The Hanged Man's Noose Read online

  “Garry had promised us an even split, but when the money started coming in, he changed the rules, reverted it back to the traditional 8-Ball model where only the top gun got paid, and the pyramid split.”

  “What did you do?” Emily asked.

  “What could we do? Go to the authorities and accuse Garry of cheating us on an illegal game? Before we were able to recruit another eight members, word got out there was a pyramid scheme going on and we had to shut it down. None of us could risk getting caught. And Garry Stone made off with eight grand.”

  “You suspected it was Garry Stone who did the talking,” Emily said, her brow furrowing. “After all, he’d made his money and he wasn’t about to risk getting caught to save any of you.”

  “I might have suspected Garry, but I could never prove it. As for the money, he claimed the guards took it, but I never believed him. As sure as I’m sitting here, he buried that money somewhere on the grounds, along with a list of everyone in the pyramid. Those names were his insurance policy.”

  “What about the others? What did they think?”

  “I can’t speak for everyone who was involved, but I do know Jake Porter was furious. For one thing, he’d dragged his kid brother, Johnny, into the scheme, and for another, he had this real sense of fair play. It didn’t matter what the situation was.”

  “Hold up a second,” Emily said, thinking of the photo of Johnny and his older brother hanging on the wall at It’s a Colorful Life. “Are you saying Johnny’s brother, Jake, was at boot camp? Versus, I don’t know, a regular camp?”

  “I forgot you didn’t know the whole story,” Levon said. “Yes, Jake was at Camp Miakoda.”

  Johnny had conveniently forgotten to mention that part. What else hadn’t he told her?

  “What about Johnny? Did you know him then?” Emily tried to imagine Johnny at fourteen, his older brother first sent away to camp, only to be found dead by the end of the summer. She couldn’t reconcile the image with the man she knew.

  Levon shook his head. “I wouldn’t say any of us got to know Johnny, but we all respected his loyalty. We were allowed visitors on alternate Sundays, not that I ever had any. But Johnny, he never missed a single one. It was clear to everyone that Johnny idolized Jake, the way he followed him around like a lost puppy, hanging on his every word, laughing at his every joke, no matter how feeble. And for his part, Jake was determined to keep Johnny on the straight and narrow. He used to say he’d kill anyone who tried to mess with Johnny.”

  “And yet it was Jake who died,” Arabella said.

  “Go figure.”

  “How did Johnny take Jake’s death?” Emily asked.

  “How do you think? He was devastated. We all were. Graham and his heroics had galvanized the loft of us. Before Jake drowned, I think we all felt immortal.”

  “Every teenager feels immortal,” Arabella said. “It’s the best and worst part of adolescence.”

  Emily nodded. Arabella was right. But something else was niggling at her. “Johnny never mentioned a boot camp, but he did tell me his older brother drowned years ago. Did it happen at Camp Miakoda?”

  Levon nodded. “Uh huh. Jake died in a canoeing accident during a violent storm. I could never understand why he was so determined to go. I tried to stop him. Maybe if I had, things would have turned out differently.”

  “The wind was wild that night,” Levon said. “Huge, nasty gusts that threatened to blow the lead right out of the leaded glass windows. Most of us were gathered in the communal living area, playing cards, board games, reading. Graham and Ambrose were working on a 3-D jigsaw puzzle of a gigantic castle, complete with moat.”

  “A jigsaw puzzle of a castle with a moat?” Emily grinned and winked at Arabella. “Was this summer camp or boot camp?”

  Levon grinned back. “What can I say? Ambrose was younger than most of us by a good couple of years. He was still a bit of a mama’s boy, a quality Garry had managed to manipulate into hero worship, along with a couple of other unsuspecting rubes.” His eyes closed and his voice softened, taking on the hypnotic quality Emily had experienced earlier. Once again, she found herself seeing the scene through Levon’s eyes.

  An unplugged television in the corner stared blankly, the screen black, punishment for the second night at camp when a fight had broken out over who wanted to watch what. Now, nobody got to watch anything. Levon took comfort in the silence. His mother had been glued to the TV twenty-four seven. He didn’t miss it.

