My Sister's Keeper Page 3

  The waitress returned with my beer and food. I sipped from my glass just as Ryan slid into the seat across from me. He leaned his cane against the wall and grinned.

  “The one and only Annie Sweet. When did you get back into town?”

  “Yesterday. It’s good to see you, Ryan. Been a long time.” I waved at the waitress. “Another beer for my friend.”

  “You quit the force,” he said. He sat back and looked at me.

  “Yeah.” Quitting wasn’t something I liked to talk about.

  “You never were one for talking about yourself,” he said, as if reading my thoughts. The waitress set a beer in front of him. Ryan raised it in my direction. “To old partners.”

  I clinked his glass with mine. “To old partners.” We both took a long drink.

  “How’ve you been?” I asked.

  “Good, believe it or not. I had to quit the force —you know, after the shooting—but there is life outside it. I got a part-time job at a local youth centre. I’m also working on an English degree.” His eyes were steady on mine.

  “No way.”

  “It was something I always wanted to do. I’m majoring in British poetry.”

  “You amaze me, Hunter. You really do.”

  “What have you been up to, Sweet?”

  “Nothing so grand. I’ve worked all around the U.S. Seems every town is crying for another waitress.” I shrugged. “Not much else worth speaking about.”

  “I wanted to see you after I got out of the hospital. Your dad told me you’d left town. Said you were on the move. He’s a crusty one, by the way.”

  “He is that.” I took a bite of my sandwich.

  “Anna, what happened?”

  I looked at him, or tried to. I swallowed before speaking. “You know what happened. You pulled the kid’s attention away from me over to you. You took two bullets because I didn’t act fast enough.”

  “But you shot him and saved my life.”

  “I was nearly too late. He almost killed you while I hesitated. The stupid thing was that I didn’t shoot at first because he was a kid. I let my feelings get in the way. He would have shot me—and you—dead without batting an eye.”

  “The boy was out of control before we got there. You tried to talk him down. He might just as easily have put down the gun.”

  “But he didn’t. The internal review finished me. I couldn’t face you afterward. I had to get away and do something mindless.”

  “They found that you weren’t at fault.”

  “I know what they found.” And I’m done talking about it.

  I went back to eating. We chatted about how much the city had changed, people we knew and places I’d lived. Ryan finished his beer. He set the empty glass on the table.

  “Well, I’m meeting a friend inside the pub.” He stood and looked down at me. “I hope to see you again before you leave the city.”

  “I’d like that.”

  I stood and he reached for me. We hugged each other hard. “Don’t keep running, Sweet,” he whispered into my ear. “Forgive yourself. You’re a good cop and should get back in the game.”

  CHAPTER TEN

  At two o’clock, I parked the truck across from Bonnie Wilson’s house on Royal Avenue. I picked a spot behind a blue Mazda a few houses down. I still had a good view of her front door and was out of sight. I tried to make myself comfortable. It would be a couple of hours before Jimmy left for his five o’clock shift.

  He didn’t know I was back in town. So I could secretly tail him for a bit and hope he tried something. Catching him in the act would give me the upper hand. I admitted that it was a long shot.

  Sitting in the truck, I thought about Ryan Hunter. We’d been partners for nearly three years. I’d just finished training and he’d already put in twenty years on the Ottawa force. We were a good team—until we got the call to stop a drugged-up kid from shooting his gun from the roof of his garage. The kid had nearly killed my partner before I’d shot him dead. I’d lived with killing that fourteen-year-old boy every day since. And I’d lived with letting my partner down.

  It was nearly four thirty when a black Volvo pulled into a spot in front of the Mazda. I slumped down in my seat without taking my eyes off the house. A woman in a tight skirt and high heels stepped out of the car. She crossed the street toward the Wilson house. Something about her looked familiar. She climbed the front steps and rang the doorbell. After about a minute, the door opened.

