EDWARD SLIPPED OUT OF the VIP tent searching for Charlotte and Janet and found them schmoozing with another couple at the barbecue buffet table. Standing off to one side, he perused the long table. His eyes fixed on the dessert trays. In the process of making a beeline toward them, Janet slipped in beside him.
“Edward? How did everything go?” she asked, cocking her head in the direction of the VIP tent.
Edward eyed a strawberry tart and was more interested in procuring it than talking to her. He picked up his pace. “Really well!”
“Our company not posh enough?” Charlotte jested, gently poking him in the ribs.
“Not at all. It’s just that procuring that last strawberry tart there takes main stage right now.” Out of the blue, Nadia appeared in front of him and swiped the strawberry tart off the table.
Charlotte broke out laughing. “There’s one procurement you lost—and to my sister, no less.” She waved at Nadia. “Well done, Sis!” Tears of laughter streamed down both her and Janet’s face as they clapped their hands in pleasure.
Nadia made Edward’s loss all the worse by blatantly savouring each morsel as she walked toward him. Screwing up his face to show his displeasure with her antics, he quickly returned his attention to the table and surveyed the other tarts and cakes that were there. “Well, I guess it’s the pecan, then. It’s not my first choice, but it’s certainly up there.”
“Pecan tarts are really yummy too, Boss,” Nadia quipped. She delicately popped the last piece of the strawberry tart into her mouth without as much as a hint of conscience.
Twenty minutes later, the four of them traveled along the Epping Road in Janet’s Camaro. As they were about to turn onto County Road 13, she brought the car to a gear-grinding halt.
“Dang hair! It keeps getting in the way while I’m driving. I should crop it off, or at least shorten it.” She combed her fingers through her it.
“Here, wear my sun-hat,” Nadia offered. “I like the feel of my hair blowing about.”
“I do too, but not right now,” Janet said with a grimace. Bunching her hair up under the hat, she secured the last delinquent strands under its brim. She admired her handiwork in the rear-view mirror and said, “That should do just nicely. Thank you, Nadia.”
Charlotte reached across the front seat and flicked the straps on her hat. “If you’re going to drive with your window down, Janet, I’d suggest you tie the straps together.”
Janet tied them together in a bow under her chin. “There, it’s done.”
“Yeah, we’re a regular ‘Bonnet’ and Clyde,” teased Edward. He sprayed the car with imaginary gunfire.
“I see you’ve finally come to life. You’ve been brooding ever since we left Rattray’s estate,” Charlotte grumbled. She reached across and stroked Edward’s hair. “Tell Momma what’s wrong.” Nadia, who was sitting beside her, began to giggle.
“Nothing’s wrong and stop doing that!” Edward scolded. He pushed her hand away. “Have you still got those two sample envelopes I gave you earlier?” he asked. He continued to ward off her attempts to massage his head.
“Of course, I do! Why would you think otherwise?” Charlotte gave up teasing him and slumped against her seat.
“Where are they?”
“Here, in my pant pocket.” She extended her leg and patted her pocket. “Do you want them now?”
“No, I can wait,” Edward replied.
“What sample envelopes?” Nadia asked.
Charlotte sat up and simply shrugged her shoulders.
“Eddy?” Nadia asked, bending slightly forward in her seat.
“What?” Edward replied, attempting to ignore her.
“You didn’t get those samples from Building 3C by any chance?” Nadia queried.
“And if I did?” He squirmed uneasily in his seat.
“Then you weren’t too careful about it.”
Edward turned to face her. “For the sake of argument, let’s say I did. How wasn’t I careful?”
“During lunch yesterday, Allison—you know her, the one who from time to time works in security—well, she told me that there was evidence of another break-in.”
“Did she tell you what kind of evidence?” he asked.
“Allison? Are you kidding? She’s a temp, a secretary. She’d never be privy to that kinda stuff.”
He returned his gaze to the road ahead. He began to ruminate over what Nadia had just said when he felt a tap on his shoulder.
“Earlier, when I asked you about that reporter from “The Chronicle,” you seemed evasive,” Charlotte inquired.
“Hobbs?”
“Is that his name?” Charlotte moved closer, crossing her arms along the back of the seat.
“Uh-huh. He gave me an envelope,” Edward replied, adjusting his position to face her.
“What did it contain?” Charlotte asked.
“Photos.”
“Photos? What kind of photos?”
