Chapter 17

Allie was sitting up in bed, her torch casting a bright circular light onto the paper in front of her as she wrote quickly. Keeping the main lights out meant that everyone would think she had gone to sleep but in fact her mind was reeling. She had promised Mrs Coulter that she would write a story about her return to Hope Valley but with the turn of events she had not really had a chance to experience much of a reunion with her friends. Only Emily, and that had been so much fun.

Despite the difference in the direction their lives had taken over the past four years, the solid basis of their friendship meant that they would always be there for each other. Mrs Montgomery had laughed at them, saying you wouldn't think they hadn't seen each other for so long the way they just talked as though no time had passed. True friendship is like that, she thought. You have so many shared experiences that no matter what happens when you are apart the core of who you are to each other never changes.

It had been hard for her when she first left Hope Valley. Her new school was big and very academic, not something that daunted her but a huge change from the little one room schoolhouse she had been accustomed to. Making friends took time. There were no card tricks to break the ice or scary ghost adventures to prove that she was one of the gang. At first it was very much who your parents were or how well you did in class. She was lucky to be under the sponsorship of Chief Inspector Weston, his wife being on the school board meant that Allie automatically had some "standing".

There was definitely a mean girl gang, the ones who all thought they were better than everyone else and who always knew best. Not something she had experienced in Hope Valley.

So often Allie wanted to tell them that there was a big wide world out there with many other things to experience and that until they at least opened their minds to all those possibilities then they really should not tell other people what to do.

One girl in particular seemed to take an automatic dislike to her. Else Bauer. Her father was a European businessman who was said to have fled to Canada when the war broke out but Allie had heard others talk at some of the Mountie functions and knew that there was a lot more to the story.

It seemed that Else was the star English pupil in their grade, always getting the top marks and the prize given out for best student. When Allie beat her in the first exam after she arrived she was surprised that instead of being upset Else came to congratulate her and make friends.

After that came offers to work together and help with homework. Being included at the table with all Else's friends for lunch made Allie feel welcome and made leaving Hope Valley a little bit more bearable.

I should have known something was up, she thought to herself now.

Then came their next big project, an essay that they were to write and read out to the class. Done in alphabetical order it was Else who stood up at the start and began to read. Allie's face dropped and she could feel a panic rising within her as she listened to Else reading out a story identical to what she knew Allie had written. All the extra bits that made it so unique were there, just the names and situation changed.

She had suddenly felt ill, not knowing what to do as she was sure that when she stood to read her work everyone would think that she had copied Else, not the other way around. How could someone do that to another person, it was dishonest? Before she knew it her stomach really had started to churn and she felt a light headedness that made her turn pale. Mr Watson, the English teacher had been watching her, knowing that for Allie to look shaken something must be wrong but he wasn't sure what.

As Else sat down to the sound of applause from her classmates, she had cast a backwards look at Allie, a self-satisfied smirk on her face. It had taken all of her resolve not to cry or run from the room. Instead she had taken a deep breath and raised her head high. She thought about what her father always said, "Anything is better than lying and deceit. If you know that you have done the right thing by others and yourself, then nothing else matters."

The children stepped to the front one after the other until finally she heard her name called out. "Are you ok, Allie?" asked Mr Watson. "You looked a bit pale earlier". "I'm fine, thank you Sir. I think it must have been something I ate for breakfast but everything is good now."

She had walked slowly from her desk, brushing her elbow against Else's shoulder, just because she could. Taking her place at the front of the room she looked down nervously at the paper in her hand. Of course she had memorised the story but in that moment she knew she just had to let the truth lead the way. So she put it down on the desk and began.

"There are very few things more distressing, that I can imagine, than when someone pretends to be your friend and then you find that they have been dishonest with you. That everything you thought about your relationship with them is based on manipulation and lies. It makes you question what you have done wrong, when in fact the answer is "nothing". Instead what you need to do is ask what is wrong with that person and what has happened to make them that way."

Then she had paused for effect. She laughed now as she remembered how very dramatic she thought she was being, keeping the class hanging on her words as they waited to hear what would unfold.

So she told them a story, one that she had experienced herself, with all the embellishments that can only come from having lived the tale. It was the experience of a young girl searching for a mother and the disappointments she had encountered when the dream she thought was close to coming true was cruelly snatched away from her. As she finished there was total silence in the room, every pupil having been enthralled by her words, before a round of applause broke out and hands patted her arms as she walked back to her seat. She wondered if they could see the analogy with how she was being treated here and if it would make a difference. She didn't look smugly at Else, instead she just smiled kindly as she passed.

After that they barely spoke another word to each other, although she made a point of not being rude she also knew that she did not need people who she couldn't trust in her life. Her hope that it would be a lesson for Else did not happen and sadly she retained the same attitude. Then one day she just wasn't at school anymore. When Allie questioned her father about it he said that some things had come up about Mr Bauer's past and they had moved on elsewhere.

