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  Instead, Boyd had begun to work on the town with the same quiet sincerity that he had displayed in the park.

  It had all come to a head, when Hanson burst into Spring Hopes Café, that Tuesday morning, a month before Boyd was to die.

  He was red in the face and had an email printed out.

  “You imbecile,” Hanson shouted, shoving Boyd. “Do you know what you’ve done? Do you have any idea, you brainless fool?”

  “I’ve done what’s right,” Boyd said, turning around, and staying firm.

  “You.. you... I spent years, years, wining and dining this man. He’s assistant to the head of the gaming commission. He was friends with me. The other man was a big Calgary businessman willing to invest millions in our town.”

  “He was trying to scout our town,” Boyd said. “I didn’t like the looks of him.”

  “He sent me an email today telling me he’s calling it all off, because of you.” Hanson nearly pulled the hair out of his own head in agitation. “You, you cheap, regressive fool.”

  “Name calling in public,” Boyd said. “Real nice, Hanson. Clearly, you haven’t grown up since our days in school.”

  “I lost millions.” Hanson roared. Then, realizing that he was in public, “This town lost millions. This casino could have been the difference between being saved and being a ghost town. Don’t you understand?”

  “I have faith in Larch,” Boyd said. “The town doesn’t need to do… that kind of business. It only brings drunks, and drugs, and depravity to any town it visits. I love Larch too much to let you ruin it this way.”

  “I’ve tried telling you nicely,” Hanson warned. “Now I’ll tell you bluntly. You’re ruining the town, Boyd, and you’ll come to a bad end if you don’t come around to my way of thinking.”

  “Are you threatening me?” Boyd asked. “May I remind you we’re in public and I’ve got witnesses here?”

  “Oh, we’ll talk again,” Hanson said, a vein beating on his forehead. “We’ll talk again soon, Boyd, but I’m going to go after you. I swear on all that is mine, I’m going to make you regret what you’ve done. You’re going to be on your knees begging me to forgive you. Then I’ll hit you bad. I’ll kill you for this Boyd. See if I don’t.”

  Chapter 13

  Karen came into the café at the exact Moment that Corporal Jager pushed back his stool and rose up to face Victoria.

  “Victoria? What are you doing?”

  “Oh, nothing.” Corporal Jager said, putting his wallet back into his jeans. “She’s schooling me on how to do my job, that’s all. Also, accusing me of being dishonest, but that’s just a byproduct, I suppose.”

  “I’m not accusing you of anything,” Victoria said, “I’m just saying I find it funny that you never interviewed Hanson. Gosh, I was interrogated for a good hour, and I have no possible motive.”

  “Don’t you?” Jager raised an eyebrow.

  “We’ve been over that, Jager. Let’s focus on Hanson for a second, shall we?”

  “I don’t see why I need to defend my actions or reveal confidential police data to you,” Jager said. “Just like I don’t see why I need to ever step foot into this café again.”

  “Jager. No, wait. Please...” Karen hobbled out after him while Victoria began furiously mopping up the counter. Annie, sitting on her stool, carefully pressed her nose into a book and sat very still. Another figure slipped in beside her. It was Dr. Molly Stewart, the town’s favorite and only doctor.

  “Well, the rest of us better clear out fast before Karen comes back in and chews you out.” Dr. Stewart said.

  Victoria only sighed.

  “You’re not wrong, you know, about Hanson.”

  “It’s just that… Boyd was a good man, and he deserves to have justice.”

  Dr. Molly just smiled. “They had a fistfight once, back in the day. Back in high school.”

  “They did?” Victoria looked up, surprised.

  “Oh, I remember it well. Boyd was the captain of the hockey team, and Hanson was annoyed at losing a game. But that didn’t annoy him nearly as much as when Boyd asked out the girl Hanson had eyes for. Rumor is that Hanson attacked Boyd with a switchblade in the parking lot.”

  “What?” Victoria’s eyes got wide. “Annie, dear, go home. I’ll be there soon.” She said, waiting for her daughter to leave before leaning in to hear more.

