Now that the body heat projected by dozens of people had dissipated, I was chilly, especially my chest. I rubbed my bare arms and decided to change into my civvies before the lights went out.

A faint scraping sound came from somewhere, outside I thought. I went still and listened. There it was again. While the outside door of the atrium was solid, the walls were glass — fortified glass, I trusted, although I had never cared enough to ask.

A large shadow moved along the path, close to the greenhouse walls. Where did it come from? If it came from the parking lot, it could be human, either my salvation or my death. If the figure had slogged through the line of pines outside the atrium, it could have originated in the forest on the other side of River Road. In that case, I had a bear outside. It was strong enough to swipe its paw through the glass and gain entrance. The fucker should be hibernating, but hell, this was Bruce County. Enough said.

I had nothing to protect myself with. Redfern had taken my bayonet. Hornet spray could work, but Pan had returned it to the storage room at the end of the long hallway. Hot water from the urn? These paltry defence options whizzed through my mind, but were all rejected as ineffectual to a determined predator, whether human or animal. I could run, but could I hide well enough to elude whatever was outside? I wasn’t going quietly, or easily, that’s all I knew.

A fist pounded on the door. “Bliss? Open this door, damn it. I saw you through the window.”

CHAPTER

forty-six

The OPP had closed Highway 21 at 17:00 hours. The barriers had been placed on either end of the town limits so nobody was coming into, or leaving, Lockport. Locals could still traverse the main street and access businesses and stores, or reach their homes. Or the hospital, if necessary. The wind continued to blow the snow into whiteouts, reducing visibility to zero at times. A minivan exiting the Wing Nut had lost control and slid across both lanes of the highway, initiating a twelve-vehicle accident.

There were no serious injuries, but some of the motorists were furious, and a few fights had broken out. Neil was called to the scene from the greenhouse and stayed to help sort out the mess. Two squad cars, lights whirling to warn oncoming traffic, defined the perimeter. Dwayne had made at least half a dozen trips in the 4 X 4, shuttling passengers and children home while the drivers waited to be processed. Like vultures, tow trucks belched exhaust into the air and waited for the go-ahead to hook up a disabled vehicle and drag it away for costly repairs.

This was Neil’s third winter in Lockport, and he was used to civilians refusing to stay home when the weather was bad. They thought winter tires or four-wheel drive should get them through anything. He whirled around as another snowmobile crossed not ten metres from where he was standing in the centre of the road. What was with these people? You couldn’t see a metre in front of your face, yet they jumped on their sleds and roared all over the side roads. If another one crossed close to this scene, he was going to ticket their ass.

He called Thea over. “Were you able to get a discarded cup at the greenhouse this afternoon? From either of the subjects?” He had to shout to make himself heard over the howl of the wind.

“I got two coffee cups, one from each. Dutifully bagged and labelled. Now locked up at the station and ready for me to compare prints to the partial thumb from the Mauser we found at the swamp. Chain of evidence guaranteed.”

“Good job, Thea. Excellent.”

Her cell rang and she excused herself to dig it out of her heavy nylon coat. She listened for a minute. “Are you sure? Okay, I’ll tell him. Thanks for letting me know, Rae.”

“Rae Zaborski,” she told Neil. “She got a ride home earlier, thinking Dougal or Glory would give Bliss a lift. However, Dougal and Ms. Yates have scarpered away to Toronto, apparently, trying to drive out of the storm, I guess, using the back roads. In any case, Bliss is alone at the greenhouse.”

Neil’s first thought was that Bliss would be extremely pissed at him. He had placed her under guard, refusing to let her drive her own car. Now she had no protection, and no way to get home. The only consolation was the weather. To reach the greenhouse, anyone who meant her harm would have to edge around the OPP barrier and drive on a closed highway. And the killer had no way of knowing she was there alone.

She would be safe, but she might be terrified, alone in a glass building with the wind buffeting the panes and the snow obscuring anything beyond its walls.

Had she broken up with him? Her parting remark of “Bite me” had been shouted at full volume. Everyone in the atrium must have heard her. Shit. She might be loud and obstinate, but she had a point to her anger — this time. She had been patient with his issues concerning Debbie, and yet he took Dwayne’s side when it was apparent Dwayne was wrong. He knew she had problems of her own — trust and abandonment, mostly. Her husband left her for another woman, and her parents seemed too busy with their lives to keep in touch. She had bounced back from that, and yet he didn’t even support her on a simple legal issue. She must consider him no better than her ex-husband. Yeah, he was pretty sure she had dumped him.

Maybe it wasn’t too late. He should drive over there and get her. They were just about done here anyway. He was about to wave Thea over when he heard a metallic crash. Peering through the whiteout, he spotted a new vehicle added to the pileup: a large SUV. It had exited the Wing Nut parking lot. Hadn’t the fool seen the collection of dented vehicles in front of him?

“What the hell.” Thea ran up to Neil.

“Get the Breathalyzer for this one,” he told her. “I’ll be with you in a minute.”

Dwayne sat in the cruiser, ostensibly using the radio to call dispatch, but more likely warming up. Who the fuck wasn’t cold? Neil wrenched open the door.

He thrust the keys to the 4 X 4 into Dwayne’s hands. “Go back to the greenhouse and pick Bliss up. Take her home and wait with her until I get there. All night if necessary.”

Dwayne’s eyes slid to the left, then forward again. “But Chief, what if she won’t come with me?” He climbed slowly out of the cruiser.

“I’m quite certain she’ll be ready to leave with anyone, even you. She may harangue you on the trip out, in which case suck it up. Don’t answer back, and don’t threaten to arrest her. In other words, don’t piss her off. Got it, Dwayne?”

“Got it, Chief. Uh, you know I’ll have to drive around the OPP barrier.”

“That’s why you’re taking the 4 X 4, Dwayne. Take it easy and you’ll do fine. Wait; give me the keys to the cruiser.”

He tried to call Bliss, but she didn’t, or more likely wouldn’t, answer. He walked over to help Thea administer the Breathalyzer to the clearly inebriated driver who had just rear-ended the pileup. There must be a full moon up there behind the falling snow.

CHAPTER

forty-seven

“Get the lead out, Bliss. The entrance to the parking lot is drifting over and I don’t want to get stuck trying to get out.”

The flaps of Dwayne’s hat dangled beside his ears, but I had no desire to laugh. I was actually glad to see Constable Fuckup. “What are you doing back here?”

“Not my idea. The Chief sent me to get you.”

“Why didn’t he come himself?”

“He’s tied up at a multiple-vehicle pileup on the highway in front of the Wing Nut. Let’s go. It’s not getting any better out there. I don’t want to spend the night here with you.”