Thinking about it now she questioned if she should have done more, maybe tried to understand what had made a young girl behave in that way. Then she reminded herself that she too had been young and quite vulnerable and instead of extending true friendship to a new person in school it had been Else's choice to be unkind.

Deep in thought it took a while before she felt the change in the sounds around her. Whereas before there had been the background hum of people moving around downstairs, now the building seemed to have settled into a sleepy silence.

Switching off her torch Allie moved to the window, wanting to look out at the stars that were so bright in the clear night sky. An unexpected shiver went through her and she wrapped her arms around herself as she drew back the curtain. It was quiet out there. So still and peaceful. She had a sudden feeling that the whole world had turned off their lights and were snuggled up in their beds oblivious to what was really happening.

Then the shiver came again and Allie peered out, trying to see if there was something there that wasn't right. Nothing. Just the breeze rustling the leaves of the trees on the hill behind the hotel.

Then the sound of a horse whinnying in the stables along the road. Then another.

She crossed to the door and quietly opened it, peering down the hallway to see if anyone was about. It was dark and quiet. Then the faintest noise from downstairs made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. Was she being silly?

Moving back into her room she quickly dressed, pulling on her boots and reaching for her hat and gloves, before placing her journal, some snacks that Clara had given her earlier and the heavy paperweight from the nightstand into her bag. She knew that everyone would be angry but her father had always told her to follow her instincts and in this instance she just knew that the right thing to do was to take Little Jack and Patrick and leave. She just hoped that Uncle Gabe would understand the cryptic note that she was about to write.

The boys were asleep, so a bit slow and confused at first but once she explained that it was a game and all part of the adventure of being in Brookfield they were happy to follow her. Bundled up in their warm clothing with blankets from the beds they crept down the back stairs of the hotel, Allie looking fiercely at them both when small giggles escaped. Little Jack's wooden horse and Mountie were safely tucked in his pockets, while Patrick's cloth rabbit was clutched firmly in his hand. Their eyes were wide, marvelling at the unexpected excitement of this middle of the night escapade.

As they stepped out into the cool air Allie pulled her jacket tighter around her shoulders, before turning to check that the boys were both still wrapped up.

"Quickly" she said, we have to hurry out to the orphanage. I know the little path that leads around the cottage at the back, so it won't take us long. There is a secret space in the roof where we can hide until morning. If you can stay quiet and do that then we will win the game."

Pulling the front door slowly behind her, Rosemary carefully placed the shotgun she was hiding in the folds of her skirt down against the wall by the window as she followed Lee out onto the porch.

In front of them Fiona had taken up what could only be described as a defensive position at the bottom of the steps. Head held high she faced Lucas Bouchard front on, an almost Amazonian quality to her stance. "I am here visiting my friends The Coulters, not something you are able to claim" they could hear her reply to his question of why she was out there at this time of night.

Lucas shrugged, then looking past Fiona to where they were standing he shouted out, "I've come to get Little Jack. There is a problem with Elizabeth and Nathan asked me take him back into town."

Rosemary could feel the anger building inside her. She knew he was lying, they all knew that whatever words came out of this man's mouth it certainly wasn't the truth. How he dared to come out here as though he was doing something good for them she didn't know.

Looking down she could see Lee's fists, clenching and unclenching as he tried to remain still. It was obvious that he was struggling to maintain the calm front that they had all agreed was necessary if they were to keep their children safe.

She quickly stepped forward, placing her hand on Lee's arm and with a half smile towards Fiona turned to Lucas and spoke firmly. "There is no need for you to do that. I shall telephone Nathan now to find out what is going on and if we think it is necessary for Little Jack to be taken in to town then Lee and I will do that ourselves."

Not expecting this response Lucas quickly realised that this was not working out as he had thought. In fact he was beginning to doubt the wisdom of this action. If truth be told, he didn't really have any idea of what to do, but just remembered his mother saying that if things went bad then Little Jack could very well be the one thing that saved them.

Oh God, he thought, his mother! He needed to speak to her and find out what they should do. He knew she was in Benson Hills, perhaps he should head there and work out a plan with her and Mei Sou.

As Lucas hesitated in his reply, trying to gather his thoughts, from the corner of her eye Rosemary could see Fiona start to move closer to him, her hand in her pocket grasping something. Whatever the man had done and whatever he may deserve, Rosemary knew that her friend should not have to live with the consequences of whatever action she realised she was contemplating right now.

With his mind focused on the mess he was in, Lucas didn't see the gun in Fiona's hand until the flash of Rosemary's sleeve came across and pulled it back, a bullet slamming into the ground inches from his feet.

For the first time in his life he was truly scared. Even the shooting at the train station hadn't shaken him in the way this did. As much as he had crawled along the ground in desperation to get out of the way there, he was convinced he wasn't actually the target. This was different. Fiona had once been his friend and now she was trying to shoot him. He had spent so long feeling comfortable in the belief that the good people of Hope Valley would not turn on him, that no matter who else may wish him harm at least here he was safe from even the bitterest of residents. Until now.

