Wind whipped dead leaves and debris across her windshield as she pulled into a parking bay outside the tiny police station. A Canadian flag snapped alongside a provincial flag atop the building. Adjacent to the complex was the fire station.
Angie entered the reception area.
No one manned the counter behind a screen of bulletproof glass. She hit a bell several times. Finally a cop in uniform came by, yellow stripes down the sides of his pants, a bullet suppression vest over a pale-gray shirt.
“Can I speak with Constable Jacobi?” she said when he asked if he could assist her.
“I’m Corporal LaFarge. Constable Jacobi is busy. Can I help you?”
“I need Jacobi. Tell him Angie Pallorino is here to see him about the human remains found on the Nahamish and a related vandalism incident.”
The young man’s face changed as he appraised her. He nodded and disappeared down a corridor.
Seconds later Jacobi appeared. He unlocked the side door. “Ms.Pallorino. I heard you were in town in a private investigative capacity.”
“Yeah. Osmosis.”
“Excuse me?”
“Nothing. My car was vandalized last night. A note with a threat was left inside. I’d like to report it for the record, and I’d like on record that I was verbally threatened by Wallace Carmanagh at his business premises yesterday evening.”
He heaved out a sigh. “Come this way.”
Jacobi listened to Angie and filled in the requisite paperwork. He set his pen down. “I’ll get someone around to look at your car. This is an upsetting thing for everyone,” he said, holding her gaze. “Having the past dug up like this.”
“I imagine it must be. You’d crossed paths with Jasmine Gulati, too.” Angie took out the screenshot of Darnell Jacobi and Budge Hargreaves in the pub. She set it in front of him. He regarded it in silence. His eyes narrowed. A small vein pulsed at his temple.
“It must have dawned on you when you responded to the call about the remains on the Nahamish that they could have belonged to Gulati.”
“You were a cop once.” He let that hang, the past tense of it, then said, “You know as well as I the tunnel vision that comes with making assumptions about a case too early.”
“Budge Hargreaves didn’t mention a thing about Gulati, either—he’s not a cop.” Angie was pushing buttons, primarily watching for reaction.
“Look, I don’t know what you’re fishing for here, but I don’t like the insinuations. Gulati’s drowning was ruled accidental, and you’re heading toward harassing local residents.”
“It was your father who saw to it that additional charges following Budge Hargreaves’s drunk driving accident were dropped.” She nodded to the picture of him and Hargreaves in the pub.
He came to his feet. “If you’ll excuse me, I have work to do.”
“One more question. Your father also investigated a case many years back—the disappearance and possible homicide of a high school kid named Porter Bates.”
He stilled. His mouth flattened. His eyes flickered toward the door.
“You’d have been Bates’s age when he disappeared. At the same school, even, I imagine. Around the same age as Wallace Carmanagh and the Tollet twins, who were persons of interest in Bates’s disappearance.”
“Look, all my father had at the time were rumors. No evidence. So, bottom line, no charges were laid.”
“Or a blind eye was turned? Maybe justice was seen to have been served after the attack on Axel Tollet?” Angie put her photo back in her bag and stood. “I hope you question Wallace Carmanagh about the vandalism to my car and the threat. I left my car in the motel parking lot for you. A tow company will collect it later.” She gave Jacobi her vehicle registration. “I’m also aware of Wallace Carmanagh’s prior assault charges. I know he wrecked a woman’s skull and legs and her sedan with a baseball bat.” She glanced at his paperwork on the table. “I’m glad you got this all on record. Thank you for your time, Officer.”
He reached out and opened the door for her, his face expressionless, his neck muscles tense.
“Oh—” She paused, faced him once more. “Twenty-four years ago, Port Ferris RCMP gathered Jasmine Gulati’s belongings and handed them over to the coroner’s service. I checked the evidence list. You were the rookie cop who signed off on those belongings.”
Silence.
“Any idea what happened to Jasmine Gulati’s journal? It should have been with the rest of the things.”
His face tightened further. He tilted his head toward the open doorway. “Good day, Ms.Pallorino. Thank you for coming in.”