With some difficulty, he reached into the front pocket of his pants and pulled out the small package. “Photos taken at the ground-turning ceremony for KemKor—you know, the one that was in the newspaper I showed you. I guess there’s no better time than now.” Opening the package, Edward dumped the photos on his lap. Charlotte shifted closer to see them. “Why don’t I pass each one to you once I’ve finished with it?”
“That’ll work for me,” she replied. Edward began to examine each photo carefully before passing it back to Charlotte.
The last four photos remained on Edward’s lap and he was beginning to feel disheartened. Suddenly, Charlotte thrust a photo in his face.
“Isn’t that Premier Bolsover’s driver?”
Edward took the picture from her. The premier’s driver was just one of many faces in the crowd. “You’re right, it is. Now why would he be there? From my understanding, Bolsover wasn’t part of that ceremony.” Returning it to her, he scrutinized the last set of photos. He had hardly begun when he stopped dead. “Well I’ll be damned! It’s him!”
“Who?” Charlotte asked.
Edward held up the picture and pointed to a short, wiry individual with a ponytail who was standing beside Toler Ritchie, owner of Ritchie’s. “That was one of the guys who tried to kill me at the Gorge.”
“Are you sure?”
“Of course, I’m sure, Charlotte! You don’t forget the face of someone who’s trying to kill you.”
“May I?” Janet asked. Taking the photo from him, she studied it for a few seconds then shook her head. “I’ve never seen him before,” she said. “What’s in the other two photos on your lap?”
Edward spread them out on his lap for all to see.
“I’d say by the look of that photo there, Bolsover’s driver and the guy with the ponytail know each other,” Nadia said.
Janet picked up the photo and held it up. “Toler sure doesn’t seem happy between them.”
“No, he doesn’t.” Edward confirmed. He took out his cell phone.
“Who are you calling?” Janet asked.
“Constable Dickenson, who else? Now I’ve got a picture to go along with the description I gave him.” Edward put the important pictures from the group on top before putting them back into the envelope.
“From what I can see, you’ve got a heck of a lot more than that to show him,” Charlotte piped in.
After Edward finished his short conversation with Dickenson, he turned to Janet. She smiled at him and, not giving him an opportunity to speak, said, “I’ll drive you over to his office, and I won’t take no for an answer.” She turned the key in the ignition, and a few seconds later the Camaro jolted forward onto County Road 13, pushing everyone back against the seat.
It was not without some degree of trepidation that Edward, Charlotte and Nadia watched Janet crunch through the gears with the intensity of a race car driver as the Camaro staggered up to the speed limit, its engine pounding out its rendition of flapping lips in a snore. Janet cranked her stick shift noisily into third gear as the Camaro lumbered breathlessly up the hill outside of the town of Kimberley. She began to rock to and fro ardently.
Edward, Charlotte and Nadia rolled their eyes, watching Janet’s antics behind the wheel and after shrugging their shoulders, they joined in with the rocking. At the brow of the hill, the car picked up speed, and they flopped against their seats cheering.
“Honestly, I don’t know if that rocking to and fro helps,” Janet said. Her cheeks were red from the effort. “But silly old me, I always do it anyway. Thanks for the support. Now, I’ve got something to tell you. First, let me pull over to the side.”
“No. Keep going.” the three of them exclaimed in unison.
Janet was surprised by their combined reaction, but she did what she was told. Sucking slightly on her lower lip, she continued. “Well, the cat will be out of the bag soon enough. But it’s my choice when. Got it? My choice! What’s said stays in this car.” The three of them nodded their agreement. She waited a few minutes before continuing. “In the next three weeks my name will be put forth to fill the vacancy created by Ian McPherson’s lengthy illness. I believe I have a lot to offer this area as its Member of Legislature.”
“Well, I’ll be damned! You’ve got my vote.” Jubilant, Edward rubbed his hands together. “I can hardly wait to get on the campaign trail with you.”
“And that comes from someone who loathes politics,” Janet said. “I couldn’t ask for a better person to support me. Thank you, Edward.” She turned onto County Road 4 toward Flesherton. “I’ll be late to your barbecue this evening. It can’t be helped. There’s just a little something I’ve got to do. And by the way, Chuck knows—it was he who asked me to put my name forward. I just procrastinated about giving him an answer. That is, until today. I’m glad you, too, are on board, Eddy.”
“On board? I haven’t committed to anything,” Edward proclaimed.
Janet smiled and patted him on the hand. “Of course, you haven’t.”