In the Shadow: Day 3

Word Count: 18,114

Summary of Events:

Parker went to the superior officer's house for supper and discussed the case further with the officer and his wife, who had some valuable suggestions. Rowynna fretted to her sister Della about the lack of suitable men in Frank; Della urged her to be patient, as she wasn't even eighteen yet. Parker went back to the ranch where the bodies had been found and interviewed one of the ranch hands . . .

Excerpt of the Day:

“Do you think that Mr. and Mrs. Swanson had anyone possibly after them for any reason?” Parker asked.

The man guffawed; Parker bristled.

“Of all the hare-brained ideas you could come up with,” the man said, still chuckling,

Parker wanted to issue a hot retort, but he couldn’t decide which way he should take it, so he ended up remaining silent.

“Kid, if someone was after them they surely could’ve cared less,” the man said. “Sure Mrs. Swanson was paranoid, but she was afraid of the men around here and that was it. Mr. Swanson wasn’t afraid of a thing, and their daughter was only afraid of her mother. There’s no way they had any enemies after them.”

“We strive to be thorough,” Parker spat.

“Don’t try too hard,” the man said. “Can make you look stupid.”

Parker set his jaw.

“Your face is starting to blend in with your coat kid,” the man said.

“What happened on the day of the fire?” Parker asked tightly.

“Got up, ate breakfast, checked the cows, had lunch, went to town to get the mail, came back and your lot were already here sloshing water at the fire,” the man replied. “I don’t know what happened.”

“Who in town can prove you were there?” Parker asked. “Aside from the postman?”

The man exhaled in a way that suggested he was at a loss. “I don’t know, anyone else who was at the post office maybe. You don’t think I’m innocent, do you?”

“I want to make sure you’re above suspicion,” Parker replied.

“You don’t want me to be guilty?” the man asked, a bit of teasing in his voice.

“No, I don’t,” Parker replied. “The fewer people I have to put behind bars the better.”

“Thought that was your job,” the man said.

“It is,” Parker replied. “But I would like it if not everyone was a criminal.”

The man shifted his jaw, nodding. “I don’t know who else saw me in town, but I promise you I was there.”

“May I have your name that I can enquire?” Parker asked.

“Willard May,” the man replied.

“How many men were employed by Mr. Swanson?” Parker asked.

“Eight,” Mr. May replied. “They obviously got up and went to check the cows without me.”

“Do you make nine or are you the eighth?” Parker asked.

“What do you mean?” Mr. May asked.

“Are there seven men out checking cows, or eight?” Parker asked.

“Seven,” Mr. May replied.

Parker nodded. “I appreciate your cooperation Mr. May. I would like to question the others when they’re finished. How long do you think that will be?”

Mr. May shrugged. “Depends on how many cows are calving and what sort of difficulties are going on over there.”

In the Shadow: Day 2

Word Count: 12,001

Summary of Events:

Rowynna went to her father's livery to groom some horses; while she was there a man about the age of her oldest brother brought two horses to board. Parker and a superior officer went to the doctor to find out what he'd learned about the bones before reading the statements Constable Gillespie had compiled. Rowynna was dispatched to purchase some eggs by her mother and encountered a young woman who introduced herself as Vella Osborne, and proceeded to follow Rowynna on her errand, as Vella seemed intent to talk . . .

Excerpt of the Day:

“Oh, well you and I are practically the same age then,” Vella said. “Are you betrothed to be married?”

“No,” Rowynna replied.

“Why not?” Vella asked, sounding fairly scandalised at the idea.

“I haven’t found a suitable man here,” Rowynna replied.

“My dear this place is crawling with men,” Vella said. “And you haven’t found a suitable one yet? Are you sure you know everyone in the town?”

“Most of the men are miners,” Rowynna said.

“And you fear that they might catch a disease in the mines and die, widowing you?” Vella asked.

“Yes,” Rowynna replied.

“Most of them are young enough to learn a new trade you know,” Vella said, not allowing Rowynna the opportunity to add the more important reason why she didn’t want to marry a miner. “And I promise you men will do anything for a woman. Surely I can help you find a suitable man.”

“I’m not in a rush,” Rowynna said.

“Oh but surely you don’t want to become a spinster,” Vella said.

“I don’t think it should take me that long to find a husband,” Rowynna said.

“Time moves quicker than you think,” Vella replied.

“I know,” Rowynna said, checking both ways before making her way across the street and on slightly southwestward.

“We’ll work together to find you a man,” Vella said. “Don’t worry.”

“I’m not,” Rowynna said quietly.

“What is your ideal man?” Vella asked.

