“PM. That's a Post Mortem,” Mrs. Parnell said with an air of authority. “You can learn a lot from those things.”
“I think I'm going to be sick,” Elaine said.
“You are going to be fine.” I turned so my back blocked Mrs. Parnell from Elaine's view. “This is a ghastly end to a terrible series of events. Unfortunately, it ended in murder, however…”
“However, it couldn't have happened to a nicer guy.”
“Alvin! This is no laughing matter.”
“Look, Elaine, don't pay any attention to them.” Deep down, I agreed with Alvin, but that was not my official stand on potential murder victims, no matter how deserving of retribution they were.
“Don't get me wrong,” Elaine said, “I'm not sorry he's dead either. It's the politics of it. People will think we did it.”
I jumped in before Mrs. Parnell and Alvin could volley another series of inappropriate remarks. “No one would ever suspect Women Against Violence Everywhere of murder.”
As the words left my tongue, I wanted to bite them back. I could think of no other group in town who would have more reason to want to put Benning on ice. But my platitudes drew quite a reaction from Elaine. “The hell they wouldn't. Everyone will think WAVE did it. They'll say we conspired as a board of directors. This is not a tragedy. This is a bloody public relations disaster!”
“Not necessarily,” Mrs. Parnell said. “Could be seen as a wake-up call in certain quarters.”
“Frigging right,” Alvin said. “The time has come for domestic batterers to chill out.”
Usually, I was the most insensitive and outrageous person in any given room. That day, I ran well back in the pack.
“Yes,” Elaine said. “Of course we'll deny it, but who'll believe us?”
“Plenty of people will be under scrutiny, not the least of which will be Ottawa's finest.” I gestured to Mombourquette.
McCracken shrugged. Mombourquette grinned, although the grin slipped as Mrs. Parnell shot a stream of smoke into his face.
“Well,” McCracken said, “while we're here, why don't we have a little talk with Ms. Ekstein?”
* * *
Okay, I felt sorry for Elaine. But she had stamina. And anyway, I knew she had nothing to do with Benning's death. I could imagine circumstances under which she might have killed him, but she would never let it reflect badly on WAVE. But I had other things on my mind. Someone else to worry about.
I was glad the crowd in the kitchen was so distracted. I had to think. Who needed to kill Benning? Not out of philosophical distaste or moral outrage, but from the standpoint of staying alive. It was too late for Benning's wife.
The only other person with as much to lose was upstairs, sleeping. Being gazed on with adoration by Merv, hard-edged RCMP officer and all-round cynical guy. Lindsay. Lindsay, who could now rest, her long nightmare with Benning over. Lindsay, who had fallen asleep before any of us. Lindsay, who had succumbed to Benning's psychotic brand of charm. Lindsay, who could have been lured into meeting him the night before.
Lindsay Grace had needed Benning dead.
* * *
“Give Elaine a break,” I said to McCracken.
“No, you give me a break. I can't believe you would stick your nose in another murder investigation days before your sister's wedding. Even for you, Camilla, this is inconsiderate.”
Inconsiderate? He hadn't seen anything yet. And what the hell did the wedding have to do with it?
“Look. We don't need to be on opposite sides. After all, we both want the guilty person locked up for this. Anyway, the wedding's two weeks away.”
He flashed me one of his looks.
“Well, nearly,” I said. “Whoever killed Benning would have a strong defence.”
“Murder's still murder in my book.”
“That's sweet and old-fashioned, McCracken. But the fact is it could turn out to be one of your own.”
“It won't be a cop.”
“I love it when you get all steely-eyed. No wonder Alexa wants to marry you.”
“Stop playing games, Camilla. Stay away from this one. I'm serious.”
“Oh, so am I. Everyone knows Benning had a contact on the inside. Someone who would want him out of the way now that the heat is on. Means, motivation and opportunity. Who better than the cops? And, you may want to remember the last time the police tried to railroad an innocent woman, I was on the job.”
“I remember you came close to death.”
“Well, that's the downside. But with Benning on ice, what can I say? I feel lucky.”
Elaine was not so lucky. Or maybe she was luckier. It depends on how you react to getting trotted to the cop shop and grilled. It would bother some people. Elaine wasn't one of them.
That Elaine. She was known for turning every cloud into a chunk of gold bullion. Her enthusiasm, as they say, knew no bounds. She made you want to hibernate from sheer exhaustion after five minutes in her presence.
WAVE was her life and, unlike me, she didn't have a ton of personal baggage dragging her down. She loved to make a difference. I figured she would make a real difference to the officers who drew the short straw and had to question her about Ralph Benning's death. Good cop. Bad cop. Elaine would reduce them to crazy cop in a few short minutes.
Even so, I wanted to get over to the Elgin Street station as soon as I could. In order to avoid a laugh riot among the people I know on the force, I left Mrs. Parnell's beaver coat behind and borrowed a parka from Lindsay from her extensive winter outerwear collection. With the sleeves rolled up, it did the trick. I stuffed my red hat in the pocket.
Lindsay leaned wanly against the door as I headed out. Merv and Alvin buzzed around her like deranged deerflies. She didn't seem to notice them. “Keep the jacket as long as you want, Camilla. I feel responsible for what happened.”
* * *
By the time I showed up, Elaine had the cops on the ropes. I ran into McCracken in the hallway outside the interview room at police headquarters on Elgin Street. He was about to exceed the recommended dosage of Tylenol Extra Strength.
“That's what you get for trying to play in the big leagues,” I whispered.
Four tablets spilled from his hand and danced across the grey tile floor. “We're doing our job. And you know it. Why not help instead of making things worse?”
“Try to help the police question clients? Oh yes. It's all flooding back to me. That's the defence lawyer's official motto, isn't it? Learned it in law school.”
“Funny. But you're not Ms. Ekstein's defence lawyer.”
