Part 28 (1/2)
”Didnt laugh.”
”No ones going to laugh at you.”
”He didnt laugh.”
Wendy fumbled in the pocket of her ski pants and pulled out a tissue, tattered and worn from over-use. She blew her nose, but most of the snot ended up on her fingers. She wiped her hand on her right leg. The mucus spread across the thigh of her yellow ski pants.
”Didnt laugh,” she repeated. ”Said hed give me a quick one.”
”Who said?” Smith asked. Although she knew. She sat down again.
”I waited a long time, years, for Ewan to notice me. Ewan-Jason, Jason-Ewan, they were always together. It should have been Ewan-Wendy. Jason was my parents favorite. Jason got everything I wanted. Even Ewan.
”He went away to university and I thought Id lost him. Then Jason made plans for this holiday and I knew itd be my chance.” She hiccupped, and pounded her upper chest with her hand. ”Oopsie. Here, away from Oakville where wed been kids, Ewan would see that Ive grown up. I look good, dont I?”
”You look very good.” And wasnt that a lie. Tears and mucus streaked Wendys face. Her eyes and nose were red and running, make-up either washed off or smeared, hair a tousled mess.
”I bought a bra and pantie set, lavender silk and lace, to wear for Ewan our first time. Someone touched them so I threw them away. I figured it was Lorraine, going through my things, but now I think it was Kathy. Shes a snoop.”
”What? Kathy goes though the guests underwear?”
”Sad, eh? The miserable little mouse.
”But Ewan didnt care. He just wanted a screw, a cheap, nasty screw, in the cold and the snow, up against a tree.” Wendy was crying so hard, Smith had trouble making out what she was saying.
She leaned closer. The girl smelled of good soap and too much alcohol. ”When was that?”
”You think its funny, dont you?”
”No, Wendy, I dont think any of this is funny.”
Wendy closed one eye and peered at Smith through the other, trying to focus. ”He said he didnt have time to go inside, said he had to meet someone. He wanted to have me up against a tree, so he could meet a cheap s.l.u.t who operates a cash register.”
The day hed arranged to meet Marilyn Chow was the day Ewan had died. ”Did you do it?” Smith asked.
Wendy covered her face with her hands and sobbed. People were looking at them. A security guard approached. Smith started to stand up.
”No,” Wendy said, grabbing Smiths hand, and pulling her back down. ”Dont leave me. I would have. Sad, eh?”
Sad? Oh, yes. It was all so sad.
”We went to the back of the B&B, to that patch of woods out of the view of the street. He told me he had to hurry 'cause he was meeting another girl. I didnt want it anymore and pushed him away. He fell down. He was pulling out his c.o.c.k-that takes all their attention, doesnt it-so he didnt have a hand to catch himself with and fell real hard. I ran away.”
She wiped her nose with the back of her hand. ”You said you wouldnt tell anyone this, right?”
Smith was pretty sure she hadnt said any such thing. She had to get Wendy into town, to Sergeant Winters. But first, one more question. ”Jason?”
”When Ewan didnt come back to the B&B, I figured he was with that s.l.u.t. There was something wrong with him, you know. After...after I left him, I went for a long walk and thought about it, and realized that Ewan had a real problem. He didnt want nice, decent girls. He liked them cheap. So, in a way, it was a complement to me that Ewan didnt want to be with me.”
Smith failed to see it that way, but she wasnt going to argue. ”Jason?”
”Id lost a glove. Id taken it off to touch Ewans cheek. I wanted some tenderness. Pretty dumb, eh? It was good, leather with a fur lining. On Christmas Eve, while everyone was getting ready for midnight, I went to look for it.” Her body shuddered. ”I figured the glove would be covered in snow, but thought Id look anyway. The wind had created drifts around the trees where wed been standing and some patches were bare. Instead of my glove, I found him. Ewan. He was lying on the ground, his head and shoulders covered with snow, but his lower body was bare. He was twisted to one side, with his hands still around his c.o.c.k. Protecting his d.a.m.n p.r.i.c.k to the very last. I didnt know what to do. Do you understand? I didnt know what to do!”
”Its okay, calm down.” Smith looked around. People were still watching them, but the security guard had disappeared. ”I killed him. It was an accident. I didnt even know he was dead.”
Wendy didnt know how right she was. What had Doctor Lee concluded? That Ewan had died, not of the injury to the back of his head, but of the cold that killed him while he was unconscious and concussed. If Wendyd gone for help, he probably would have lived.
”I went for a walk, trying to decide what to do. Jason drove by. He picked me up, and could tell something was wrong, so I told him.”
She wiped at her face. ”He said not to worry, hed take care of it.”
”Come on, Im going to get us a ride back to town.” Smith pulled on Wendys arm, but the girl resisted.
”Wheres that d.a.m.ned bottle of wine?”
”Wait right here. Im going to get it, okay?”
Swimming against the crowds, Smith took the stairs as fast as she could in her ski boots and burst into the security office. The old guy was typing something into the computer.
”Call the Mounties. I need a car for pick-up, and I need it now.”
”Whats up?”
”Then call the TCP, and ask them to contact Sergeant Winters. Tell them Im bringing someone in about the Williams case.”
”Why?” His fingers still hovered over the keyboard.
”Will you just do it! I dont have all day here.”
He reached for the phone.
”Have one of your people meet me upstairs.”
Smith ran out. She pushed her way through the crowd, saying ”Excuse me, excuse me,” at almost every step. A few people turned to glare, but everyone obliged.
The big old couch in the center of the room was empty. Smith looked around. No sign of Wendy. Thinking Wendy had given up waiting for someone to bring the bottle of wine, Smith ran into the bar. The room was packed, but it was very small, and Wendy wasnt there. She headed for the washrooms.
She glanced at the table in front of the couch as she pa.s.sed. Wendys helmet and jacket were gone.
A female security guard approached her. ”Constable, what do you need?”
Smith described Wendy. ”Check the washrooms and then every nook and cranny.”
”You got it.”
Smith crashed back through the crowds and down the stairs. ”Ive lost her,” she said to the guard in the office. ”Did you make that call?”