The Defilers. Deborah Gyapong

playing Hark the Herald Angels Sing competed with the din of conversation and clattering dishware in the darkened room. People who had been outside checking out the wares had ducked inside to escape the wind. A bright orange fire crackled in a huge stone fireplace along the far wall, scenting the air with woodsmoke.

      Catherine waved at us from a table by the fireplace where she sat with two men. I didn’t want to sit with other people. I gestured toward an empty table, but Catherine smiled and beckoned me over. The burly bald man with her wore a charcoal business suit and sported a well-trimmed grey beard. The smaller man was about twenty years younger. Darkly tanned, he had a soft sensual mouth, shining dark eyes, and a perfectly chiselled bone structure. Catherine and the older man leaned their heads close together as they talked, while the younger man watched Grace and me walk over. Catherine wants us to eat with these guys? This isn’t what we planned. I tried to hide my dismay.

      I helped Grace remove her parka and hung it over her chair. As I lifted off her hat static made some stray hairs rise. She extended her hands toward the fire’s warmth and grinned at me. “Auntie Linda, do you like the fire?”

      Nodding, I patted her shoulder and then pulled her chair out for her. This was a great table near the fire, so how could I insist on that empty table by the door?

      “Linda, this is my good friend George Hall,” Catherine said.

      Both men leapt to their feet.

      “And this is Rafe. I’m sorry, I don’t remember your last name.”

      “Lupien.” He extended his tanned hand. His smile, shining eyes, and the charge of energy from his warm handshake nearly bowled me over.

      Catherine introduced me as her next-door neighbour.

      “Constable Linda Donner,” said George Hall as he held my chair for me to sit down.

      “That’s right.”

      We all sat and George handed me a menu.

      Rafe offered his hand across the table to Grace who hesitated before taking it. He started going over the menu with her. She kept looking to me for cues. Catherine, though, was quite pleased Rafe was showering attention on her daughter. She wanted to switch chairs so she could share her lunch with Grace. I ended up sitting across from George who watched me with merriment dancing in his grey eyes. In his dressy suit he looked out of place in rural Nova Scotia.

      “So, you’re the latest addition to the Sterling detachment.” His teeth appeared to be expensively veneered. They glistened almost blue-white when he smiled.

      “That’s right.”

      “Among my civic duties I chair the Police Services Committee for Sterling County.”

      “So, you’re my boss’ boss.” I glanced at him and smiled. That wasn’t technically true, but I knew Karen was doing her best to keep a cordial relationship with county and town officials. Cutbacks in Ottawa forced the RCMP to rely on contract policing in places like Sterling to compensate for shortfalls in federal funding.

      George laughed and raised his water glass to me in a mock toast. Then to Catherine he said, “To community policing and Staff Sergeant Karen Ramsay!”

      “George has been one of my most valuable contacts,” Catherine gushed, clasping my forearm.

      George eyed me. “You’re the one who found Rex Dare’s body yesterday.”

      I pretended to pore over the menu. “Sorry, can’t talk about that.” It creeped me out that he seemed to know so much about me. Catherine and I had talked about Rex’s death briefly that morning. I was so wound up I couldn’t remember if I had told her I’d found his body. That wasn’t like me.

      To change the subject I turned to Rafe. “You’re obviously not from here.”

      “No, Florida. I’m talking with George about a job.”

      “What job?” Catherine asked.

      “Rafe produces videos and does Web design,” George said. “He’s even won awards for some of his travel documentaries. I need some promotional stuff done for some of my businesses here in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.”

      “Florida’s pretty far away,” I said.

      “Not with the Internet,” George said.

      “Is that how you found out about each other?” Catherine asked.

      George laughed. “No. We’re old friends. We met ten years ago in Thailand. He and I share an interest in exotic travel.”

      “Thailand?” Do they smuggle drugs? I handed the menu to the waiter who stood by the table, ready to take our order.

      “It’s a beautiful country,” George said. “You go away from the big cities and Thai society is pretty much like it’s been for centuries. None of the decay you find in places like Bangkok. Lovely people. Fascinating culture.”

      “I love Thai food,” Catherine said. “George is a great cook. Thai, Italian, Indian, you name it.”

      We ordered lunch. Catherine buttered a piece of warm bread for Grace who cradled her chin in her hands and looked as glum as I felt.

      “George said you won an award?” Catherine said to Rafe. He smiled at her and pushed a large brown envelope toward her.

      “I won an award for a documentary on the Aztecs in Mexico. There are some clippings if you want to take a look.”

      Catherine slid a copy of a magazine article out of the envelope and scanned it. “Wow, I’m impressed.”

      “I have done travel documentaries for some of the cable shows down in the States, but this was for PBS. I specialize in religious monuments off the beaten track. It’s a hobby of mine.”

      “Oh, you’re interested in spiritual things? Like Stonehenge?”

      “That’s right.” Rafe smiled. “I did a piece there too.”

      “I’m interested in spirituality,” Catherine said. “At university we studied the parallel themes in mythology. I visited the Mayan ruins near Cancún last winter. I could feel the spiritual energy. It was awesome.”

      Rafe had shifted his interest from Grace to Catherine. He focused on her, his dark eyes sparkling, white teeth gleaming. Her face flushed – she smiled back at him. Catherine sounded like a flake when she talked about spiritual things, and her response to Rafe’s magnetism embarrassed me. Her cheeks were growing rosier by the minute. By the time the waitress brought our food my appetite was gone. This was not the day I had mentally rehearsed. I couldn’t care less about spiritual things, so that left me listening to George who droned on and on about Sterling County politics.

      “Every year we have to fight to keep the contract with the RCMP,” George said.

      I picked at a salad of baby greens. “Is that right?” The sound system was playing Carol of the Bells.

      “We have some dinosaurs on the town and county councils who want to set up a regional police force. They think it’ll be cheaper and they’ll get better police coverage.”

      “Hmm.” I forced some linguini and scallops into my mouth. I should have stayed home and finished reading the Rex Dare files.

      “Either you keep the costs of the RCMP contracts down or municipal police forces start looking really attractive, but I think the RCMP are more professional and worth any extra cost,” George continued.

      I nodded politely. Catherine and Rafe were engaged in a conversation so intense George, Grace, and I might as well have not been at the table. That made me bristle with annoyance. The lunch hour crowd thinned out leaving the restaurant almost empty.

      “I want to go home!” Grace rested her chin on her hands, then pushed away her half-eaten ravioli, nearly toppling her glass of water. She swung her legs back and forth under the chair.

      “Don’t