A Nose for Death Read Online Free PDF

you out there planning a revolution? Plotting to overtake the government?”
    Gabe grinned awkwardly.
    Marlena snickered. “Get up to speed, Parker.”
    â€œActually, Joan, I’m the sergeant over at the RCMP detachment in Elgar.”
    â€œYou’re what?” How on earth could Gabe Theissen have become a cop?
    Marlena was enjoying her shock. “The rest of us have moved on, kiddo,” she said.
    Gabe gently grasped Joan’s arm and steered her away. “You don’t have a drink. How can we toast reconnecting?” His slightly crowded front teeth showed when he smiled. Good old Gabe, still watching her back. Over her shoulder she saw Marlena’s eyes narrow.
    As they made their way to the bar, he politely acknowledged greetings from half the people they passed but didn’t engage in conversation. Their unspoken conspiracy to ditch this place pleased her. When he asked what she wanted to drink she hesitated, then blurted, “Gin. With tonic, I guess. Thanks.”
    They made their way out of a side exit near the stage where the band was setting up and found a log bench under the pines. For a moment they just stared at each other.
    Joan broke the silence. “A cop?”
    He responded lightly. “Change from inside the establishment. All part of the plan.”
    â€œHas it worked?” She smiled but she was serious. She’d forgotten how protective she felt toward this boy, this man.
    He nodded thoughtfully. “I like to think so. Kept a few kids from jail. Made sure a few real baddies are gone for a long time. Hopefully was right about which was which.”
    Sitting with her shoulder touching his, she could smell the fresh soap scent emanating from his skin. Then she glanced down and saw the gold band on his left hand. “Gabe, you’re married.” She meant to sound pleased but it came off as stunned.
    He nodded slightly, twisted the ring around his finger, then said a soft, “Yeah.” He paused. “You were smart to miss the opening speeches. Remember old man Sawatsky, our grade nine social studies teacher?”
    â€œSure I do. Quizzes every Friday afternoon. Didn’t that qualify as torture?”
    â€œHe’s one of the few faculty left that can still stand. He went on reminiscing for about fifteen minutes before someone interrupted to tell him we’re the class of seventy-nine, not sixty-seven.” Joan laughed but she knew he was avoiding talking about his family. After all these years, she could still read him. “Is she here? Your wife?”
    â€œNaw, she’s not into these things. Neither am I, usually. She went down to the University in Kamloops this weekend. Our son starts his undergraduate program in the fall.”
    â€œA son,” she said warmly.
    Gabe nodded shyly. “He’s our only kid.”
    So many years, so much life had passed. It seemed surreal that they were back here in Madden together. Through the drooping branches of the huge pine she could see the “Welcome to Madden” sign on the opposite bank of the river. Party central when they were young, it now seemed an eerie reminder of how many years had passed. For the next hour time stood still as they began to fill in the canvas of their lives for each other.
    Gabe’s passion for social change had led him to the Department of Political Science, and an elective in criminology steered him toward a Master’s degree at the University of Calgary. That’s where he met his wife, Betty. She was a social worker. They lived together for years before he took a job with the Calgary Police Force. The work was related to his thesis on the psychology of social fraud. When Betty became pregnant, they got married and both agreed that the country would be a better place to raise kids.
    Gabe stopped talking and stared into space. Joan followed his gaze and realized that he was looking up at the Welcome sign. “That was just about the