The sound of someone running along the driveway shook him out of his daze and he saw that Rosemary had taken Fiona into her arms and was comforting the sobbing woman as Lee grabbed the gun that had fallen to the ground.

What about me? Would anyone do that for me? Only Mei Sou, he thought, and with that he was even more certain that heading to Benson Hills was what he needed to do.

Looking back as he jumped into his car, thankful that he hadn't turned off the engine, he could see the red serge of a Mountie growing larger. He quickly engaged the gear and pushed down on the accelerator, spinning the tyres in the dirt as the car shot forward onto the part of the drive that headed out onto the woodland road away from town and towards the two people he could always count on.

Molly and Cecilia walked quietly along the road in front of the rowhouses. After Nathan left they talked about the rapidly escalating situation around them and separately, but almost simultaneously, had realised they should go to Elizabeth. No matter their feelings towards the woman they knew that she needed help and that perhaps, by doing that, it would help all the others.

Her work in the battlefields of France, especially the time spent with wounded and dying soldiers, had given Cecilia a small insight into both the fragility and strength of the human mind. Men who knew they would soon be taking their last breath on this earth only had thoughts for their loved ones back home. As they begged her to write letters for them they cared for nothing but the solace their family would get from knowing that in those final moments they were thinking of them.

Others called out for their mothers, wanting only that purest of love they had known as a child and the comfort of being with the one person in whose arms they would always belong.

She was beginning to realise now that she had been fooled by Elizabeth. Perhaps she was so desperate to believe that this woman who had been through so much still had a chance for redemption that it had stopped her listening properly, not to what was being said but how.

In the same way that Nathan often bowed to her greater knowledge and understanding of some things, in this matter she should have seen the doubt in his eyes even when the words from his mouth spoke of hope. For all his toughness as a Mountie, the man inside the uniform was always looking for the best in people and sadly was often left disappointed.

Their boots scraping on the gravel road as they walked quickly was the only sound, each of them silent as their thoughts were on the woman they wanted to help. Although neither of them had said it, there was an uncertainty about how they would be received.

"Of course, she may not even be there", Cecilia found herself thinking out loud and Molly nodded. Yet on they walked, something telling them that this was where they should be. "But I can't just sit there and do nothing," she continued, "not while Allie and those boys remain in danger."

Elizabeth had been surprised to see the two woman exit the house where Nathan was staying, once again enraged by the audacity of the younger one to be flaunting her relationship with him. It was clear now that she needed to remove this evil from his life. She could hear the voices telling her that now was the time.

She followed at a short distance, realising where the two women were going and how much of an advantage that gave her. She had never had a problem with Molly, despite the other woman's obvious dislike of her, but now that she was complicit in this plot to deny her then Elizabeth no longer cared if she was hurt as well.

As the women passed the first of the row houses Elizabeth had already taken a path leading around the back, hurrying to reach her end house before them and to let herself in through the rear garden to await their arrival. She hung her coat quickly and pulled off her boots, placing the items she had carried with her on the table before stoking the fire and laying a book open on the chair to give the appearance of an evening at home reading. Then she waited. And waited. But no footsteps came onto the porch and no knock to her door.

Behind Elizabeth another figure crept silently through the dark night. The man from Hamilton hoped that this may mean that it was nearly over, that soon his job would be done and he could return home. But for now he stayed alert, the watcher watching the watcher.

He laughed quietly to himself at that thought, remembering seeing something like that written on a wall of a temple he had briefly visited on a trip to Vancouver. He had mistakenly gone in there as it had been built inside a hotel, The Ishikawa if he remembered right. He was sure it had something to do with the religion called Buddhism. Maybe one day he would look into it, see if there was something he could use to his advantage.

Another pair of eyes was focused on the activity around Elizabeth Bouchard's house. Positioned just into the treeline on the hill behind the rowhouses, Greg Aldritt held his binoculars to his eyes and waited to see where each of the players in the scene below would end up. His focus remained mainly on the end row house but he could now see the Superintendent's wife and that of Judge Avery approaching from the far end.

As the women then moved past the first few houses, two figures at different distances behind them turned off towards the back of the row. It wasn't difficult to recognise the woman but Greg was now interested in the man behind, something familiar about him that he couldn't quite make out.

From a distance he heard a shout and all the people below stopped, except Elizabeth Bouchard who had at that moment stepped through the back door of her house and closed it behind her. He could see the shadows of her movement inside, a bustle of activity as she bustled around in the downstairs area.

Hoofbeats followed the shout and immediately Greg could make out the figures of Nathan and Bill on their horses. The women paused and turned before slowly walking back towards them, their paths meeting at the start of the row of houses.

Just like that it seemed all motion stopped, time stood still down there as though it had turned into a still life painting and Greg was left wondering what would happen next and who he needed to look out for the most.