Epilogue

Epilogue

Charlie sat at his desk looking at his new screensaver image. It was a picture he had taken the morning after the fire had burned Hoodoo House to the ground. The image showed nothing but a pile of charred timbers, and the soot and ash-covered Spirit of the Hoodoo statue standing proudly against the prairie sky.

That morning, Sergeant Bowen had taken everyone's statement, but her focus had been more on how the fire had started, and if Henry could identify Adolph Moses as the man he had encountered on the night of the break-in. Malcolm Tull's death was never mentioned.

The following day, Charlie had called upon his tech wizardry to anonymously send the video of Adolph Moses with Malcolm Tull to the RCMP. He'd ensured that it was sent through encrypted accounts that couldn't be traced back to him. And to be double-sure, Charlie had imported the file onto a burner phone, sent it from a remote location then destroyed the device. While the video wasn't meant to be conclusive proof that Moses had been involved in the death of Malcolm Tull, Declan and Charlie had hoped that it would point the police away from Henry's involvement.

One thing Charlie was stumped about was the motivation for Moses' attack on the house. If Moses had known the bikers who had stolen the computer, then he knew it wasn't in the house and he had nothing to gain by burning it down. Charlie could only assume that it had been an act of rage-driven spite after being bested and injured by a kid during the break-in. No matter what, Charlie suspected that Moses was going to be locked away for a very long time.

The door to the office opened and Declan came in with a couple of large coffees and a bag.

"One large latte for you," he said, handing it to Charlie. "And this is from Gwen." He passed Charlie the bag. "She instructed me not to open it. It was for your eyes only. I don't know what spell you've cast over that woman." He shook his head. "So did you get in touch with Cody White?"

Charlie nodded. "I let him know that the files connected to his indiscretion were destroyed and that we haven't kept a back-up copy."

"Good. And our other client?" Declan asked.

"Sinclair has reviewed Tull's last book and decided that it was trash. He said even as erotica, it was a joke. Apparently he's hoping to find work with the publishing company that was in the process of acquiring Mount Temple Press, and maybe trying his hand at writing fiction. He mentioned an idea for a story about a popular romance writer who's gone AWOL and is killing off the ghostwriters that have been hired to finish her work."

Declan grinned. "Nobody would ever believe it. By the way, I just had a call from Mrs Cameron. Mount Temple Press is going to pay her a release settlement which will allow her to start looking for a new home. She's decided that she and Henry will move to Red Deer so she can be closer to her sister. And in other good news, Michael has been in touch with her and has referred Henry to a therapist friend in the area who will take him on as a client."

"Fantastic," Charlie said, raising his latte in a toast.

Declan leaned over and kissed Charlie on the head. "I'll be in my office if you need anything."

Charlie took a sip of his coffee and began to open the mail. On the top of the pile was an envelope from the Heart's Shadow Foundation containing a cheque to cover the expenses of Declan Hunt Investigations. Charlie looked more closely at the cheque and laughed.

He poked his nose into Declan's office. "You'll be glad to know that the cheque's in from Heart's Shadow and it should cover the rest of the month's expenses. I'll deposit it after lunch."

"Great. Thanks."

"Oh," Charlie continued, "you'll never guess who signed it."

Declan shrugged. "No idea."

"None other than the accountant on the foundation board…our very own Palvinder Attwal."

Declan shook his head. "How many pies does that man have his fingers in? Do me a favour. Send him a note thanking him for processing the payment so promptly."

"Will do," Charlie said, turning to leave.

"How is it that you didn't pick up on his connection to all of this?" Declan asked.

It was Charlie's turn to shrug. "I guess I just never got around to checking into who was on the board," he said sheepishly.

"Maybe you're not ready to go for your P.I. licence after all?" Declan teased.

Charlie grinned. "Bastard!"

"Come here," Declan said, kissing him when he got nearer.

"Isn't that a bit unprofessional? What if a client comes in?"

"They'd have to find someone else to kiss them. How about we close the office early and head upstairs? Up there, what we do is our own little secret."

More secrets.

Charlie pulled away and said, "I still have to get that cheque into the bank and…"

"What's wrong?" Declan asked.

Charlie walked around the desk and plopped himself into a chair. "This whole case has got me thinking. Everyone was keeping secrets—Mrs Cameron and her sister's identity, Tull being a ghostwriter for Marjorie Ellis, Henry and what he did to Mr Tull. Sinclair and Cody were both terrified about what would happen if their private lives ever came out."

"Okay," Declan said as he came around the desk and sat on the edge.

Charlie stared down at the floor. "I know some secrets are important to keep in order to help people. But others…personal ones…they can really eat away at you." He looked at Declan. "I'm tired of doing that. I don't want to keep those secrets anymore."

"Secrets like what?"

"Like the fact I'm gay and I've never had the guts to tell my parents. It's a huge part of my life that they don't know about. "

Charlie took a deep breath. "I also want to be open with them…about us. I know it's early, and it may not last, but I want them to know that I've found someone special and I'm not alone anymore. Would you be all right if I told them?"

Please don't say no.

Declan reached down and took a hold of Charlie's hands and pulled him up into a hug. "I think telling them is the right thing to do, and that includes telling them about me."

Charlie pressed his face into Declan's chest.

"So, when is all of this going to happen?" Declan asked.

"I won't tell them about us right away. Being gay is going to be tough enough for them to process without having to face up to the fact that it's you I'm involved with."

"Am I that terrifying?"

Charlie pulled back and looked him in the face. "Yup."

They both sat down.

"Are you going to tell your dad and Gwen about me?" Charlie asked.

Declan paused, then said, "Gwen probably already has an inkling, but yeah, if I'm going into this relationship, I'm going to go all in. I have no idea how my dad will react. Who knows, maybe he'll surprise me? After all, I'll finally have someone responsible in my life."

Charlie was excited. "When are you going to tell them?"

"I'll let you tell your folks first. We need this to be a controlled release of information. So, they have no idea that you're gay?"

"I doubt it. I suspect that since Carrie and I live together, they think we're in a relationship. They're probably just waiting for the news of a pending grandchild. They won't be happy. But Gran knows and she's good with it, so she'll be there to talk some sense into them. What will get them more riled up is when I tell him that I'm studying to become a P.I. I can hear my dad now—‘After all that time you spent getting your degree in computers, not to mention all the money your mother and I spent.'"

Declan stood up. "Are you sure you're ready for this?"

"Yeah. I think so."

Declan pulled a bottle and two glasses out of his desk drawer. He poured healthy servings of scotch into both, and slid one across the desk, then raised his glass and looked Charlie in the eye. "Then let the adventure begin. Here's to us."

Charlie grinned. "To us."