Reserved For Murder Read online

  ‘How do you know what Sammy’s note said?’ asked Grant quickly.

  ‘Pardon?’ the Chief said, looking over at Grant.

  ‘The note. How’d you know what it said?’ Grant repeated.

  ‘Sooleawa told me when I was on the phone with her earlier,’ the Chief said. He stood up and moved towards the kitchenette. ‘If there’s nothing else, I need a coffee. Can I get you one?’

  ‘I’m fine,’ Millar said. ‘Actually, we just have a couple of questions for Travis.’

  ‘For me?’ Travis looked up from the papers he had been shuffling as he pretended not to listen.

  ‘Last night, after the feast, where’d you go?’ Millar asked.

  ‘What? I, I left the feast and stopped by here because I saw the lights on—remember? I saw you guys. After that, I went home,’ Travis said, looking over towards the Chief who was listening from the coffeemaker.

  ‘Before you came here, where were you?’ Millar asked.

  ‘At the feast. Why?’

  ‘After you served Sooleawa and before you came here, where were you? Barry looked for you and couldn’t find you,’ Millar said.

  ‘I don’t know, probably talking with people. Part of my job is to build relationships with the residents, so I was probably talking with some of the Elders. Barry probably just didn’t see me.’

  ‘Didn’t you tell him last night that you were out having a smoke on your pipe?’ Grant chimed in.

  ‘Yeah, that’s probably right,’ Travis said. ‘Takes a while to smoke a pipe, so I was outside smoking.’

  ‘Have you been in the woods recently?’ Millar asked.

  ‘No, not recently,’ Travis said, shifting in his seat.

  ‘Excuse me,’ Millar said as his phone rang. ‘Millar. Hey, Penner. He is? Alright, we’ll head back. See you in a bit.’ Millar put his phone back in his pocket. ‘Grant? We’ve gotta go. Sammy woke up.’

  ‘What?’ Chief Ravenclaw looked back and forth between Millar and Travis. ‘Is he able to talk?’

  ‘Seems like it,’ Millar said, raising one eyebrow at the Chief before turning to look at Travis. ‘Don’t leave town—we may want to talk again.’ He walked over to where Grant was holding the door open. ‘And, Chief? No more news conferences—unless you want to retract your earlier statement about Sammy dying.’

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  ‘So, what are your thoughts on this?’ Grant asked Millar as they drove back to the hospital.

  ‘Well, I’m kind of liking Travis for this, but I’m not too sure. What’s his motive? How would he benefit by killing Jonny and trying to kill Sammy?’ Millar said. ‘Plus, if it was him, there’s no way that he would have been able to kill Jonny by himself. He seems like he’s in decent shape for his age, but he couldn’t have strangled him and then hoisted him into the tree by himself. He had to have been working with someone.’

  ‘What about the Chief?’ Grant asked, bracing himself on the dashboard as Millar took a corner a bit too fast. ‘Good thing these seatbelts work.’

  ‘Sorry ‘bout that,’ Millar said with a smile. ‘You’ll learn to hold on. So, you’re thinking the Chief may be involved?’

  ‘At this point, I don’t know what to think. Knowing both Travis and Chief Ravenclaw, I have a hard time believing either of them could be involved. I know I should keep an open mind, but neither of them seems like a murderous type—no one on the reserve really does. But now, with the Chief doing these press conferences, I have no idea what to think. He’s definitely strong enough. His arms are about the size of my legs,’ Grant said. ‘Plus, there are his comments about the note.’

  ‘Well, maybe his wife did mention it to him,’ Millar said, taking another turn at top speed. This time Grant was ready. ‘We can ask Penner if Sooleawa saw the note, or not. That might be her now,’ he said, taking his ringing cell phone out of his pocket, handing it to Grant.

  ‘Millar’s phone,’ Grant answered. ‘Hey, Penner. We’re on our way—should be there in about five minutes, or so.’

  ‘Millar got you answering his phone now? I thought he was supposed to be reporting to you?’

  ‘I think it’s for the best if he keeps both hands on the wheel. Safer for everyone involved.’

  ‘I hear ya there. He drives like a maniac.’

  ‘I’m starting to learn that. What’s up?’

  ‘Just got a call from McGee. He’s had a look at the two notes. Not quite as conclusive as we’d hoped.’

  ‘Really? How so?’