  “Oh, it was just a rumor. No one saw it, but Hanson ended up with a broken nose and Boyd had a nasty cut on his hand. He claimed it happened because he slipped against a rusty fender. I was only a resident then, but I tended to his wound, and I could tell the cut was made from a sharp weapon. Of course, the Johannson's are big in this town so maybe Boyd got a little hush money, and Hanson got a few days off school. Everyone moved on with their lives.” Molly shook her head. “But Boyd and Hanson never stopped being rivals.”

  “Wow,” Victoria said.

  “Funny thing, of course, is that the girl they fought over never ended up with either of them,” Molly smiled mischievously at Victoria. “You know, of course, that it was...”

  Karen burst in then, her face red. “You... I should fire you,” She said, marching up to Victoria. “What do you mean by attacking Corporal Jager that way?”

  “He isn’t doing his job, and I gave him a piece of my mind,” Victoria said. “Dr. Molly here agrees with me too.”

  The doctor only shrugged. “I don’t agree with anyone. I have my own views. Yes, maybe Hanson did have some bad blood for Boyd, but was he really capable of murder? I couldn’t say.”

  Karen rolled her eyes at Victoria. “Could you, just for once, quit poking your nose into things that aren’t your business? This is how you got me into trouble our entire childhood. Do you remember when you were convinced that Mrs. Ethel was secretly a witch? All because she owned a black cat? Or that time when you thought there was a treasure in the middle of the lake, and tried to go scuba diving with plastic straws?”

  Victoria laughed. “Oh dear, I used to...”

  “But Victoria is smart, isn’t she?” Dr. Molly said. “I remember when the tycoon Pelletier was murdered. No one knew who’d done it until Victoria solved the case.”

  “Solved the case? She did no such thing. She made a bunch of accusations, and got thrown out of the hotel.”

  “Ah but I turned out to be right, didn’t I?” Victoria asked. “I was right about who did it, long before the police gathered enough evidence to prosecute. After that, Michael asked me to be his assistant, and things changed.”

  Karen didn’t say anything. “Yes, and you just left with him; to write your books. You didn’t care about the café, or about me, or about poor Mom.”

  “I think I paid the price.” Victoria’s eyes flashed.

  “Just...” Karen sighed. “Just please don’t go poking into this, Victoria. Boyd’s dead and you can’t bring him back.”

  “I can’t, no. But I’m going to fight hard and make sure that his legacy lives on in town and that he gets the justice he deserves.”

  Chapter 14

  The reading of Boyd’s will happened in the law offices of Turner & Turner, which stood in a small glass and concrete building down by Lynx street. The lawyers, identical twin brothers who had inherited their father’s practice, both lived next to each other, five minutes from their office. They could often be seen walking in perfect sync together, impeccably dressed. Today, they both wore identical gray herringbone suits, only differentiated by their ties. One wore red; the other black. Although they deliberately dressed alike within their office, outside it, they were almost opposite in their personality. Bill, who was the younger by a few minutes, preferred to spend his time socializing, holding large parties and organizing cycling events. Thomas was a complete introvert who spent his free time holed up at home, either playing with his toddler daughter or watching movies in his basement home theater.

  The brothers had pinned up notices on the public notice board earlier that week. Instead of reading the will out p
rivately, as was the norm, Boyd had ordered that his will be read out at a public meeting. This was an unusual request, and one the lawyers had not expected to carry out for a long time yet.

  They stood now, at a lectern, coughing and adjusting their ties in an eerie mirror image, as an impatient crowd sat eagerly waiting.

  After a dry read of the contents of the will, where Boyd listed various charities to which he contributed small sums, and a few miscellaneous items he had distributed to old friends. Finally, after what seemed like ages, they got to the meat of it all.

  “To my nephew, Angus Boyd,” Bill Turner read out.

  Angus, in the first row, his face scrubbed clean, and a shabby suit on his body bounced in his seat and flashed a thumbs up all around him.

