Fire in the Stars by Barbara Fradkin Read Free Book Online

What’s it to you? he wanted to know. She thanked him and left.
    The rain had eased to a drizzle by the time she nosed her motorcycle into the Deer Lake RCMP parking lot. She had not called ahead to alert Corporal Tymko that she was coming. She had sensed antipathy between Jason and him, and she wasn’t sure whether it would extend to her as well. She wanted his first impression to be one of friend, not foe. If she were linked to Jason, or possibly worse, to Sheri, she might never earn his co-operation.
    As she clambered off the bike and pulled off her helmet, a tall, rangy Mountie emerged from the building and headed toward a cruiser. He moved like a marionette, all angles and planes. Feet that flailed, elbows and knees that knocked against each other, and a nose like a ski jump beneath his visor cap. He reminded her of an overgrown teenager who hadn’t yet figured out how his various parts worked together.
    The effect was both comic and endearing. She suppressed a smile. Spotting Kaylee, he veered over toward her. As he drew closer, a beautiful smile crinkled his eyes. Even better , she thought with a self-conscious twinge. After hours on the road in the wind and rain, she suspected she looked like something spat out by the washing machine.
    â€œNow that’s a sight!” he exclaimed with no hint of the east coast lilt she’d come to expect. “Hey there, buddy!”
    As usual Kaylee reacted as if she hadn’t been patted in a million years. As he scratched her ears, he glanced up, first at the motorcycle licence plate and then at Amanda.
    â€œAll the way from Quebec? Vous voyagez … ah … tr è s loin du Quebec .”
    She laughed and rescued him from his attempt at French. “Chelsea, just across the river from Ottawa. As Anglo as they come. And I was going camping by the ocean.”
    Her emphasis on was provoked a raised eyebrow. “Can I help you?” he asked.
    â€œI’m looking for Corporal Tymko.”
    Now both eyebrows shot up. “I’m Tymko.”
    Beneath his curiosity, his blue eyes were warm. She felt some tension ease from her back. Over the years she’d become adept at sizing up friend or foe, for a split-second misjudgment could cost a life. She sensed she’d made the right choice in coming here.
    â€œAmanda Doucette. I’m the friend who was supposed to go camping with Phil Cousins. I’m really worried about him and I’m hoping you have some idea where he’s gone.”
    Thirty seconds later she and Kaylee were ensconced in his small but cheery office. Mist fogged the windows and lit the room in a pale wash. While Amanda peeled off her wet rain gear, Chris poured her a cup of hot coffee and Kaylee some water. As the first sip coursed through her, she decided she’d never tasted anything so delicious.
    â€œI’m very glad you came,” Chris said, swinging his desk chair sideways and jackknifing his gangly body into the small space facing her. “I’ve been thinking about him ever since Jason Maloney called yesterday. We were planning to go cod fishing up the peninsula later this month, but he hasn’t been returning my calls.” He grinned. “We’re both Prairie farm boys, never seen an ocean surf in our lives until here, except to fly over. So it’s the blind leading the blind. But Phil says he feels most at peace when he’s on the ocean. Maybe because he’s not hemmed in.” He broke off, his eyes narrowing. “Amanda Doucette. Are you the one …?”
    She nodded. “Nigeria? Yes.”
    He leaned over to yank open his bottom drawer and pulled out a computer printout from a newspaper. Amanda recognized the Ottawa Citizen . From the large photo, she knew exactly what it was — a close-up of herself surrounded by children as she demonstrated the construction of a pyramid garden. Nigeria, in happier times. The village, flooded with refugees, had pitched in