  ‘Well, apparently there are a lot of similarities between the two handwriting samples, which would lead him to think they were both written by the same person. But, there are a few differences, too.’

  ‘Enough differences to say he didn’t write one of the two?’

  ‘Not quite. McGee said that the differences could be from stress or just from his age. Kids Sammy’s age don’t have a consistent style of writing—things vary. Happens until they’re in their late teens, early twenties.’

  ‘So, the note could have been written by Sammy, or by someone else then?’

  ‘That about sums it up. If it was written by someone else, they did a good job at copying Sammy’s style.’

  ‘Well, hopefully Sammy can tell us either way. Is he talking?’

  ‘I think so. His mom and Sarah are in with him right now. I figured we’d give them some time, then we’ll go talk to him once you guys are here.’

  ‘We’re just pulling into the parking lot now, so should be there in a minute—if we can find parking.’

  ‘Ask about Sooleawa,’ Millar said to Grant.

  ‘Right. Do you know if Sooleawa saw the note?’

  ‘Not that I know of, but she may have seen it before I got here. Why?’

  ‘Just something the Chief said, is all. You won’t believe it, but when we got to the reserve, he was giving a press conference again. He actually said Sammy died.’

  ‘What? That doesn’t seem very responsible for a community leader.’

  ‘Not at all. Okay, we’re parked. We’re on our way in. See you in a few,’ Grant said as he hung up the phone. ‘She didn’t see Sooleawa look at the note, but it could have happened before she got there. Sooleawa did drive Sarah to the hospital, so maybe Mrs. Greycrow showed her the note earlier.’

  ‘Make a note to ask her,’ Millar said, as they walked up to the hospital entrance. Behind them, an ambulance pulled into the loading bay, lights flashing.

  ***

  ‘Hey, guys.’ Penner greeted Millar and Grant, as they entered the crowded waiting room.

  ‘Sarah and her mom still in with Sammy?’ Grant asked, looking around. ‘Sooleawa in there, too?’

  ‘No, she left about five minutes ago. The Chief called her and she said she had to go help him with something,’ said Penner. ‘Mrs. Greycrow said we could go in and talk to Sammy whenever we wanted.’

  ‘Grant, why don’t you do the talking,’ Millar said. ‘You know him the best.’

  ‘Um, okay,’ Grant said, a bit taken aback. He had assumed that one of the detectives would have done the interview, but he guessed it made sense. Asking a kid some questions was different than interrogating a suspect. Besides, sometimes kids wouldn’t open up to people they didn’t know.

  Penner led them down the hall, through a set of doors to Sammy’s room. She knocked on the door frame before walking through the open door. Sammy was still attached to a variety of machines and had an oxygen tube leading up to his nostrils. He was sitting up, looking a little groggy, but better than he had the last time they’d seen him.

  ‘How’s he doing?’ Grant asked Sarah, who was sitting on the edge of the bed.

  ‘He’s good. Tired and sore, but not too bad,’ Sarah said, looking at Sammy. ‘Should be able to go home in a day or two.’

  ‘That’s great news,’ said Grant. ‘Is he able to talk?’

  ‘Yeah, which is kind of a shame,’ Sarah said, grinning. ‘It’d be nice if he’d just keep quiet for a while.’ Sammy p
unched her in the arm.

  ‘Does he remember what happened?’ Grant asked, looking between Sarah and Sammy.

  ‘You do know I’m sitting right here, right?’ Sammy said, his voice a little hoarse. ‘I can answer questions myself, you know.’

  ‘You’re right,’ Grant said, a little embarrassed. ‘Sorry about that. How are you feeling?’

  ‘Like Sarah said. Tired and sore. My neck really hurts. So does my back and the back of my head,’ Sammy said, reaching up and gingerly touching the dressing on the back of his head. ‘Ended up getting fifteen stiches in the back of my head. May end up with a scar where the hair won’t grow any more. Might have to have a little comb over, or something,’ he said, laughing.

  ‘Pretty lucky that’s all that happened, really,’ Grant said. ‘So, can I ask you some questions?’

  ‘You already are,’ Sammy said with a smile.

  ‘Don’t be smart,’ Mrs. Greycrow said, slapping his leg.

  ‘Do you remember what happened yesterday?’ Grant asked, his notebook at the ready.