  “To my nephew, Angus, who I have many dear memories of as a boy, but who has chosen a path rather far from my liking as a man, I leave the sum of fifteen thousand dollars, an amount he will immediately lose if he challenges or contests this will in any way or form. The money, I hope, will help you clear any small loans you might have.”

  Angus grew pale, and gasps went up around the room. Sweat began to bead around his neck, and he asked in a hoarse voice. “Read it again. He can’t mean that. That can’t be all I get.”

  Bill Turner, magnificently ignoring Angus, pressed on.

  “To all those who are gathered here, I would like to leave one million dollars in a trust that will be used to benefit the town in whatever manner the trustees see fit. I would like to appoint as trustees, my own lawyers Bill and Thomas Turner, as well as my old friend and rascal-in-arms, Damian Stoge.

  Finally, I would like to leave the bulk of my fortune, which at this time totals about three million dollars, to my daughter. I'm hoping she will forgive me for all the ways I have let her down and know that I love her. These assets include my investments, the grocery chain, and whatever personal assets I had.

  An uproar went up. Angus tried to leap on stage, grabbed the will from Bill Turner’s hands, and very nearly ripped it apart. Corporal Jager, who had been stationed beside Bill, immediately stepped up and with an expert blow, had Angus on his knees, and in a few more seconds, had handcuffed him.

  The rest of the audience was on their feet, shouting and asking questions.

  “He had no daughter!” cried one woman. “Who has he left that money to?”

  Bill, who was looking very nonplussed as he adjusted his tie, handed the document to Thomas, who carefully tucked them inside his suit.

  “I had no idea he was that rich!” Another man was saying. “Four million dollars. My goodness. He lived such a simple life, in the same house he’d been brought up in, hardly ever buying a dime’s worth of...”

  “Good of Boyd, leaving such a huge amount to fund the town. I hope they give it to the sports committee, we need the money.”

  Putting his hand up, and asking for peace, Bill Turner shouted. “Everyone, please, I implore you. There is more that needs to be said.”

  “Who’s this daughter, then?” a man cried out. “Boyd’s a sly one, we never got a hint of all this!”

  In his deep voice, Corporal Jager cried out. “That’s enough now. The next person to ask questions out of turn will be handcuffed like Angus here.”

  Angus gave out another bellow and shouted, “I’ll get my share! You see if I don’t! This… this witch who took it from me will suffer!”

  “Calm down, Angus.” Corporal Jager said. “I don’t want to have to put you in jail tonight.”

  “Who is it then?” Asked Hanson. He sat in the front row too, his blue suit neatly buttoned, and his hair slicked back. He looked calm, and mildly amused at all the screams that the others were uttering. Victoria, sitting at the back with Karen, supposed that to him, with his immense properties, four million dollars was not much more than pocket change. Still, whoever had benefited, would likely have their life changed by gaining all that money.

  “The specific person to whom Boyd has left his fortune,” Turner said, “Is Ms. Karen Armstrong. Ms. Armstrong, if you would step up…”

  Victoria felt like a distant clanging were preventing any noise from entering her ears. She turned, as if moving through water, and faced Karen, who had gone white with shock.

  Karen was saying something, but Victoria could only shake her head in disbelief. Her sister! Was she even her sister anymore? She had been pronounced as Boyd’s daughter? That meant… the implications were so far reaching, that Victoria couldn’t bear to think of them.

  Chapter 15

  The chaos might have continued far longer if Victoria hadn’t stepped up and taken charge. Having seen before, the transformative power of money on people’s attitudes, she gave Karen a shake and asked her to leave with her, immediately.

  Karen, who seemed numb with shock, let herself be herded out by Victoria. A crowd seemed to block their way, but to Victoria’s surprise, Doctor Stewart, and Constable Keeney both shepherded them expertly through the crowd and into a waiting police car.

  Once they were in the backseat, Keeney said, “I thought this was best. We’d go down to the station and have a chat, and invite the Turner brothers over.”

  “Why?” Karen asked, her shock broken by a single tear that spilled out of overflowing eyes. “It’s … it’s not true, is it? I’m not really… his daughter?” She shivered.

