The door unlatched but didn't open. Coreen stood in the hall with an extra-large coffee in each hand and a paper bag containing the cream cheese and cherry Danishes held in her teeth. She rolled her dark eyes as she stared at the door.
Still just a little disgruntled, I'll bet, she thought, as she pushed the door to Vicki's room open with the toe of her boot.
Vicki had crossed the room to the window, and though she turned to watch Coreen as she entered she made no move to help. Beneath the towel that wrapped her head, Vicki's face was impassive, her arms crossed in front of her body. It was obvious that she had just finished showering, though at least she was dressed.
Coreen set the coffees on the dresser and placed the bag of pastries beside them, and then she lifted the strap of her laptop bag over her head and set the computer flat on the desktop.
Vicki watched the girl silently as Coreen fussed with the laptop, straightening it slightly so it sat square to the edge of the desk and then straightening the bottom of her shirt. Coreen was trying desperately not to look at her.
Finally with a sigh Vicki relented, "What did you find out about this Fletcher character? Are those cream cheese Danishes?"
Coreen let go of the breath that she had been holding, darted a black-rimmed glance at Vicki and said quickly, "Oh I found out some interesting things, about our Mr. Joseph Fletcher." She snatched the bag and a coffee from the dresser and crossed to pass them to Vicki. "Just let me get my laptop set up and then I'll give you the information. The other thing is that I got a file attached to an e-mail from Dave Graham this morning; apparently there has been another drowning in Toronto. He said that Mike asked him to contact you with the information."
Vicki stopped in the act of blowing across the steaming surface of the coffee in an effort to cool it enough to take a sip. "Another drowning, fuck. Why the hell didn't Mike call me?" Coreen opened her mouth to respond but Vicki held up a cautionary hand. "Never mind; it was a rhetorical question."
I need to call him, Vicki thought. Some of the things he said, well…I can see now why… and I need to let him know about this whole selchie thing with Gaelan. He is just going to hate that this is one of my "strange" cases, but he needs to know. She shook her head. "Let me see what you have from Dave and then give me the info on Fletcher."
Coreen produced a sheaf of paper from the pocket of her computer bag, and handed it over to Vicki, "That's the file from Dave Graham; I printed it out this morning."
Vicky took the paperwork in one hand and stood sipping her coffee as Coreen busily set up her computer and called up the folder in which she had stored her research of Joseph Fletcher.
He is a scary guy, Coreen thought as she began to explain her findings to Vicki, mob connections and a history of violence that spans decades.
"I hate this kind of scumbag," Vicki said around the Danish she was eating, "When I was on the force this kind of asshole used to drive me crazy. You knew, you just knew that they were dirty, involved in all sorts of major crimes, but there was never enough evidence to prosecute them."
Well maybe when Henry catches up to him, there will be a little bit of justice meted out. Shit, when did I jump off the due process boat? she thought to herself, shivering as she remembered the cold implacability of the vampire's voice as he talked about his revenge.
Coreen glanced over her shoulder to Vicki and pointed with a fingertip to the screen, "See this news paper article here, the guy who was just murdered, Sidorov, and Joseph Fletcher both listed as participants in a trade forum with the Russian government and the Department of Fisheries back in 1998. That is a long standing connection, and there are others as well."
Vicki flipped through the pages that Coreen had handed her. Dave is good, she thought, his notes concise and well organized. And here it is; why am I not surprised? Orion Gaelan's name is right there on the POI list. He knows something. I just know he does.
Vicki brushed the crumbs from the front of her t-shirt and glanced at the clock. Ten fifty-five, she needed to be at the Aquarium in half an hour. "Give me ten minutes, Coreen and then meet me out in front of the hotel. Call a cab."
"But…" Coreen began as she closed her laptop. Vicki could see that Coreen was itching to know what had happened with Henry last night. Well she can just cool her little jets, she thought. She had her little secret, she thought grimly, and now I have mine. I am not really sure what I can say anyways…
"Ten minutes Coreen…chop chop," Vicki said as she herded the Goth towards the door.
