Tumbled Graves. Brenda Chapman

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      He was surprised by the relief on her face because the world had turned into a reality TV show with everyone trying to become famous. He found it refreshing to know that she and her husband had no desire to make themselves into media stars. He’d respect their request for privacy and make sure that they weren’t bothered by journalists looking for a family connection for their stories.

      Chapter Six

      Kala was shocked at the paleness of Ivo Delaney’s skin and the tortured look in his eyes when he opened the front door at ten past nine. His tall body was more stooped than she remembered; his expression defeated. Had something happened between the time she’d left him the evening before and now? She followed him inside the hallway and touched his shoulder. “Tell me what’s going on.”

      “Nothing. I’m just losing faith with every passing minute.” He turned to face her. “I didn’t sleep at all last night.”

      “Understandable, but we have no reason yet to think anything bad has happened. I checked the newswire before coming here and there’s nothing of concern. No need to fear the worst.” Unless you know something. She could sympathize with his distress, but whether it came from worry or guilt, she had no way of knowing. She pointed through the open door toward the driveway. Bennett and Woodhouse stood talking on the lawn next to their car. They’d convinced her to take one vehicle, although she didn’t like to be without her own truck.

      Another police car pulled in behind them. Rouleau had rustled up two more officers for the search. Bennett looked toward her and smiled. He was smiling at her way too much, as if trying to get on her good side. She frowned and looked back at Ivo. “We’re going to check deeper into the woods, just to be sure that Adele and Violet aren’t roaming around lost. I wanted you to know before you spotted us trooping around.”

      “Go ahead. I know they aren’t there.”

      “Oh? How would you know that?”

      He closed his eyes. “Violet hates the woods. She thinks it’s full of monsters. Adele wouldn’t want to frighten her.”

      “We’ll check just to make absolutely certain and then I’ll come back to see if we’ve forgotten to ask you anything from yesterday.” She started to leave the house but stopped in the doorway. “Is there anybody you could call to come stay with you? Waiting can be more difficult alone.”

      “No, I’ll be fine. We liked … like our privacy.”

      “Right. I’ll be back soon.”

      She left him and walked over to Bennett, Woodhouse, and the two uniformed officers. The day was warming up and she unzipped her leather jacket before she reached them. Woodhouse had taken charge. He’d brought up a map of the area on his iPad and was pointing to different sections of the property. The others took turns looking at the screen. Kala leaned in past Bennett.

      “Is that a creek?” She traced her finger along a ribbon of dark terrain.

      Woodhouse enlarged the image. “You’re right. It is a creek of some sort.”

      “It’ll be larger with the spring thaw,” Kala said. The snowfall had been nearly record-breaking in February and March. She pointed along a route through the bush. “I’ll hike that way to the water to have a look around.”

      “I’ll come with you,” Bennett said. “Two sets of eyes are better than one.”

      Woodhouse nodded. “We’ll do a sweep and if you’re not back we’ll check the houses along this road. Maybe someone noticed the two of them leaving with somebody else. Stay in touch by text if you find anything.”

      Kala would have liked to head out on her own. She knew Bennett would put up an argument so she decided not to fight his offer. “Let’s get going,” she said to him. “I saw a path over there somewhere. It was dusk when I looked last time, but it shouldn’t be hard to find.

      They crossed the lawn and separated to search. It wasn’t long before she found the opening in the underbrush and a path heading north. “This looks like the route,” she called to Bennett, who was several metres away. He jogged over and she started into the woods.

      “The path is a bit overgrown but not hard to navigate,” she said. “I’ve been through thicker bush up north.”

      “Lead on then. I’ll try not to hold you up.”

      She kept a keen eye on the ground and bushes, searching for signs of recent activity. She remembered that it had rained the day that Adele and Violet went missing. A steady rain near lunchtime that turned to drizzle mid-afternoon. Even now the path was boggy in the lower lying places. Sumac, raspberry, and honeysuckle bushes lined the path with scrubby cedar leading into pine and birch trees. Tree roots crisscrossed the dirt trail and she heard Bennett stumble and curse more than once.

      Five minutes into the woods her eyes spotted a patch of pink on a low-hanging bush. She stopped and parted the branches carefully. She reached for her camera to record what she’d found. If the piece of clothing wasn’t related to the missing woman and her daughter, all the better, but it was best to make a record just in case.

      “What have you got?” Bennett asked. He was so close that she felt his breath on her cheek when she turned her head.

      “Looks like a mitten. A child’s mitten.”

      He pulled back the branches while she took photos. Then he took the mitten from the bush with a gloved hand. They inspected it carefully.

      “It’s not been here long,” Kala said. “It’s too clean to have been subjected to the elements over winter.”

      “No, I’d say it was left here recently. It’s still damp, likely from yesterday’s rain.” He pulled out a plastic bag and inserted the mitten. “It could belong to a three-year-old. It’s the right size.”

      “The thing is, Ivo Delaney said his daughter never comes into the woods because she’s scared of them. If this is her mitten, how did it get here?”

      The smile disappeared from Bennett’s face. “This is turning damned weird.” He thought for a second. “Do you think he might have told you that to keep us from coming into the woods? Maybe he has something to hide.”

      “Let’s look around some more. Be careful not to disturb anything that you find.” She didn’t have to elaborate on what that might be. They were both thinking the same thing.

      Ten minutes later, they met on the path. “Nothing,” Kala said.

      “Me neither.”

      “Well, that’s a relief. Let’s keep going.”

      The path widened and walking was easier for the last five minutes leading to the river bank. With all of the melted snow over the past month, the creek was deeper and wider than it had looked on the map, just as Kala had predicted. She could see a current pulling the blackish water in a southerly direction toward Lake Ontario. Trees hung over the water, tangles of roots and brush making the terrain along the sloped bank difficult to negotiate.

      Bennett stepped closer to the water’s edge and looked upstream. “I think we should split up to save time.”

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