“I’m not altogether sure,” Rowynna replied somewhat haltingly; she had a pretty good idea, but she wasn’t going to go sharing it with someone that she’d just met.

“Good, that leaves the field wide open,” Vella said. “Do you think we’d have time once you’ve bought the eggs to go look at suitable candidates?”

“No, I don’t think so,” Rowynna replied. “My mother will need me.”

“Oh, well you’ll have to let me know when you’re available and we’ll go looking,” Vella said.

“I do appreciate your offer, but I’m really not in any haste to get married,” Rowynna said. “I have more important things to be concerned with.”

“There can’t be anything more important than getting married for a young woman of our ages,” Vella said. “Surely whatever else you might be thinking of could be put off.”

Rowynna wasn’t quite so sure that Lorena would be inclined to put off having her baby until after Rowynna had found a husband, much less Della postponing her wedding — two events that were going to be taking place rather close together for themselves — but she decided to also keep those events to herself.

“You know,” Vella declared. “I’m surprised you don’t have men crawling all over you.”

Rowynna flushed with mortification. “And why should I?”

“You seem like a type that they’d like,” Vella replied. “I’m sure once we get it known that you’re available suitable men will come along.”

Considering the rowdiness of the miners — especially the unmarried ones — Rowynna certainly didn’t want her eligibility to be publicised, lest she receive myriads of unwanted advances that would leave Papa with no time to run his livery because he was too busy fending off all the unwholesome men who sought her hand in marriage.

In the Shadow: Day 1

Word Count: 6,023

Summary of Events:

Parker and a fellow constable were summoned to the home of Old Mrs. Fowler, a senile woman in her late 80s or early 90s who thought someone was stealing her chickens; it was only a fox, but Parker and his fellow constable repaired her henhouse before heading back to Macleod; on the way, they spied thick black smoke that turned out to be a house on fire, so they helped organise the crowd gathered to put out the blaze . . .

Excerpt of the Day:

“Constables,” a soot-stained man called urgently. “Come here!”

Parker — who had long-dismounted and been manning the pump — hurried over, Constable Gillespie came over from a different direction and they picked their way through the ruins of the mostly-burned home, following the man to a room.

Both of them startled to see charred bones lying on the floor; and not just any bones, but human bones.

“No one is allowed to leave the premises until we’ve spoken to them,” Constable Gillespie ordered. “And no one is allowed in the house, go tell them.”

The man took off hastily and Parker glanced at Constable Gillespie before looking down at the charred bodies again.

All four femur bones were half-consumed and no bones beneath those remained, while all the bones above were significantly blackened and, with the muscle, tendon, sinew, and such burned away, the bones were all loose, making the forms of two humans, but with all of the ribs collapsed into piles of U-shaped bones, instead of sitting upright and forming their usual cage.

Breastbones, no longer supported, lay against the neat line of spinal bones, the femurs lay on the ground near to the joints in which they’d formerly nestled, clavicles had collapsed against scapulas, mandibles had fallen loose and sat around the bones of the neck while the main parts of the skulls were tipped to the side, unable to rest on the rounded backs.

Phalanges of the hands, as well as the wrist bones, lay in little heaps, suggesting the hands hadn’t been laying flat when they’d burned, but had been crumpled. The bones of the forearms lay with a wider gap between them than they usually had.

“Looks like a man and a woman,” Constable Gillespie observed.

“Based on the hips anyways,” Parker agreed, observing that one pelvis was wider and had a larger opening than the other.

“Which is about all we have to go off of,” Constable Gillespie said.

Parker nodded. Every stitch of clothing and every fibre of muscle was burned away, no hair, no eyes, no organs, all they had was bones to go off of, hopefully the doctor would be able to determine identities based on the bones somehow.

“Do you want to guard them or go ask questions?” Constable Gillespie asked.

“Guard them,” Parker replied.

Nodding, Constable Gillespie turned and headed back out of the ruins. Parker lifted his gaze from the bodies and looked around what remained of the room. It didn’t seem like it would be the room the fire would’ve started in, as fires usually started in fireplaces, and the fireplace was in the room to the east of this one.

Since it was a house and not a cabin there was no doubt that the building had windows — which were getting easier and easier to come by even in somewhat remote places like this — in every room.

So these two people had to have been somehow incapacitated by the fire, otherwise they would’ve escaped.

October Novel Essential Information

Novel Title: In the Shadow

Time Setting: 1903

Genre: History

Minimum Word Goal: 90,000

Timespan: February–April

Locations: Fort Macleod, Frank, and Blairmore, District of Alberta, Northwest Territories*; Fernie, British Columbia

Main Characters: Parker Duncan, Rowynna Price

Background Information: 

Born the second of three sons to a Hudson’s Bay employee and his wife in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Parker has been well acquainted with tragedy in his life.

