even better than winning a triathlon. It became like a game. Some nights I couldn’t sleep, planning my next move. Anyhow, Hannah was going to tell you and your husband everything. I was sorry to kill her. But she would have ruined my career.”

He finished tying the knot and tested the hold. “That should about do it. I’m just happy you’ve played crazy so well. You fell for every trick I thought up. Although I was disappointed that the raccoon didn’t have a bigger impact. I was hoping it would send you into a mental hospital. After all, I went to a lot of trouble to copy your house key. Scraping a dead raccoon off the highway was no picnic either.”

He bent and picked up the knife. “Time for you to say goodbye. I promise you, it will be quick. I’ll say some nice words at your funeral. Maybe I’ll even get Cahill to put up a picture of you in the waiting room when I’m made partner.”

That’s when I lunged forward with the golf club pulled back to swing. Roger had begun to straighten and turned toward me as I flew the short distance toward him. His eyes went from happy to shocked. The club cracked him with full impact just above his left ear. He crumpled into a heap on the floor.

“That quick enough for you?” I asked.

R
oger Little was handcuffed and placed under arrest. Then he was carted off to the hospital on a stretcher. Officer Peter Tang guided me into Cheri’s living room to get my statement. Cheri was taken into the kitchen for hers, once she assured us that she wasn’t hurt. I was constantly amazed at how she could pull herself together. She had an untapped well of grit in her, just like Dad.

Jimmy burst through the front door as I was finishing up. He looked terrible.

“Anna,” he said. His voice came out strangled. “Where is she?”

“Cheri’s in the kitchen. She’s not hurt.”

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. Go see Cheri.”

“Thanks.” He rushed past us and disappeared into the kitchen.

I turned to Tang. “If you’re done with me, I think I’d like to get some air.”

He closed his notebook. “Sure. Will you be staying here?”

“No, but I’ll let you know where I am.”

I walked out the front door. It was past midnight. I hadn’t expected to be greeted by reporters and a TV camera. Two women came at me with microphones. I looked past them at my father leaning against his truck. One of the officers had called and told him what had happened, and that Cheri and I were okay.

“No comment,” I said. “I was just called to the scene.”

“You weren’t the one who saved . . .” The woman looked at her notes. “Cheri Wilson from being killed.”

“No. You’ve got me mixed up with somebody else.”

I walked past them to my father. “Hey, Dad.”

“I was going to come in but it seemed better to stay out of the way once I heard you were both okay.”

“Jimmy just arrived. He’s with Cheri.”

“I saw that. You want to spend the night at my place?”

“If you don’t mind.”

“I don’t mind. I’ll talk to Cheri tomorrow.”

“Yeah. I don’t think she’s going to miss us tonight.”

We got in the truck. I leaned against the head rest and closed my eyes. I was suddenly so tired I couldn’t keep my eyes open.

“I made the bed up in your old room,” Dad said. “You can stay as long as you like.” He put the truck into gear. “Good job you have that stubborn streak. You were the only one not to give up on your sister.”

“I almost did.”

But this time I hadn’t walked away.

*********

It was just past three o’clock two days later when I entered the bar. A few men sat at tables drinking beer. I searched in the corners. Jada Price waved and I walked over to her table near the exit.

“Thanks for coming,” she said. She’d gotten rid of her Afro and her hair was short and layered. The style suited the strong bone structure in her face. Silver hoop earrings sparkled in the light. “I was happy to read in the paper you hadn’t left the city. Hard to believe that Roger Little was stalking Cheri. I never liked the look of the guy. There was something in his eyes when he looked at me.”

I sat across from her. The waitress came over and I ordered a beer. Jada was drinking something pink in a tall glass.

“So how’s your sister?” she asked.

“Cheri has already put her near death behind her. Jimmy and Evan are back. She has a promotion at work. Life is back going her way and God is in his heaven.” I smiled out of the side of my mouth. “I hope that didn’t come out bitter.”

“And what about you?”

“I’ve decided to stick around for a bit. Keep an eye on my dad and make sure he’s eating his vegetables.” The waitress set a beer in front of me and I paused to drink. “He’s waiting on some follow-up test results from the cancer clinic.”

“Sorry to hear that. Waiting is the hardest part.” Jada leaned closer. “Well, I want to make you a job offer. As you know, I stopped working security at Cheri’s building. I’ve started up a private eye agency. I figure it’s a two-person operation. Are you interested in coming on board as my partner?”

“I’m rusty at police work. Rusty nails and other Scotch-based drinks are another matter.”

“You’d have to get a PI licence. I’d need you to get started on it right away. Work has been coming in.”

I stalled for time. “What would we call ourselves? Ebony and ivory?”

“Maybe something a little less diverse. Does this mean you’re in?”

I took another sip of my beer while I thought it over. My father wasn’t getting any younger. Even if he wasn’t sick this time, he could be down the road. Kermit, Texas, would always be there. And it might be nice to get to know my nephew Evan before he went off to college.

“I’ll sign on for a year,” I said. “If you’re good with that, we’ll have another meeting when the year is up to see if it’s working out.”

Jada stood and let out a whoop. “I am very good with that.” She pumped her fist and sat back down. She raised her glass toward me. “Here’s to us, Anna girl. You and me are going to take this city by storm.”

“Storm Investigations,” I said. “It has a certain ring.”

“Strong and hard to predict,” Jada said. “I like it. Here’s to Storm Investigations.”

I lifted my glass and clinked hers. “To Storm Investigations.” I drained the rest of my glass.

A full year in Ottawa.

Part of me liked the idea of taking on cases. Another part wanted to get on the next plane out. I raised my hand to the waitress and called for another round.

I’d made my decision. Now I’d have to live with it for a year. I just hoped the year wasn’t one I would live to regret.