Finding Isadora (37 page)

“
Fine.” Gabriel’s expression was tense, almost angry. “Tell me about the draft office you burned.”

“
Fuck!” Jimmy Lee said, at the same moment Grace said, “Shit!”

A beat later, I demanded,
“What?” I stared between my parents and Gabriel.

“
I wondered why the police weren’t interested in investigating Cosmystiques for the arson. Finally pulled some strings and found out a cop called Torrance has it in for you. Know that name, Jimmy Lee?”

My father look
ed wary. “Guess I got in his face a time or two.”

“
You got the best of him in a scuffle, and it was in front of a television camera. Big macho dude’s reputation got injured, and he’s had it in for you ever since. Been checking you out for over a year now. Through formal channels, and informal. Found out about a draft office that got torched the night before you disappeared from the States.”

“
I wasn’t charged,” Jimmy Lee said.

He didn
’t deny setting the fire? He’d actually done it?

“
You weren’t charged because they couldn’t find you,” Gabriel shot back. “You’d skipped the country.”

Finally, I found my voice again.
“You burned a draft office?” I glared at my father.

“
We
did,” Grace said quietly, firmly.

“
Oh, shit!” I said, and heard Gabriel groan.

“
It was an immoral war,” my mother said.

“
Yeah,” Gabriel said, “it was. But the point right now is, you were suspects and you fucking lied to me about it. Both of you did.”

They
’d fucking lied to me, too—at least by omission—and it hurt. Whatever their flaws, I’d thought I could trust my parents.

“
I didn’t,” Grace protested. “I said neither of us had been charged with arson before.”

Damn. I remembered that moment. I
’d noticed at the time that she’d paused before answering Gabriel’s question. Knowing Grace, I should have been suspicious right then.

“
Splitting hairs.” Gabriel turned his glare from her to my father. “What’s your excuse?”

“
Same thing. For a lawyer, you should learn to listen more closely. Besides, we figured we couldn’t still be on record anywhere or we wouldn’t have been granted Canadian citizenship.”

“
Fuck! You’re my client. I thought you trusted me. How can I defend you if I don’t know the whole truth? There may not be any official records any more, but Torrance tracked down someone who still remembered the story.”

As they spoke, another horror had dawned on me. Fearful of the answer, but needing to know, I said,
“Was anyone hurt when the draft office burned?”

The three of them turned to me. Grace put her arm around me but I shrugged it off.
“No, hon,” she said, “no-one was hurt. We were careful, made sure everyone had gone for the day.”

“
The person who burned Cosmystiques probably thought everyone had gone for the day,” I said bitterly.

“
I didn’t do it!” Jimmy Lee was in my face. “Christ, Izzie, I wouldn’t lie about that.”

“
You lied about the draft office!”

He shook his head.
“We just didn’t tell you. Or anyone else. It was our last gesture, when we knew we were splitting for Canada.”

It was my turn to get in his face.
“So you hair-split with Gabriel and you
just don’t tell
me! Say it now, Jimmy Lee, say it straight out. Say ‘I had absolutely nothing to do with the fire at the Cosmystiques lab.’ Say it to me, and to Gabriel. And when you’re done, I want Grace to say it too.”

Grace stepped over to link her arm through my father
’s. “We’ll both say it, Isadora, and it will be the truth.”

They did, and I studied their faces, and suddenly the three of us were all in each other
’s arms, damp-eyed. I loved them so much, and I was scared for Jimmy Lee. When we finished hugging, we turned to Gabriel. “How badly does this hurt his case?” I asked.

“
There were no charges laid, and there’s no official record. But it means I can’t put Jimmy Lee on the stand to testify on his own behalf.”

“
Shit,” Jimmy Lee said. “Because they’d ask me about the draft office.”

“
I’d argue it was inadmissible, but I could lose. And you
will not
lie on the stand. Nor will Grace, so I’m not sure I’ll even be able to put her up there as an alibi witness. Thank god we didn’t elect jury trial. If neither of you took the stand, a jury’d be likely to convict.”

“
Damn it, Jimmy Lee.” I glared at him, tears of worry and frustration rising and threatening to spill over.

A hand touched my shoulder gently. Gabriel
’s hand, resting there as if to comfort me. “Easy, Isadora. Yes, your parents broke the law, but their motives were good. People
had
to protest that war. Besides, we all do things when we’re young that come back to haunt us.”

Blinking back tears, I said,
“Not arson. I mean, it was one thing to use drugs and participate in demonstrations, but arson’s a
crime
.” Seeing him through a damp haze, I said, “You’re defending them, Gabriel. Tell me, did
you
ever do anything so bad?”

He froze and his hand tightened its grip, then he pulled it away.
“Our best strategy now,” he said tightly, “is to figure out who really burned the lab, and get hard evidence to present to the police.”

Barely listening, I wondered about his own past. He hadn
’t answered my question. If he was anything like my parents—and I already knew that, in many ways, he was—that meant he
had
committed a criminal act. But how could he have been called to the Bar? Unless, like Jimmy Lee, he’d never been caught.

Studying his face, I wanted to believe that, whatever he
’d done, it had been for a good reason.

Then I glanced at my parents, who were standing with their arms around each other. Who was I to judg
e them? Yes, they’d burned a draft office. In a gesture of protest against a war that was the height of immorality. A war that cost thousands of young people their lives. Gabriel was right. How could you
not
protest something like that? I took a step toward them.