First it was his father and brother who died in an outbreak of sickness when he was three; then — after remarrying and moving west to Swift Current, Northwest Territories — his mother died in childbirth when he was six; then his stepfather died from burns incurred fighting a grass fire when he was ten.

After that he and his younger brother were sent to an adoptive family in the area of Calgary, further west in the Northwest Territories, but the experience there was so unpleasant he and his brother ran away to Fort Macleod to the south.

There they had to fend for themselves, which included a little bit of stealing; this got his younger brother arrested, but the NWMP†, who’d arrested him had sympathy on the boys — aged thirteen and eleven — and contacted their grandparents in Halifax, who took the boys back in.

Unlike his brother, Parker didn’t adapt well to the ‘return’ to Halifax’s established urban environment — seeing how they’d been five and three when they left their recollections of the city were quite dim — and longed for the wide open spaces of the West.

Additionally, his interactions with the NWMP had filled his heart with a desire to be like them, so, when he turned eighteen, he took a gift of money from his bachelor uncle and spent it on a train fare back to Fort Macleod, where he joined the NWMP, with whom he has served for two years since.

In that time he made the acquaintance of an older officer who has become something of an older brother to him and has welcomed him into his family. As it happened, this officer had a younger sister who was both beautiful and unmarried.

She found him handsome in turn and the two started courting, becoming betrothed before Christmas, with the wedding date set for May 2, 1903.

Although he loves his fiancée and is eager to marry her, he can’t help but be worried, seeing how his father, mother, and stepfather have all died, what’s guaranteeing that his fiancée won’t be taken from him?

Thankfully his NWMP duties are plentiful and don’t give him too much time to think on such worries; although he has to admit that he actually wishes he was busier so that he wouldn’t have any time to think on them at all.

Born the youngest of seven children to a Welsh-born liveryman and his Canadian-born Irish-French wife in Stavely, Northwest Territories, Rowynna has lived a generally simple existence.

Her parents are devout Anglicans — her mother converted from Catholicism by her father — and so attending Sunday service and other church functions has always been a core part of her life; whatever free time she’s had otherwise has been occupied around the home.

Like her three older sisters, she has been educated well in the art of homemaking on all fronts, and has enjoyed learning it far more than attending church events and WCTU meetings with her mother, who admittedly has a rather overbearing personality; but she has always enjoyed her free time the most.

The majority of her free time has been spent helping her father with the horses at his stables: brushing them, cleaning their tack, and even braiding their manes and tails when she can — even though everyone aside from her youngest older sister sees that activity as frivolous.

All of these activities have been mainstays in her life in spite of the fact that her family has picked up and moved twice, first moving from Stavely south to Granum when she was ten — the livery in Stavely being left to her oldest brother, while her second-oldest brother continued south of Granum to Fort Macleod to join the NWMP — and then just two years ago moving from Granum — whose livery was given to her youngest brother — to the newly-established mining town of Frank, located in the Crow’s Nest Pass.

Now seventeen, Rowynna is setting up to be the last child remaining at home, as her oldest sister married while they lived in Granum and moved to Claresholm, and her second-oldest sister has married the nephew of Frank’s general store proprietor — in fact, the couple are expecting their first child in late April — while her youngest older sister, and lifelong closest companion, is getting set to marry a young NWMP constable who was introduced to her by their second-oldest brother.

Rowynna has no qualms about settling down and getting married herself, except for the fact that she doesn’t see anyone suitable in Frank.

The majority of the population are hard-drinking foul-mouthed miners who frequent the saloons more regularly than the churches — and are highly disapproved-of by her mother — and the other, more suitable candidates in her mother’s eyes to her are largely unhandsome bores.

What she would like would be to meet a man like her father, either that, or to be introduced to a young NWMP constable by her second-oldest brother, but as of yet neither has occurred, and Rowynna isn’t inclined to think either will happen within the next five years — by which time her mother expects her to be married — living in a coal-mining town that’s decently isolated from the rest of the area.

*Alberta (and Saskatchewan) became provinces of Canada in 1905; †NWMP is the North-West Mounted Police, who would go on to become the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in 1920.

Pronunciation:

Macleod: muhklowd

Concealed Intentions: Day 20

Word Total: 120,021

Year to Date: 870,278

Summary of Events:

Borden and Honour hiked through the woods, with Borden making sure that they didn't head too far north too fast, lest they be forced to cross the busy divided highway in that direction. Nadia was taken by Horea to Berlin, where she was introduced to a man who gave Horea ten million lei in exchange for her, leaving her horrified and distraught. Having finally reached Prince George, Borden was able to keep in trees most of the way to Honour's house, but encountered men with guns while skirting along the edge of a housing development, and so had to run through the trees; reaching the hockey arena, Borden ordered Honour to go on ahead of him and stopped to confront the gangsters, striving only to wound . . .