  “Not for me to say,” Keeney said. “All I know is, the Turner brothers never expected to read that will out loud till ten, maybe twenty years from now. If Boyd had known how soon he would pass on, why I doubt he’d have asked for a public reading like he did. In his mind, the public reading was only so that everyone in town would know about the money he’s left to the town.”

  “But it can’t be true,” Karen said. “It just can’t. I have a father. I have a family. Boyd was just…” She trailed off as if remembering.

  “I just don’t understand.”

  Boyd had been one of their father’s closest friends. An upstanding man who their papa liked to discuss books or movies or cars with. In fact, Boyd had been their father’s best friend since high-school.

  “He had even lent his car to papa when… when papa first started dating Mom.” Karen shuddered. “How could this possibly be true?”

  “Never mind that,” Victoria said. “I’m sure it will be explained soon.”

  Mother had always treated them differently. There was Victoria. The child who was always too lazy, too obstinate, or too disobedient. Victoria, who was papa’s favorite, and who mother always dismissed. Then there was Karen, the golden one. The one everybody loved.

  Yet Boyd never had, not in Victoria’s memories, hinted that he loved Karen, or that he was in any way close to her. They didn’t even look alike, what with Karen taking after their mother. Surely, it could be a mistake?

  As they sat waiting for Corporal Jager to enter, Victoria suddenly felt like ice was forming inside her. Mistake or not, Karen was her sister and the fact was, she had just inherited millions of dollars, from a man who had been murdered.

  For the first time, she wondered if Constable Keeney’s sudden appearance, the way he had efficiently whisked them away to the station, was not part of… part of what? An interrogation technique?

  She looked up at Constable Keeney, who was sitting in a chair across from them, and said, “Is Corporal Jager coming alone?”

  “Must be. I don’t think he’s actually going to arrest Angus.” Keeney said.

  “What I meant was… do you think he could bring the Turner brothers along?”

  Keeney nodded. “Yes, I see what you mean. Karen must have many questions, and the Turner brothers would be mobbed in their office for a while. I can ring the Corporal and ask him to bring them along.”

  “I don’t want them here,” Karen said. “I don’t want any of this. Tell them to burn the money. Tell them to throw it away. Just tell them to take back what they said about me being Boyd’s daughter.”

  “Karen.” Victoria put a hand on her shoulder, an
d Karen shook it off.

  “No! Can’t you see how I feel, Victoria? I was always the consolation prize for Papa. It was you he always loved. Oh, he treated me just fine, but it was your articles he’d cut and paste away into his scrapbooks. It was you who he’d sit and talk to. He must have known instinctively that I was not his. Even after you left, even after you didn’t talk to us again for fifteen years, Papa still loved you and not me. He longed for you, I know. It’s part of the reason I hated you so much. It’s why I was glad to see you go. It’s why I hated it that you’d returned. I knew. I knew he loved you and not me.”

  “Karen.” Victoria put her hand around Karen’s shoulders again. Her words stung like acid in Victoria’s heart, but she ignored it. Her sister was in pain, and she was determined to help.

  “I can’t bear it,” Karen said. “It’ll put a … a permanent divide between us now. Papa will never love me again.”

  “Karen, there are bigger things to worry about,” Victoria said. “You need to … you need to pull yourself together, and call the lawyers down here.”

  “I don’t want the money!” Karen’s voice was hysterical.

  “I know you don’t,” Victoria said. “But it’s not the money I’m speaking of. Karen. Look at this from the perspective of a policeman. You inherited a lot of money from a man who’s died under suspicious circumstances.”

  Karen looked up and blinked at Victoria as if she were quoting some obscure poet. “What?”

  “They’re going to consider you a prime suspect, Karen. You have to get a lawyer down here to advise you on what to say and not say.”

  “You’re mad,” Karen said, but she was looking doubtful. “I couldn't have killed him. I..., I have a cast on my leg.”

  “Yes. But that doesn’t stop you from hurling a rock at somebody.” Victoria said. “At least, that’s the way the police will think. Won’t they Constable Keeney?”