  ‘Well, I remember being at the feast,’ Sammy said. ‘And I remember going outside to shoot some hoops.’

  ‘Anyone else around?’ Grant asked, writing as he spoke.

  ‘Yeah. I remember seeing Travis,’ Sammy said. ‘He followed me out of the hall.’

  ‘Did you talk to him at all?’ Penner interrupted. ‘So much for leading the questioning,’ Grant thought.

  ‘Not at first. He just stood to the side, smoking his pipe.’

  ‘When did you end up talking to him?’ Grant asked.

  ‘Well, after a bit, I found it weird he was just standing there, watching me. So, I decided to leave,’ Sammy said, reaching up and scratching the back of his head.

  ‘Leave the stitches alone,’ Mrs. Greycrow said, giving him another slap. ‘The doctor told you not to touch them.’

  ‘They’re so itchy!’

  ‘I don’t care how itchy they are. Leave them alone.’

  ‘Fine. You can’t watch me all the time,’ Sammy said, under his breath.

  ‘So, where did you end up going?’ Penner asked, trying to get everyone back on track.

  ‘I rode home and grabbed my fishing stuff. Figured it was a nice night and the fish might be biting,’ Sammy said. ‘I biked down to the pond to try my luck.’

  ‘Did you catch anything?’ Grant asked.

  ‘Nah. I had a couple of nibbles, but didn’t land anything.’

  ‘So, you said that you didn’t talk to Travis at the basketball court, but at some point you did end up talking to him,’ Grant said. ‘Did you go back to the drop-in centre and see him there?’

  ‘No,’ Sammy said. ‘It was really weird. After fishing for half an hour or so, I saw him on the other side of the pond. He just came out of the woods and stood there, watching me again. Gave me the creeps.’

  ‘So you talked to him then?’ Grant asked, looking at Millar and Penner.

  ‘Not right away,’ Sammy said. ‘He watched me for a couple of casts, then went back into the woods. I just kept fishing. I was glad he was finally gone. After another half an hour or so, I decided to head home. Fish weren’t biting and I was getting tired. It’d been a long day with Jonny and the powwow and the feast and everything. I packed up my stuff and went to get my bike and Travis was suddenly there again.’

  ‘Across the pond?’ Grant asked.

  ‘No, standing right behind me at my bike,’ Sammy said. ‘Don’t know how I didn’t hear him come up on me—I guess the guy’s got a pretty soft foot. I asked him what he wanted, and he just stared at me, smoking his pipe. Super creepy.’

  ‘Did you see him light his pipe?’ Penner asked.

  ‘Maybe,’ Sammy said. ‘I don’t really remember. I was getting a bit freaked out and I just wanted to get my bike and go. But he was just staring at me. It was so weird.’

  ‘Then what happened? Did you talk to him then?’ Grant asked, writing in his book.

  ‘Yeah, I asked him what he wanted. I just wanted to get out of there. When he finally spoke, he said Chief Ravenclaw wanted to see me.’

  ‘The Chief?’ Grant said. ‘About what?’

  ‘Said he wanted to ask me some questions about Jonny. I thought that was pretty strange. Why would the Chief want to talk to me at that time of night, when the feast was still going on? Why couldn’t it wait until the next day?’

  ‘Did you ask him that?’ Penner asked.

  ‘Yeah. He said the Chief had to file a report with the coroner and he needed it done right away,’ Sammy said. ‘I figured the Chief likes things done a certain way, so maybe it made sense.’

  ‘Did you see the Chief at all?’ If Millar’s ears could have perked up, they would have at the mention of the Chief.

  ‘No, not after I left the feast,’ Sammy said. ‘At least, I don’t think I did—some things are still a bit fuzzy.’

  ‘That’s understandable,’ Grant said. ‘Just take your time. You’re doing great. So, after he said the Chief wanted to see you, what happened?’

  ‘Well, I grabbed my fishing gear and my bike, and went to head back to the reserve,’ Sammy said, trying to scratch his head without his mom noticing. But she did. She gave him another slap.

  ‘Did you head back with Travis?’ Grant asked.

  ‘Well, yeah. Kinda…’ Sammy paused.

  ‘What do you mean, kinda?’

  ‘Well, I started walking my bike back the way I would usually take, but Travis said we should go the other way,’ Sammy explained. ‘Made no sense to me—the way he wanted to go was longer. But he said that’s the way we should go because he wanted to give Chewie more time to run around.’

