“Take two steps to the right, Hazel. Roger goes first”, Eleanor said.
He watched her aim the gun and heard the shot. He fell to the ground and felt a great heaviness on his chest. He opened his eyes. Hazel was on top of him, her warm blood soaking into his jacket. She had taken the bullet for him. He waited for the second shot. It didn’t come. He rolled Hazel off him and ran. He could hear the sound of running feet close behind him. He zigged-zagged through the trees hoping to obstruct her aim.
“Roger. Stop.”
Is she crazy? I’ll stop when I see you in hell. He ran faster.
“Roger, stop, you don’t have to run anymore. You’re safe.”
Safe as partridge fleeing a fox. Does she think I lost my wits?
His heart and lungs felt as though they would burst. He felt his right foot catch on the root of the tree and he slammed hard to the ground, the breath knocked out of him.
Unable to move, he lay there and waited for the end. He could hear her running and minutes later saw the toes of her shoes next to his head. He breathed Hazel’s name, stared at the shoes and waited.
What the hell? It wasn’t shoes he was looking at, it was ballet flats. He’d know those hot, pink satin flats anywhere. He had made fun of them once when she dashed out to his car to pass him a package for work.
He took in a breath of air and managed to say, ‘Kate, is that really you?’ before he slipped into the encroaching darkness.
Epilogue
Kate, Roger, and Shirley stood together at the gravesite. Hanya, decked in full regalia – elb, stole and collar, performed the funeral rites. None of them saw Old Crow who stood watching from a distance. Once Hazel’s remains were laid to rest, Hanya said good bye to the mourners and left for the University to deliver a lecture.
“I think Hazel would be pleased with this resting place”, Shirley said.
“Of course, it’s on the crest of the hill with George’s Island, the harbour, and the Halifax waterfront laid out at her feet”, Kate said. “What’s not to like.”
“I ordered the gravestoner”, Roger said. “It should be ready in two weeks. I have to let them know about the inscription by tomorrow. I’ve been racking my brains trying to come up something. I was prowling around the townhouse until well after midnight trying to come up with something suitable.”
Kate looked into his pain filled eyes and felt compassion for the man and the burden he would carry the rest of his life.
“Relax and sleep on it Roger and it will come. If it doesn’t, there are lots of wonderful sayings to pick and choose from. You’ll find something suitable whether it’s yours or someone else’s. ”
The wind, blowing out of the northwest, was getting stronger. They huddled closer together.
“I’ve got to get back to the office”, Shirley said. “I need to finish the report on the robbery job.” She gave both a hug and headed for her car.
“Time for a drink before we go back”, Roger asked.
“Sure. Is the Irish bar okay with you?”
“Perfect.”
Kate ordered the house draught, Roger had a whiskey sour.
“The past three days have been a blur, Kate. It’s like being the drunk on The Lost Weekend. Words, shouts, guns, sweat, and fear, they’ve been my constant companions. I can feel the weight of Hazel’s body. I see those ballet flats of yours in my sleep. I didn’t know you took ballet?”
“I certainly did, from age 3 to 17. I loved it but didn’t have the talent to go professional. I wear them around the condo. When Alexis called me, I didn’t give a thought to what was on my feet; I just grabbed my coat and ran to the car.”
“I owe you an apology, you’ve got a good gut. I’ll pay closer attention to your instincts in the future. That’s a promise. When did you spot us?”
“We were going against the traffic and passed you about two blocks from the hostel. I turned around and jockeyed into the traffic but you were 15 car lengths ahead of us. That was too far so I radioed for patrol cars. They put one on the first and second intersections. We knew then that we couldn’t miss a turn off. Once you had made the turn, I put the police light on and shut it down once we were a block behind you. When you passed the Lieutenant Governor’s mansion, I knew you were heading for the park. I pulled back a bit farther because traffic was thinning out fast and I didn’t want to spook whoever was in the back seat.”
“You must have stayed close enough to see where I parked?”
“No, that was the scary part. We drove up and down the waterfront looking for your car but couldn’t find it. I circled back and drove towards the container ships thinking you might have had to pull in there and walk into the park. No luck. It was on my way back into the park when I looked at the canteen that it hit me. I lost ten minutes and those tenminutes cost a life.”
Roger zoned out and Kate sat quietly waiting for him to return.
“It wasn’t your fault Kate. There’s no need to shoulder unnecessary guilt, we all have enough of the legitimate stuff to spread around. How did you figure out the direction we took?”
“We knew you had to have climbed the hill. It was the only direction to take without being seen. Once we reached the top and came to the crossroads, our hearts sank. We stood motionless for what seemed to be hours before we heard