****
Archer Ferris felt the knots of tension begin to relax, in the before-noon quiet of the house on Galliano Island. The shower had worked wonders. He was glad to be out of the action for a while.
The sun was flowing in through the front windows of the log built, A-frame. He could see beyond the porch railing the rocky soil and the slope down to the water. The ocean was deep green and restless under the clouds, scudding across the sky.
"Joseph…" he called as he padded barefoot to the door pulling on his shirt. "Joseph, is that coffee I smell? Did Ben get back from town with the supplies?" He crossed through the door onto the porch.
The arm that came round his throat from behind him was a complete surprise, and the air whooshed out of his lungs as he was pulled up against a rock hard chest. He tried to twist to see his assailant, but stilled as he felt the metal of the gun barrel against his scalp.
"Fuck man, I haven't got any money," Archer whispered.
"Don't worry, I'll get paid when I finish this job." came the whispered response. "Joseph Fletcher sends his regards."
The last thing Archer saw as the cold metal of the barrel forced his head to the side was the body of his friend Joseph slumped in a lawn chair, a bullet hole in the side of his head.
Even with the silencer, the report of the gun and the coalescence of sudden violence in the air sent a flock of ravens up into the sky, from the trees beside the house. Protesting and calling out their unease in harsh voices, rolling and dipping, they flapped out over the water, black splotches against the sky.
The hit man dropped the body, twitching, to the porch floor. He wouldn't remove his mask or gloves until he was back in the boat and on his way off the island. Fletcher will be pleased, he thought. Good thing too. I've seen what a body looks like when Fletcher is finished with it. I'm not squeamish; he nudged Archer's body with his toe, but what he does to those whores…"
****
"So Vicki, you didn't tell me what happened last night with Henry," Coreen ventured, as the cab pulled away from the curb. I'm pretty sure that she won't lay into me in front of the cab driver, Coreen thought. And even if she does, it might be worth it, I am dying to know what happened. Not a word, except for the note, "Henry and I are talking."
Vicki glanced at her assistant, stonily. I could make her wait a bit longer, but I need her to know what I saw at the aquarium last night, and that means filling her in on the fact that Henry and I went there. It's just that, it's just that…I don't want to share. What happens between Henry and me, it's…ours.
"Henry and I are…talking Coreen. He has agreed to help us with the case. Even though he has been here a fairly short time, it is his city, and he has made a lot of connections."
"Is he…is he okay Vicki? I was really worried about him out here on his own…all alone. I mean, duh! I know he wasn't all alone, but he was without us. You know, you and me and the people who care about him." Coreen caught her lower lip between her teeth and then continued in a whisper. "Sure he is almost 500 years old but…well, I was really worried."
The fear and concern in Coreen's face cut through Vicki's annoyance with the girl. I am so caught up in my own feelings about Henry, that I forget that other people l-love him too.
"We got off to a bit of a rough start, Coreen," Vicki said as her mind flew back to the suddenness of the vampire's attack and then the distance that had developed between them. "Henry was shocked to see me in his new territory and it was awkward for a little while. Both of us had some shit to work through. I eventually told him what we were doing out here, and told him about Orion Gaelan and the fact that he is a selchie. I also filled him in on the case that Mike is working and how our case is all mixed in with it."
"Did Henry have any information about the Selchies?" Coreen asked.
"Yeah, he said that he had run across selchies a long time ago, but that he had been unaware there were any in his territory. Then we drove over to the Aquarium to check out where I had seen Gaelan, so Henry could look around." Vicki continued.
The cab had arrived at the parking lot of the Aquarium Complex and when Vicki had paid the fare, they crossed towards the main building. Vicki pointed to the rescue building as they walked. "Henry and I were there last night and we heard a couple of guys talking about Orion Gaelan and by what they said it seemed like Gaelan may not have had any involvement with their activities." Vicki could see the main building, a sparkling glass structure over a grassy rise, and she put her hand on Coreen's arm to draw her to a halt.