  ‘So you went with him?’ Grant asked, writing again in his notebook.

  ‘Yeah, I did,’ Sammy said. ‘I probably should have just gone my normal way, but, well, I like playing with Chewie, so I decided to go along with him. I got to play fetch with him while we walked.’

  ‘So you don’t remember seeing the Chief, or anyone else, out in the woods?’ Grant asked.

  ‘Nope, just Travis and Chewie.’

  ‘Then what happened?’ asked Grant.

  ‘Well, that’s where it gets kind of fuzzy,’ Sammy hesitated as he tried to recall what had happened. ‘I remember throwing a stick for Chewie. He ran off, grabbed it and ran back to me, dropping it at my feet. I bent over to pick it up and that’s the last thing I remember. Until I woke up here, whenever that was.’

  ‘So, Sammy,’ Penner said in a calm, steady voice. ‘I have to ask you this. Did you try to hurt yourself last night?’

  ‘Hurt myself?’ Sammy asked, looking at his mom and then back to Penner. ‘Why would I try to hurt myself?’

  ‘I don’t know. Maybe you were sad about Jonny. Or upset about the conditions on the reserve?’ Penner asked.

  ‘Well, sure, I’m sad Jonny’s gone. Duh. But he’s with his ancestors, so that’s all good,’ Sammy said. ‘I know I’ll see him again. Plus, if I need to, I can always just talk to him. He may not answer, but he’ll hear me.’

  ‘What about the stuff going on at the reserve? Like the dirty drinking water?’

  ‘Well, that definitely sucks. I really don’t understand why it’s so bad,’ Sammy said, his brow furrowing and his face darkening. ‘I mean, do you think the Prime Minister has to drink bottled water because he doesn’t know if his tap water’s safe to drink? Of course not.’

  ‘And that upsets you?’ Penner asked.

  ‘Of course it does, wouldn’t you be upset?’ Sammy said. ‘How would you feel if you’d never had clean water? If your mom had never had clean water? If you were so thirsty and you couldn’t just have a drink? If you felt like you were living in a third world country?’

  ‘I’d be pretty mad,’ Penner agreed.

  ‘You’d be pissed off,’ Sammy said.

  ‘Hey, language!’ Mrs. Greycrow said. ‘Sorry about that—he knows better.’

  ‘Sorry, mom,’ Sammy said. ‘But it’s tru
e, right?’

  ‘Yeah, I’d be more than mad,’ Penner said. ‘So, were you so upset that you decided to hurt yourself?’

  ‘What would that do?’ Sammy gave Penner a strange look. ‘No one’s gonna care if I hurt myself. Except my mom and Sarah. Is that going to get the government to give us clean water? No.’

  ‘So, you didn’t try to kill yourself like Jonny did?’ Penner asked.

  ‘Heck, no,’ Sammy said, glancing at his mom to see if he could get away with saying that. ‘I like my life. I’m just a kid—there’s way too much I have to experience. Besides, I have to be here to help Sarah run for Chief when she turns eighteen. Then things will change.’

  Grant looked at Sarah and smiled. He knew she had plans and dreams, but he didn’t realize being Chief was one of them. ‘Mrs. Greycrow, do you have the note they found in Sammy’s pocket?’

  Mrs. Greycrow opened her purse and pulled out the folded piece of paper, handing it to Grant. ‘Did you write this, Sammy?’ Grant asked, passing the paper to Sammy to read.

  ‘Nope,’ Sammy said within a second of looking at the note.

  ‘Are you sure? Perhaps you don’t remember writing it,’ Grant said.

  ‘Definitely didn’t write it,’ Sammy said, shaking his head. ‘Not my handwriting. Plus, I know how to spell Jonny. I made the mistake once of putting an H in his name and never did it again. Took two weeks for my black eye to fade away.’

  ‘Okay, everyone. I think Sammy needs to get some rest.’ A doctor briskly walked into the room and stood at the foot of Sammy’s bed, looking expectantly at the visitors before asking Sammy, ‘Did you want anything to eat first?’

  ‘My throat’s still pretty sore,’ Sammy said. ‘Maybe some ice cream?’ he asked, eyes widening with his brilliant idea.

  ‘I’ll see what I can do,’ the doctor said, checking Sammy’s chart hanging at the foot of his bed.