Under Cold Stone A Constable Molly Smith Mystery Read Online Free

moving back in, fences were being repaired, and security was increased. Trafalgar sits in the middle of the B.C. wilderness, eight hours or more in either direction to the nearest Canadian big city, four hours to a small city. If Trafalgar residents wanted to go to the mall, they need a passport: The nearest mall is across the border in Spokane, Washington, two hours away. Plenty of people moved here specifically to escape the city and unchecked development. They were not happy, to say the least, at the news. On the other hand, good jobs in Trafalgar were scarce and the development would bring plenty of those, plus business to the shops on Front Street.
Once again, fault lines were splitting the town. It would be up to them, the Trafalgar City Police, as well as the RCMP, to try to keep the peace.
“As you say,” Barb said, “keeps us employed. I’m taking advantage of the chief’s absence, and I’m off now. You won’t tell him I left early, I hope.”
Winters glanced at his watch. “You’ll be cheating the town out of ten minutes, Barb. Can you live with the guilt?”
She tossed the papers on his desk with a snort. “I’ll get over it. Particularly the next time I work straight through lunch because the chief forgot to tell me he needs the budget to show the mayor this afternoon. At first I thought our dear leader was getting senile. Instead, I’ve decided he has happier things on his mind.”
“Lucky guy.”
Barb laughed. “In more ways than one.” She lowered her voice and leaned slightly toward him. “Something I’ve been meaning to talk to you about. I know you and Paul get together over beers now and again to talk about the department. Has he ever said anything to you about, well, maybe thinking of retirement?”
“No. Why do you ask? Do you think he’s considering it?”
“Wondering, that’s all. He’s well past the age for a full pension. After Karen left him, he was lonely, that’s no secret. Lost without the routine of living with another person. I assumed he’d abandoned retirement plans because he needed the job. Not for the money, although the divorce probably cost him, but for something to do. Now, well…now that he’s with Lucky I thought he might be thinking of traveling, having some fun. Going fishing.”
“I’ve no idea, Barb. It might be that this jaunt to Banff puts the idea in his head.”
She was silent for a moment. She glanced over her shoulder, but no one was standing at the door or coming down the hallway. “I’d appreciate it if you give me a heads-up if you do hear anything, John. You know I can keep the chief’s secrets.”
He nodded. She wouldn’t have lasted thirty years as a civilian in the police department if she couldn’t keep her mouth shut. And, on occasion, her ears.
“It’s just that, well, I’ve decided to retire when Paul does. I’m too old to train another chief constable. I’d like you to keep that to yourself, if you could.”
He smiled at her. “You know I will.”
“Thanks. I’m off home. Looks like I’ll only owe the taxpayers five minutes now. Stay safe, eh?” And she left.
Five o’clock on the Friday of a long weekend. The office was quiet. His computer beeped to tell him he had an incoming message. He opened it eagerly. A retirement announcement from the RCMP detachment in Castlegar.
He sighed and went back to his magazine.

Chapter Six
     
GLOBAL CAR RENTAL. BANFF, ALBERTA. FRIDAY LATE AFTERNOON.
The man blinked behind thick glasses as he waved his hands in the air. His wife flipped frantically through a small book, seeking the right words.
Tom shrugged. “You broke it, man. You gotta pay. You got insurance, right?”
The man babbled incomprehensibly as he gestured to the car’s windshield. A tiny chip in the glass.
“Rock,” his wife said, finding the word she wanted. “Rock.”
As if Tom Dunning cared what hit their car.
They were a middle-aged couple who’d decided to cut themselves free from the herd of their tour group and