"You know that I watched Gaelan change form on the beach yesterday, right?" Coreen nodded mutely, her eyes wide. "Well last night, when we were at the pool by the rescue buildings, there was another selchie there. He came to speak to Henry, transforming right in the water. From what he said, it seems like there is a small community of them here in Vancouver and on the Island, but obviously they maintain a really low profile."
"Vicki, I'm not going to waltz in and ask to see the Selchies." Coreen said indignantly. "I have learned a few things you know."
"I know that Coreen, I just want to bring you up to speed." Well not exactly up to speed, I am not going to tell you about Strathcona or Jared or my God that little baby. Those things are Henry's to tell, when and if he sees fit. "Just be careful what you say, and keep your eyes and ears open, alright?"
"Uh-huh," Coreen said as they moved towards the door of the Aquarium building. She pulled open the door and motioned Vicki to precede her.
After a brief stop at the information desk, they were ushered through to the office of Dr. Silvia Merino, director of the Aquarium. It was obvious from the outset that Doctor Merino felt that fielding the inquiries of a PI was beneath her exalted station as a director, and soon enough she had sloughed them off onto a subordinate, Alex Thomas.
Alex proved to be a co-operative and gentle young man who showed them around the facility and answered their questions in great detail in his quiet and calm voice.
Yes, they often received rescue mammals from other locations. Yes, they had received a seal that had been injured by a propeller from the Victoria Society yesterday. Yes, he was familiar with the name Orion Gaelan. Yes, he had met him on occasion. No, he was not sure of his exact address, but he had the impression that he had moved to the Island some months ago. No, there was no way of knowing how many individual seals they had seen in the pools over the last few months, they re-habilitated and released as soon as they could. Yes, they sometimes did implant transceivers in order to track some animals but certainly not all.
During the whole interview Vicki was struck by Alex's calm demeanor and by the patient warmth of his dark brown eyes. Dark brown eyes, like Gaelan's when he had looked back at her on the beach from the thigh deep water.
Vicki watched him carefully as on a hunch, she asked the question out of left field, "Have you ever heard of the Selchies, Alex?"
Coreen looked at her sharply and then back to Alex, speculation on her face.
If I didn't have police training, I might have missed the body language shift, she thought. He's good; I'll give him that, but she had seen the swift and instinctive withdrawal. I suppose if I had spent my life hiding what I was, I'd be good at it as well.
"Selchies? You mean the legends of the seal people?" he asked after a brief hesitation, sitting back and crossing his arms in front of his body.
Nice, she thought, not exactly a denial that he knows anything, just a slight display of confusion about the question. But he is distancing himself from us. Close to home, too close to home. There is something in his voice. I wish Henry was here. She smiled briefly. He would be able to tell just by snuffing around a bit, though he would probably take exception to me using those exact words. Her smile broadened.
"Well I think that is all for now, Mr. Thomas," Vicki said. She handed him her card and said, "If you think of anything else you can call me at the cellular number listed. Thank you for your time."
Vicki and Coreen walked out to the seawall and headed back towards Georgia Street. "It'll only take maybe twenty minutes to get back to the hotel," Vicki said, watching a couple of joggers approach on the other side of the footpath.
"I'm good with that," Coreen replied, "I feel like I haven't had any exercise at all over the last couple of days. Maybe we could grab some lunch on Robson…"
Vicki nodded her agreement, "Sure, I want to give Mike a call and touch base. I have a few ideas that I want to bounce off him, and I am going to have to break the news to him that there is a freaky element to this case."
"You mean the Selchies? Speaking of which, Alex Thomas, did you think that…"
"That he was a Selchie?" Vicki interrupted."Yeah, that is exactly what I thought; in fact, I think that he is the selchie that Henry spoke with last night. When I close my eyes and remember the voice, I am almost sure."
"Well, I want to hit the library downtown this afternoon. I want to follow up on some newspaper stories in the archives. This Joseph Fletcher guy, he gives me the chills."
"I want to get a couple of hours down time after lunch, I promised Henry that we would be there this evening when he wakes up, and I'm starting to think we may want to pay a visit to the Island."
"You did get in pretty late this morning," Coreen said arching an eyebrow in inquiry.
"Don't even start with me, missy," Vicki grinned in response.