  He did, however, miss Jake, who was always up for a game of chess right about now. He was about to go check out Jake’s room when a flash of lightning lit up the dark night, and he saw Jake’s thin frame walking toward the boathouse. What the hell?

  Levon got up slowly—it was vital he didn’t alert the supervisor in charge—and made a point of yawning as he made his way out of the room. Garry glanced up. The guy had the instincts of a hawk. Levon mouthed, “Wiped.” Garry went back to his prey. No one else paid him a lick of attention.

  A guard sat by the side door, reading a newspaper. Levon straightened his shoulders and put on his most concerned expression. It wasn’t hard to do.

  “Sir, I’m a bit worried the deck chairs and canoes weren’t put away properly. I thought I’d take a look down by the boathouse, make sure everything’s in order.”

  The guard took his time considering the request. Finally, “Grab a flashlight. Wear your rain gear.”

  “No time to go back to my room. The storm is getting worse by the minute.”

  The guard shrugged. “Your body. Make sure you’re back in ten. And be careful out there.” He unlocked the deadbolt and opened the door.

  The rain pelted down, hard, stinging jabs that drenched his clothes, his hair. Levon found his way along the pathway to the river by rote, felt someone’s eyes on him, knew it would be Garry, forced himself not to look back.

  He got to the dock as Jake was getting into a canoe, a life jacket tossed onto the floor.

  “Jake, what the hell are you doing?” He reached over to grab the canoe, bring it back to safety.

  Jake shoved him away, dark eyes defiant. “Get out of here, Levon. This isn’t any of your concern.”

  “I’m making it my concern. Come on, whatever it is, surely it can wait until tomorrow.”

  “You don’t understand. This can’t wait.”

  “At least put on the life jacket.”

  “Stop acting like my mother.”

  “Then stop acting like an ass.” But he was calling to the wind. Jake had already pushed off and started paddling.

  31

  Emily tried to draw Levon out of whatever world he’d fallen back into. “You blame yourself for Jake’s death.”

  “That’s what I’ve been telling him,” Arabella said. “Jake was at Camp Miakoda because of anger management issues. What if he decided to take his anger out on the water?”

  “That certainly seems possible,” Emily said.

  “I didn’t buy it then and I don’t buy it now,” Levon said. “Until that night, I’d never seen that side of Jake. Sure, he was cocky. We all were to varying degrees, but Jake was never belligerent. Frankly, I always assumed he’d done something to protect Johnny and it backfired. Jake had a real sense of fair play, and he would have done anything for Johnny.”

  “Johnny Porter has the same quality,” Arabella said. “It’s one of the reasons he started the Main Street Merchants’ Association, to make sure all the businesses and business owners got a fair shake.”

  That sense of fair play concerned Emily. “What if Johnny saw history about to repeat itself,” she asked, “only this time Stonehaven’s pyramid scheme put a lot more than people at risk?”

  “I talked to him,” Levon said. “Johnny may have been misguided, but I think his motives for working with Stonehaven were pure. That properly managed, StoreHaven could be a good opportunity for Lount’s Landing.”

  “I have to side with Levon on this one, Emily,” Arabella said. “I know StoreHav
en isn’t my idea of what’s best for the town, but Johnny would never do anything to intentionally harm Main Street.”

  “Okay, let’s say you’re both right,” Emily said. “Something else has been niggling at me. To make the pyramid scheme work at Camp Miakoda, it would require seven people, Garry Stone at the top, Levon and Graham on the second level, and Jake and Johnny Porter on level three. That leaves two spots unaccounted for. You never said who the other two people were.”

  “Come to think of it, you didn’t,” Arabella said. “I don’t know how I missed that.”

  Levon flushed. “I guess I didn’t. Garry’s girlfriend took one of the spots. They’d been together since grade nine, and she used to visit him regularly.”

  “What was her name?” Emily asked.

  “Her name?”

  “The girlfriend’s name?”

  “Went by Millie. The other was a kid by the name of Ambrose. He was Garry’s recruit, a frail kid with a pasty complexion, straw-colored hair, and peach fuzz whiskers. I’m not sure why he ended up in Camp Miakoda, but whatever the infraction, it wasn’t his idea. The boy was a follower, not a leader. I always thought that had a lot to do with his mother.”

