Alberta Alibi by Dayle Gaetz

go…”
    â€œI’m staying,” she said fiercely.
    â€œIt’s time.” The big officer took her dad by the arm and led him toward the front door. Sheila turned away. She clutched the countertop to keep from running after him.
    When the front door closed behind them, Sheila glanced at Adele, half expecting to see a victorious smile spread across her face. But the woman looked anything but happy. She trembled with anger. “They’ll pay for this!” she said, fists clenched at her sides.
    â€œWho?” Sheila asked.
    â€œThose goons at Glenmar!” Adele crossed her arms, cupping her elbows in her hands, and proceeded to pace back and forth across the kitchen, staring at the floor.
    Sheila caught Katie’s eye. So Adele had a temper.
    Interesting.
    Adele poured herself a coffee and marched into Chris’s office, leaving the door wide open behind her. They soon heard her talking on the phone, so quietly they couldn’t tell what she was saying. If only she had closed the door they could creep down the hall and listen.
    They barely spoke as they ate cereal, peaches and toast and peanut butter. Then Katie said, “We’re staying too. Even if we could reach Gram and GJ, this is where we’re needed.”
    â€œI’m going to call Mom,” Sheila said. “Maybe she’ll know what to do.”
    Katie nodded. “We’ll wait outside,” she said.
    Sheila dialed her home and listened to the phone ring. She hung up when the answering machine clicked on. What could she say? She ran outside to join the other three.
    Sheila really wished Huntley would go away, but for a completely different reason now than a few days ago. How were they supposed to keep an eye on his mother with him hanging around every minute?
    They couldn’t tell him what they suspected because he would probably go right to his mom and tell her everything. Even if he didn’t tell her, he’d be angry.
    Still, there was something Sheila had to do, and she realized it didn’t really matter if Huntley came along or not. She hoped Katie would, though, sore butt or not. “I need to see Wendell Wedman,” she said.
    â€œWhy?” Katie asked.
    â€œThat’s where Dad and I were going when the RCMP showed up. He wanted to ask Wendell if he saw anything the night of the fire. And he was going to ask exactly what Wendell saw on,” her eyes rolled to Katie, “the night in question.”
    â€œOh,” Katie replied without enthusiasm, “so you’re going to ride all the way out there?”
    Sheila nodded. “It would take us forever to walk.”
    â€œGood idea,” Huntley said, already on his way to the barn. “Let’s get the horses saddled. Can I ride Ingot?”
    Sheila nodded absently. She turned to Katie. Please! she silently begged. Her friend’s face was a mix of interest and dread. “You’ve had a day off from riding,” Sheila said. “You should be okay now.”
    Katie looked doubtful, but she glanced toward the open barn door and down at the notebook tucked under her arm. She tapped the cover with her fingertips. “Okay, but we just go straight there and straight back, no side trips, okay?”
    Sheila nodded. “It’s a promise.”
    They both turned to Rusty. He rolled his eyes, rubbed his backside and said, “What’s a little more pain in my life? Pain is my middle name.”
    â€œI thought it was Jerold,” Katie said, “after Grandpa Jerry.”
    â€œThat too. But I’m adding Pain because it suits my lifestyle.”
    Sheila would have laughed if she didn’t feel so sick with worry.

16
    T he damage was clear from the hillock above Glenmar Development. The portable closest to the barbed wire fence was nothing more than a rectangle of blackened, twisted metal. One side of the second portable was also black, some of the metal had buckled, and the window glass had