  Jimmy stood there with a cup of coffee in one hand. He was in his police uniform. His hair was still black and curly. He smiled and I saw a flash of the charm that had won me over so many years ago. He said something, and then a five-year-old boy appeared next to him. Evan, my nephew. I’d only seen him as a baby. I leaned forward. Evan was tall for his age and blond like Cheri. Even from this distance, I could tell that he had her big eyes. He was a good-looking child.

  The woman bent and talked to Evan. Jimmy checked his watch and must have told her that he had to leave for work. The woman stood up and patted Evan on the head. She and Jimmy talked for a few seconds before she turned and walked down the steps. Jimmy disappeared inside, and his mother Bonnie took his place next to Evan and shut the door.

  Too many people around to have a private talk, Jimmy? I wondered. It’s hard to carry on an affair with your mother and son standing next to you.

  I looked again as the woman crossed the street to her car. My eyes widened in surprise. The red hair and designer glasses could only belong to Hannah Jones, the lawyer in Cheri’s office. She’d just walked up to Jimmy’s door as if she knew the way, as if they knew each other. Why was Hannah visiting Cheri’s husband before his shift? Was something going on between them? Jimmy hadn’t cared for my feelings when he dropped me for my sister. He wouldn’t care if he dropped Cheri for her co-worker.

  “Once might be a mistake,” I said out loud. “But twice is a pattern.”

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  Jimmy left for work five minutes later. He drove directly to the station, with me a few car lengths behind him. It was Saturday so traffic was light.

  I found a parking space on Elgin Street in front of the station. I sat in Dad’s truck and thought about what to do. I could walk in and confront Jimmy, or I could check out Hannah Jones. Tracking down Hannah seemed like the better idea. I’d find out more about her before I faced Jimmy.

  I’d have to do a search on Hannah to find out where she lived. I could follow her to see if she met up with Jimmy after his shift. Maybe they were making plans to meet when I watched them on Jimmy’s front steps.

  I had a few hours to kill. I’d go to Dad’s for supper and use his computer to do a search. I didn’t even own a cell phone, since I rarely called anyone. It would have come in handy now. I’d also try to find out more about Hannah from Cheri. The trick would be not letting Cheri know why I was interested.

  I drove slowly east toward Bank Street. I’d follow it south to Dad’s. My mouth watered at the thought of his ribs. I used to dream about them when I was on the road. Sometimes, I woke up thinking I could taste the smoky BBQ sauce.

  Other nights, I woke up dreaming about a fourteen-year-old kid dying on the pavement in front of me. Those dreams were the ones that kept me going from town to town. They were the ones that kept me from coming home.

  *********

  I pulled into Dad’s driveway and noticed his other truck was gone. It was silver with a cab and bigger than the one I was driving. I entered his house by the back door. I was sure Cheri would be working on supper but it was Dad who stood stirring something on the stove. The kitchen smelled of ribs and sauce. A bowl of steaming mashed potatoes sat on the counter.

  “Good. One of you made it on time,” Dad said.

  “Where’s Cheri?” I asked.

  “She went for a drive a couple of hours ago. She told me she’d be right back.”

  “She didn’t say where she was going?”

  “Not to me.”

  “Maybe I should
go look for her.”

  “Where would you even begin? Come and eat before the meal gets cold. She’ll be here when she gets here.”

  “I’ll call her first,” I said. Worry made my voice hard. Cheri had said she wasn’t going to be gone long. Anything could have happened to her.

  Dad handed me two plates from the cupboard. “I already called and her phone is turned off. Let’s eat.”

  We sat at the table and served ourselves. Dad opened a couple of beers and handed me one. We drank out of the bottles. I tried to calm the worry in my belly and started eating. It was hard not to enjoy the spicy ribs and creamy potatoes.

  “So, you home for a while?” Dad asked.

  “I’m not sure. Once this business with Cheri is settled, I’ll probably head right out again.”

  “Well, might be good if you stuck around a while.” He threw a stripped rib bone onto his plate and picked up a fresh one. “Cheri hasn’t been the same since you left.”

  “I can’t be responsible for her happiness.”

  “I know. I’m glad you’ve come to help her now. Even if she doesn’t deserve your forgiveness.”