  “What about his mother?” Emily asked.

  “She used to visit him every other Sunday like clockwork, a tiny little thing, blonde hair, heavily into the art scene, and I seem to remember that she did something in publishing. She couldn’t have been more than thirty at the time. Must have gotten pregnant while she was still in high school. Never any sign of a husband or a boyfriend, but she was certainly devoted to Ambrose.”

  “Was Ambrose equally devoted to her?” Emily asked.

  Levon shrugged. “Devoted? I don’t know how many teenage boys are openly devoted to their moms, but he didn’t seem to mind her visits. And she always brought him treats. Candies, chips, chocolates, that sort of thing. Ambrose made some pocket change selling them to some of the other kids. Most of the time Millie and Garry would join in. Millie hit it off with Ambrose’s mother, and Ambrose positively worshipped the ground Garry walked on.”

  “What happened to Ambrose?”

  “Rumor had Ambrose moving to Toronto to work with Garry, though by that time he had transformed himself into Garrett Stonehaven. I have no idea what ever happened to Ambrose after that. Or his mother. This was long before email and texting and Twitter and Facebook and all the other instant connectivity we’ve come to expect.”

  Emily frowned. “I’ve been covering stories about HavenSent Development, Inc. and Garrett Stonehaven for the past decade, and I’m positive that I’ve never come across anyone called Ambrose. What was his last name?”

  “It was Ellis, Ambrose Ellis.”

  Ambrose Ellis? “What about his mother, you said she was into the art scene, maybe publishing. Do you happen to remember his mother’s first name?”

  “As a matter of fact, I do, because we used to torment Ambrose singing that old Beatles song, ‘Michelle.’ Used to drive him crazy.” Levon chuckled at the memory.

  “So her name was Michelle, Michelle Ellis,” Emily said.

  “That’s right. Michelle Ellis. Why, do you know her?”

  Emily looked at Arabella and Levon and nodded miserably. “Not only do I know her, I work for her.”

  “You work for her?” Arabella stared at Emily with a look that sent shivers up her spine. “I thought you owned Inside the Landing. At least, that’s the impression you gave everyone.”

  “I said that I was the new editor of Inside the Landing,” Emily said, wishing she were anywhere but here. “I never claimed to be an owner.”

  “Nor did you try to dissuade anyone of the notion,” Arabella said.

  Emily could see her friendship with Arabella disintegrating, just another fake. She tried again. “That may be true, but it doesn’t change the fact that I didn’t lie about it.”

  Arabella rolled her eyes. Emily soldiered on. “Inside the Landing is owned by Urban-Huntzberger Publications. Michelle Ellis is one of the owners, and she hired me to find out the truth about Stonehaven’s plans for Lount’s Landing. That was my assignment. The editor job was a cover.”

  “Nice of you to enlighten me now,” Arabella said. “You didn’t think telling me might have been important after I found Stonehaven dead? After I trusted you enough to come to you?”

  “I’m so sorry, Arabella, you can’t imagine how much I’ve wanted to tell you the truth.”

  “And yet somehow you were able to continue with your deception,” Arabella said, her tone frosty.

  “I’d signed a confidentiality agreement. A lot was at stake.”

  “Like money?” Arabella asked.

  “Sure, money was part of it. But that wasn’t my main motivation for taking the assignment.”

  Arabella leaned back in the booth, arms folded, her expression dour.

  “Cut the woman some slack,” Levon said. “She’s willing to break that confidence now, if it means finding out the truth. Isn’t that right, Emily?”

  Emily shot Levon a grateful smile. No wonder Arabella had never quite let him go. The man was a gem. “Yes, Levon, that’s right.” She looked earnestly at Arabella. “Hear me out before you pass judgment, that’s all I ask. Will you do that?”

  Arabella gave a reluctant nod.

  “Do you both promise to keep what I tell you absolutely confidential?”

  “I promise,” Levon said.

  “You have my word,” Arabella said.

  Emily thought for a moment. Could she trust these two? Maybe, maybe not, but at this point she had nothing more to lose. Once the police knew her whole story—and they were bound to find out eventually—she’d move right to the top of the suspect list.

