Town Haunts Read Online Free PDF Page A

apologize to Franklin, too,” she added. Henry
raised his eyes to Frank’s face, but instead of apologizing, he
burst into sobs and fled out the back door.
    “Well,” Erna
said with a sniff, dropping the knife onto the counter with
distaste. Anna ran forward to put her arm around her shoulders,
while Judy hugged Frank. Mr. Andrews, who had slipped unnoticed
into the kitchen, removed a cell phone from his corduroy jacket and
calmly dialled 911.
    “Police,
please. Cecilia, that you? Yup, this is Tom Andrews. I’m at The
Diner. Better send Corporal Fox Child right over. Henry Fellows was
just in here trying to kill Frank. Yeah, that’s what I said. What?
Nope, no one’s hurt. Uh huh. Right.” Mr. Andrews snapped his cell
shut and dropped it into his pocket.
    Mary crept up
behind him, her face incredulous. “I wouldn’t have believed it if I
hadn’t seen it with my own eyes,” she said. “Mr. Andrews, when did
you get a cell phone?”
    “Bought it for
myself last summer from the drugstore. On sale. Bought it as a
birthday present.”
    “Well, I
never!” Mary said in astonishment.

Chapter
Four
    Corporal John Fox Child sat on
a stool at The Diner’s counter taking notes. A newcomer to the
Crane RCMP detachment, he was a clean-shaven, compact man with a
wife and two young sons. Anna had seen him playing basketball in
the park with a group of guys from the subdivision, and had noticed
that he was quick and wily.
    Judy and Frank
sat on stools beside him, while Anna and the other witnesses sat at
a nearby table. The Diner’s sign was turned to “Closed,” but that
didn’t stop curious passersby from pressing their faces against the
foggy window to peer inside.
    “You quoted
Henry as saying something about clearances and zoning laws when he
was threatening you, Frank. What was that about?” John asked,
referring to his notes.
    “Yeah, seemed
like someone at the town office gave him a hard time when he wanted
a building permit for his drive-through window. He came by last
spring to talk to me about changing the bylaw, but then he got
arrested, and nothing ever came of it.”
    Steve entered
the restaurant through the kitchen backdoor and nodded to the
corporal. “There’s no sign of Henry, John. I searched up and down
the alley, checked his house, and drove all around town. It’s as if
he disappeared.”
    “Is his car
parked out front of his house?”
    “No, it was
gone. I called in for the model and the licence number, and had
Cecilia radio out a report to all cars.”
    “Good
work.”
    Steve nodded
and took a seat at the table next to Anna while John turned back to
Frank. “You might want to stay closed for the rest of the day. If
we haven’t found him by nightfall, we’ll have a car outside your
house tonight.”
    “Ah, I’m not
going to do that. I doubt Henry’ll come back to bother us. Looks to
me like he just blew a fuse.”
    Judy
interrupted him. “Well, I’m worried. What if he comes back with a
gun and starts shooting? He could kill everyone in the
restaurant.”
    Frank put an
arm around her shoulders and gave her a squeeze. “Okay, I guess we
could stay closed for the rest of the day if it’ll make you feel
better, honey. How about we do a little shopping in Calgary and go
out for supper? John can always reach me on the cell if he needs
me.”
    “Sounds like a
good idea,” John said. “Drop by the station on the way out of town
to sign your statement, Frank.”
    “Sure. I’ll be
by once we’ve closed up here.”
    John nodded and
looked over his shoulder at Steve. “We’d better get a uniform to
attend this cleansing ceremony at the Healing Hands tonight. From
what Frank says, Henry might hold a grudge against the Raes, too.”
He picked up the flyer and studied it. “The ceremony starts at
six.”
    “I’ll go,”
Steve said. “I’m sort of a friend of Tiernay’s. I was thinking of
going, anyway.”
    “Okay, that
works. Stick close to the Raes tonight. Escort them home, too.