  “I’m over Jimmy, Dad.”

  Dad chewed another rib and drank from his beer bottle. “She had to give up Evan. Court order. She’s not allowed to see him alone.”

  I lowered my fork. “You’re kidding me.”

  “I wish I was. She left him in a park and forgot all about him. Jimmy had a search party out looking for him. It took Cheri a long time to come down off whatever drug she’d taken to tell us which park.”

  “Cheri doesn’t take drugs.” Does she?

  “She swore up and down she hadn’t, but she was upset. Jimmy had just moved out. Excuse me.” Dad stood to answer the phone.

  I wasn’t hungry anymore. Something very ugly was going on with my sister. Could she have caused her own car accident? Maybe she’d even put the roadkill on her bed. She might be trying to look like a victim to get Jimmy and Evan back. She might even be mentally ill. I guessed it was an option I was going to have to consider.

  I heard Dad say goodbye and hang up the phone. I looked over. He stood in the doorway to the kitchen, his face white. “That was Jimmy. A woman’s body was just found outside Cheri’s house. He’s on his way there now. Maybe we should make a run over.”

  I’m sure my face went as white as his. “Let’s not jump to any conclusions,” I said. “Cheri might just be late for dinner.” I tried to sound calm.

  Neither of us believed me for a minute.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  I drove. Dad and I didn’t talk. We were each getting ready to face what lay ahead. The sun had started to set. Every so often, rays of light blinded me through the windshield. Shadows stretched across the road.

  Cheri’s street was filled with cop cars and an ambulance. Red lights were flashing and people were standing in a group watching police unroll yellow tape. A body lay on Cheri’s lawn under a white sheet.

  I spotted Jimmy with his back to me. He was talking to another cop. I needed to get his attention but would have to get past some of the police officers.

  “Anna,” Dad said. “I’ll stay here. You go and find out.”

  “Okay, Dad. I’ll be right back.”

  He nodded. Dad stood straight as a rod, as if at attention in a military lineup. His eyes stared directly ahead to the body on the ground.

  I slipped under the tape and ran toward Jimmy. Someone grabbed my arm but Jimmy had turned. His eyes opened wide and he signalled for the cop to let me go. Jimmy walked over to me.

  “Anna. I never expected to see you.”

  “Is it . . . is it Cheri?” I asked.

  “No.” His eyes looked past me to where Dad stood. Jimmy shook his head so Dad would know it wasn’t Cheri.

  “Who is it?”

  Jimmy looked at the sheet on the ground then back at me. “It’s someone Cheri works with.”

  “Who?” My mind scrambled over the people I’d met.

  “Her name is Hannah Jones. Somebody struck her with a car and she flew several metres onto the lawn. The car must have been going full out.”

  “Did you know her?”

  “I met her at a few of Cheri’s work parties. I wouldn’t say I knew her.” He avoided my eyes and looked past me. “Mr. Sweet. I’m sorry to have gotten you out tonight.”

  I turned and saw that Dad was right behind me. He looked relieved but upset. He shook his head. “I’m sorry for the family of the young lady under that sheet. But I’m glad it’s not my girl.”

  I took his arm. “I’ll take you home, Dad. Cheri should be there by now.” I turned to Jimmy. “You and I have to talk. I’ll be by in the morning.”

  I wanted to find out why Jimmy had lied. Hannah had visited him at home that morning. They knew each other better than he had let on.

  *********

  Cheri was sitting at the table reading the newspaper when Dad and I walked into the kitchen. She took one look at our faces and her smile disappeared.

  “Where have you been?” Dad asked. His voice was gruff.

  “Just out.” Cheri said. “I picked up the car from the mechanic and drove around for a while. He’s doing an oil change on your truck, Dad. My treat. We can pick it up any time. Anyhow, I lost track of time. Has something happened?”

  “Talk to your sister,” Dad said to me. “I’m going to pour myself a Scotch and watch some television.” He grabbed a glass from the cupboard and went down the hall to his den. My father avoided family upsets whenever possible.