  And so, she told them. About Michelle Ellis. About the assignment. About Michelle sending February to work at the Sunrise Café. She told them everything—everything except the part about her mother’s suicide.

  Some things she wasn’t ready to share.

  32

  Emily’s voice had a harsh edge to it. “I’ve discovered another one of your secrets today, Michelle. This time from Levon Larroquette. You might remember him from Camp Miakoda.”

  There was a lengthy silence before Michelle’s voice came through, quiet and resigned. “I suppose part of me knew you’d find out about Ambrose. You’re a good researcher. It’s one of the reasons I hired you for this assignment. In a way, I’m relieved.”

  “Did you kill him?”

  “Kill Ambrose? He was my son. I loved him with all my heart.”

  Levon hadn’t said anything about Ambrose being dead. She’d been asking if Michelle killed Stonehaven.

  “How did Ambrose die?”

  “The how isn’t relevant.”

  “But you suspect Stonehaven was involved in some way?”

  “Yes.”

  “Now Stonehaven is dead, the police suspect murder, and I’m here, working on a bogus assignment, hired by a boss with a hidden agenda. For all I know, you might have hired someone to kill him.”

  “Don’t be melodramatic, Emily. Let’s suppose I wanted to hire someone. Which I did not. But if I did, how would I go about doing it? Advertise ‘Murderer Wanted’ in Urban Living? Take out a full page spread in Inside the Landing? I’m afraid you grossly overestimate my powers.”

  “Spare me the sarcasm. We both know you’re not sorry he’s dead.”

  “Not being sorry someone is dead is hardly the same thing as causing it to happen. I expect there’s a long list of people who wanted Garrett Stonehaven dead, including you.”

  Emily wasn’t sure how to respond to the allegation. Had she wanted Garrett Stonehaven dead? Or had she wanted payback for her mom’s suicide? She evaded the question.

  “Look, right now it doesn’t matter what I did or didn’t want, the man is dead. Are you telling me, with complete honesty, that you didn’t have anything to do with his death? Not that I have any reason to trust you.”

  Michelle sighed. “Yes, Emi
ly, that’s what I’m telling you. I believe my exact words when I offered you this assignment were ‘to help us expose Garrett Stonehaven for the lying, cheating bastard we both know he is.’ I wanted to publicly humiliate him, and if we could get an exclusive story to sell more magazines, all the while increasing our stock value, more the better. Now he’s dead and all sorts of reporters will be crawling around town looking for a story.”

  Emily hadn’t thought of that. “Don’t worry about other reporters. This town is full of secrets, and folks here don’t take kindly to strangers. Anyway, I have a theory. If I can prove it, then we’ll have a story.”

  “What sort of theory?”

  “It’s possible Stonehaven’s death is a direct or indirect result of something, or some things, he did or didn’t do, back when he was at Camp Miakoda. The same time your son, Ambrose, was there. I need you to tell me everything. Why Ambrose was sent to Camp Miakoda, his interaction with the other teens there, when and how he died.”

  “We should meet.”

  “Do you want me to come to Toronto?”

  “No, you stay put. See what else you can find out. I’ll come to your office tomorrow morning.”

  “Thank you, Michelle.”

  “You may not thank me when you hear what I have to say.”

  Emily hung up, a sense of unease cloaking her body like a shroud. It was the same choking feeling she’d had the day her mother had died. She pushed the thought aside. There was no point imagining the worst.

  33

  Arabella hadn’t completely forgiven Emily. She had a feeling some detail had been left out, something personal, beyond the money, beyond the chance to start over after getting dumped by her fiancé. She wouldn’t belabor it. Emily promised to confront Michelle and get more information. She promised to help find out the truth. It was enough, at least for now. If she stopped talking to all the people who had deceived her, she’d be a very lonely woman indeed.

  Which brought her back to Stanford McLelland. He admitted being part of Stonehaven’s team, claimed he tried to stop the megabox store, but he was sparse on the details. Not that she suspected Stanford of anything illegal, but those details might shed light on Stonehaven’s plan. She checked her watch. If her ex-boss’s routine hadn’t changed, he’d be in the office, eating lunch at his desk while the rest of his staff went out.