Excerpt of the Day:

After taking down one or two dozen men in their gun arm, Borden recognised Dane among those firing at him and hesitated. Dane fired calmly and pain tore through Borden’s right hand and fingertips.

Borden looked at his hand from both sides. It looked like Dane had hit him squarely in the middle, his middle and ring fingertips were bleeding as well. Now he was going to need to go to the hospital whether he liked it or not.

Dane smirked and stalked closer to him. Borden felt a wave of anger rise in him. He still considered Dane a friend, even after what Dane had done to Ty, but he could see the cold-bloodedness in Dane as he stalked closer and prepared to fire again.

In spite of the pain in his hand, Borden used the thumb and forefinger to advance the next round into the chamber and fired straight into Dane’s right shoulder, but Dane didn’t stop coming at him, so he advanced the next round and fired it as well.

Immediately Dane’s smile fell away and his gun dropped to the ground. 

Seeing no more men looking like they were going to fire at him, Borden turned and ran . . .

Passing a funeral home and a church, Borden came upon a schoolyard; he kept walking, pretty sure Honour lived north of the school, but the sound of crying turned his attention back to the school and he saw Honour curled up by a set of blue doors that led into the building.

Quickly Borden jogged up the walkway to where Honour was. He put a hand on her shoulder and she startled.

“Oh Mister Borden!” she cried with delight, wrapping her arms about his neck. 

Borden embraced her back with his left arm, feeling a tentative relief. He’d shaken the gangsters at the very least, and that ought to keep Honour safe at least for a time.

After awhile Honour let go and looked at him. “The bad guys won’t come back?”

“I can’t be sure,” Borden replied. “But I think I’ve at least lost them, when you’re home the police can keep you safe too, let’s go.”

“Mister Borden, your hand,” Honour pointed, looking with shock at the bloody wound.

“Yeah, they got me, but at least it’s the hand I don’t write with,” Borden said. “I promise I’ll go to the hospital and get the doctor to close it up, but you need to get home first, come.”

Borden straightened and Honour took hold of his left hand — the one she usually held anyways — and Borden led her back to the Boulevard, along which they walked north, crossing Rainbow Drive with the lights.

Honour towed him left at the Salvation Army church and down along what Borden found was called Reid Crescent until they reached a nice-looking house with an attached garage that looked to be not more than twenty years old.

Her hand slid off of his fingers and Borden stopped as she hurried to the door and rang the doorbell. He stepped behind the short spruce tree in the front yard and watched as the door opened.

“Honour!” Isabel — looking only slightly more mature and maternal than she’d looked some ten years ago — cried, dropping to her knees and wrapping Honour in an embrace.

In spite of himself Borden felt tears prick his eyes. He’d done it. He’d brought Honour home.

Next Post: 30 September

Concealed Intentions: Day 19

Word Count: 114,009

Summary of Events:

Nadia arrived at Vitaly's apartment after work and ended up getting into an argument with Vitaly, who told her that he'd not sent Horea to walk with her, and that he didn't want her leaving Moldova with Horea, but she still intended to. Borden was feeling tired, as his bruise from falling on the mountain still hurt and was making it hard for him to sleep, but he and Honour reached their last camping spot for the trip regardless. Nadia woke up early and snuck out of Vitaly's apartment to meet Horea; she was not pleased to find he had three strong male friends with him, and that she was forced to sit between two of them in the backseat, including one who brandished a hypodermic syringe and told her to be quiet if she didn't want him to inject her with it . . . 

Excerpt of the Day:

Suddenly Nadia wished that Vitaly had been awake and had heard her, that he would come after her. She felt that she had been a fool not to listen to him, deceived by the romance that she had shared with Horea the night before, and now she felt a severe regret for having snuck out on Vitaly.

Before long Nadia realised that they were on Highway M2, heading north of Chișinău, especially when a sign proclaiming Stăuceni was approaching.

“We’re going the wrong way Horea,” Nadia said.

“No we’re not,” Horea replied.

“The airport is south of Chișinău, not north,” Nadia said. “It’s on the R two, not the M two.”

“Did I tell you that our flight was going out of Chișinău?” Horea asked.

Nadia was silent, thinking it over. No, actually, he hadn’t.

“No,” she replied.

“Then don’t make presumptions,” Horea replied.