Jimmy Lee, without interrupting what he was saying to Gabriel, reached out an arm and hooked it around me, pulling me close.

Snuggled close to my father, I tuned back in to the conversation and realized they were talking about the lighter that had been found at the Cosmystiques site. It seemed Gabriel had checked with an engraving shop, and they’d said it wasn’t a professional job.

“
So,” Gabriel said, “know anyone who’s got a home engraving kit?”

“
Sandor Kaminski is into carpentry,” Jimmy Lee said reluctantly. “He has a workshop in his basement. But he’s a good guy. He’d never do this.”

“
And Lara Martinelli’s teenage girl is keen on that kind of thing,” Grace said. “She’s always boasting about how skilled Lisa is. But I can’t see the Martinellis being involved in this.”

“
I thought you were working on the theory that Cosmystiques burned their own lab,” I protested.

“
We’re definitely pursuing that line of investigation,” Gabriel confirmed, “but we can’t leave any stone unturned.” To my parents, he said, “What can you tell me about Kaminski and Martinelli?”

Grace stepped away from Jimmy Lee, shaking her head.
“Not now. Our pasta’s cooked. Isadora and I need to finish the salad, and Alyssa will be back any minute. Jimmy Lee and I’ll put our heads together later, when we have some free time. We’ll go through our whole list of friends and colleagues, and see if we can think of anyone who might be able to engrave a lighter. I promise, Gabriel, we do take this seriously.”

He nodded.
“Fair enough.”

I wondered how we
’d be able to act normally over dinner, but as soon as Alyssa, oblivious to any undercurrents, began chattering about her adventures at the vet clinic, the tension dissipated. Or at least
one
tension dissipated.

Gabriel was unusually quiet, and more than once I looked up to find his eyes resting on my face.
And a different kind of tension, that weird fizzy sexual energy, built between us.

Normally, I loved Grace
’s carrot cake, but tonight I could barely force it down my throat.

After we
’d finished dessert, she said, “We need to get Alyssa to the hospital during visiting hours. Gabriel, do you want to come and meet Alyssa’s mother?”

He shook his head.
“Later, when she’s out of the hospital and feeling more comfortable.” Then he turned to me. “I’ll give you a lift.”

It felt more like a command than an offer, and I didn
’t have the will power to resist.

Five minutes later we were all out on the street, my parents and Alyssa heading for the van as Gabriel and I walked to his car.

When we got in, he said, “Are you in a hurry to get home? Want to go walk on the beach?”

Surprised, I echoed,
“The beach?”

“
Spanish Banks? Nice view of the city.”

I had to have a serious talk with Gabriel. Maybe I
’d been misreading the situation, and he wasn’t attracted to me. If so, that was a good thing, and I’d be able to get control of my own feelings.

If the attraction was mutual
…Well, then we’d have to find a way of… What? Banishing it? There was no other option.

“
Sure. Spanish Banks sounds nice. Too bad I didn’t bring Pogo.”

“
He could chase gulls,” Gabriel said as he pulled away from the curb. “Like Valente’s doing, in doggy heaven.”

Would the man never stop surprising me?
“That’s a nice thought,” I murmured. Then, because I was feeling far too sentimental, I changed the subject. “Have you found out anything more to suggest that Cosmystiques burned their own plant?”

“
I was telling your dad about this earlier, when he and I were alone in the living room. Miki’s been doing some research. Turns out Cosmystiques is a family-controlled business, with the head of the family, Jack Luce, as President and CEO. The business is in the toilet. They were making a profit until the recession, but there was a major downturn and they never recovered. Huge losses the last two years. My guess, they’d have been forced into bankruptcy.”

I stared at him.
“They burned their own company for the insurance money?”

“
It’s a distinct possibility.”

“
Good.” Then I said quickly, “I mean, it’s horrible that they’d do that, and that Alyssa’s mom got hurt, but if you can find enough evidence then surely the police will start investigating them.”

“
Particularly when it hits the press,” he said in a satisfied tone.

“
You talked to the investigative reporter again?”

“
I pass along any information we find. He’s pursuing other avenues, too. I’d bet there’ll be an article in the paper soon. And it’ll make the cops look bad.”

I frowned.
“That could backfire, couldn’t it? I mean, your theory is, this cop Torrance has it in for Jimmy Lee because he made him look bad in public. Is it going to help if you make the cops look worse?”

“
At this point, our priority has to be getting the police to consider an alternative suspect.”

“
What does Cassie McKenzie say about Cosmystiques?” As an employee, she might have some insights into their financial position, and whether any of the bosses were the type who might burn their own building.

“
No-one’s talked to her about it.”

“
Why not?”

“
The police see no reason to, and I asked your parents not to raise the subject.”

Not understanding his reasoning, I said tentatively,
“Because she’s recovering and it would be a painful subject?”

“
Because she might have been involved in the arson.”

“
Cassie?” I gaped at him. “What are you talking about? She almost died!”

“
She could have set the fire, meaning to get out, but something backfired. Or she could have been involved in the plot, and her co-conspirators decided to get rid of her, so changed the date of the fire. Or maybe she never knew the exact date and failed to tell them she was working that night.”

“
But… I can’t believe a sweet little girl like Alyssa would have a mom who’d commit arson.”

“
Not even if it gave her enough money to provide her kid with all the advantages she never had herself? Isadora, Cassie McKenzie comes from a rough background. She’s learned how to be tough, how to survive.”