  I sat down across from Cheri. “Really, where have you been all this time? You have to tell me now if you did anything wrong. I’ll try to help you.”

  “You’re scaring me.”

  “This isn’t like when we were kids. You won’t be able to bat your big blue eyes and get away with whatever you did.”

  “How did you know?”

  “Oh crap.” I’d been hoping I was wrong. I sighed. “Did you mean to hit her?”

  “What are you talking about? I know that I didn’t tell you everything and I’m sorry, okay?”

  “Walk me through it.”

  “I’m not allowed to be with Evan unless someone else is there. I did something crazy after work one day. I picked him up and don’t remember anything after that. I have no idea why I left him alone in a park. I blanked out.”

  “Dad already told me that. Did you blank out again today?”

  She raised her head and looked at me. “No. I knew where I was.”

  “Tell me exactly what you did.”

  “I picked up my car from the garage. They’d fixed the brakes and the damage to the hood and bumper, you know, because of the accident. Then I drove over to Evan’s school. I waited outside until he came out. I watched him play during recess. I knew I should just leave but I followed his bus home. I got out and called to him. He ran into my arms and I hugged him. Bonnie came out and yelled at me. Then I let him go and drove back here.” Cheri started crying. “I miss him so much.”

  “Are you telling me you didn’t drive to your house in Manotick?”

  “Why would I go there?” Cheri wiped her cheeks with the back of her hands. She looked confused.

  I stared at her for a bit. She either: (a) didn’t have anything to do with Hannah’s hit and run accident, (b) had lost her mind, or (c) was a great actress.

  “What’s Hannah Jones like?” I asked.

  “Hannah? She’s smart and ambitious. She’s the new breed of young lawyer—wants to get to the top right away. They don’t put much stock in experience. She and Roger Little are a lot alike in that way.”

  “Did Jimmy know Hannah very well?”

  “No. They met at a few of my work parties, but that was it. Why?”

  “Hannah was killed outside your house in Manotick today, Cheri. She was hit by a car. The driver fled the scene.”

  “No!” Cheri looked around the kitchen. Her eyes were round blue pools of fear. “Jimmy must have mistaken her
for me.” Her voice dropped to a whisper. “I should have been the one to die. Oh my God. Hannah Jones died instead of me!”

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  I banged on Bonnie Wilson’s door at eight the next morning. After a minute, I leaned on the doorbell. My nephew Evan opened the door still dressed in his pyjamas. He carried a plastic water pistol.

  “I’m here to see your dad,” I said. “My name is Aunt Anna.”

  Evan studied me with Cheri’s blue eyes. “Dad’s sleeping. Are you my aunt?”

  “I am. Can you go wake your dad up for me? Maybe give him a big blast of water from that gun you’re carrying.”

  “Okay.”

  Evan scooted down the hall and up the stairs. I smiled when I heard Jimmy shriek. Bonnie’s angry voice travelled downstairs.

  Ten minutes later, Jimmy joined me where I was sitting on the front steps. He wore a black T-shirt and jeans. His eyes were red and tired. His black curls could have used a good brushing. “I worked late,” he said. “I need coffee.”

  “We could walk to the Baker Street Café.”

  “Sure.”

  He trudged along beside me. Neither of us said much. Mornings had always been our worst time. I needed coffee as badly as he did.

  The café was busy, as it usually was Sunday mornings. We got a table near the back and both ordered bacon and eggs. We were on our second cup of coffee when I started asking questions.

  “So what’s going on between you and Cheri?”

  Jimmy sighed and leaned back in his chair. “Cheri and I started fighting last year. She was working all the time. When she wasn’t working, it was all she talked about. I thought if I moved out, she’d rethink things. As it turned out, she started acting out, wanting my attention. Do you know she even took drugs and left Evan alone in the park? I wanted to strangle her.”

  “You might want to watch how you phrase things.”

  “She refuses to talk to me.”

  “Could it be because you took Evan away?”

  “She was acting crazy. I had to make sure he was safe.”