“But Chișinău’s airport makes the most sense,” Nadia said. “Seeing as we’re in Chișinău.”

“The cheaper flights are out of Mărculești,” Horea replied.

“Mărculești?” Nadia asked. “But that’s two hours away.”

“Two hours of driving saving hundreds of dollars in flying seems like a good exchange to me,” Horea replied. “Now will you be quiet please?”

“But why?” Nadia asked. “You’ve never disliked me talking to you before.”

“You’re asking too many questions,” Horea said. “Especially for this hour of the morning.”

“But this isn’t like you Horea,” Nadia said. “You’ve never been like this.”

“And is there something wrong with me being like this?” Horea asked.

“Yes,” Nadia replied. “It’s unkind, and it’s evasive. You’ve never been evasive with me before.”

“I have to be,” Horea replied. “The last thing I want is to attract attention.”

“What kind of attention are you going to attract?” Nadia asked.

“You say any more and in ten seconds I am injecting you,” the man to Nadia’s left warned, brandishing the syringe again.

“Please Nadia,” Horea said. “Just keep quiet, maybe get some more sleep. It will help you be more rested for our flight.”

Nadia looked warily at the men flanking her, but leaned her head back against the seat anyways. Tears flooded her eyes and she felt very afraid, as well as very foolish. The words that Vitaly had spoken in his sobs returned to her mind: He is going to sell you Nadia.

What did that mean? Was Horea actually going to sell her like an article of clothing or an animal? Was there going to be actual money exchanged? Nadia really didn’t want to find out, but she was very afraid and wished desperately that Vitaly had woken up, that he’d heard her leave, and that he was hot on the heels of Horea.

Maybe there was even some way that Vitaly would make it to Mărculești before she, Horea, and the three strangers she was with made it. That would be wonderful, but Nadia wasn’t sure, she’d done her best not to be heard, and she was very afraid that she had succeeded.

Pronunciations:

Stăuceni: stahwchehnee

Mărculești: mahrchoolehstee

Concealed Intentions: Day 18

Word Count: 108,069

Summary of Events:

Nadia informed her parents, grandparents, and other relatives gathered to celebrate her graduation that she was moving to Italy in two days; this incited an uproar and Nadia asked Vitaly if she could stay with him for the remaining time she had in Moldova. Borden and Honour were trekking through some trees that had gone up in flames the previous summer when they heard dogs behind them and were forced to flee from the gangsters, who'd caught up to them; after running for a bit Borden made Honour run ahead of him and stayed to face the gangsters . . .

Excerpt of the Day:

Taking a deep breath, he removed the gun from its place against his spine, advanced a round into the chamber, turned, and fired.

A human voice uttered a strangled cry and Borden saw the man he’d sighted on the ground clinging to his hand. Another ran up, barely containing a snapping German Shepherd, and fired a pistol somewhat wildly at Borden, who watched the shot go wildly off to the right.

Borden walked calmly backwards. For all the tension, for the fact that he wasn’t wearing anything bulletproof, Borden felt calm; he knew what to do, and he felt very much like that was going to give him the advantage.

Another man without a dog brandished a rifle. Borden fired just as the man had gotten the gun settled onto his shoulder, before he’d had chance to sight and aim, and he, too, yelped, dropping his gun to clutch a bleeding hand.

The dog was still barking and growling savagely, and several more men — including a couple more with dogs — appeared, including a blonde-haired man with boring Russian hair and ink darkening the flesh of his neck to colours not natural to humanity.

This man put a gun to his shoulder and fired with a swiftness that caught Borden off guard — as did the searing pain that tore across his jaw.

In quick succession Borden fired two shots that left that man clutching his arm in agony and pain. Borden started walking backwards more briskly, watching for anyone to shoot at him.

No one did, so Borden turned around and took off at a run. A couple shots rang out behind him, but none of them hit him. He stopped and turned to see if they had advanced into range, and he saw one man was pursuing him who looked rather like he had the build to be on the BC Lions, although his football skills were unknown.

Borden fired at the man, but like the shots fired at him in motion, his own shot didn’t hit his desired mark because the man was moving, although it did cause blood to start running down the man’s upper right arm.

Not unlike himself, the man hardly missed a beat, instead he ducked behind a tree, then peered around and fired two shots at Borden, who had darted off to be behind his own tree, which had taken the shots on his behalf.

He glanced over his shoulder and saw the man had ducked behind his tree, waiting for Borden to fire. 

Patiently, Borden waited for him to come back out, because he knew that running would alert the man and cause more shots to be fired at him, which he wanted to avoid.

Finally the man turned and Borden fired.

The man cried out and clutched his hand while Borden turned and ran at top speed toward the lake.