Little Boy Blues. Mary Jane Maffini

      We acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts for our publishing program. We acknowledge the support of the Government of Ontario through the Ontario Media Development Corporation’s Ontario Book Initiative

      RendezVous Crime

      an imprint of Napoleon & Company

      Toronto, Ontario, Canada

      www.napoleonandcompany.com

      2nd printing 2009

      Printed in Canada

      13 12 11 10 9 5 4 3 2

      National Library of Canada Cataloguing in Publication Data

      Maffini, Mary Jane, date—

       Little boy blues

      (A Camilla MacPhee Mystery)

      ebook digital ISBN: 978-1-894917-95-7

      I. Title. II. Series: Maffini, Mary Jane. Camilla MacPhee mystery.

      PS8576.A3385L58 2002 C813’.54 C2002-900189-7

      PR9199.3.M3428L58 2002

       ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

      This is a work of fiction. That means, of course, that the characters are figments of my imagination. I hope they seem like real people, but they’re not. That’s probably a good thing. I have taken liberties with some streets and buildings in Ottawa and in Sydney. The Alvin Ferguson Fan Club will never track down Father Blaise’s Youth Club, Justice for Victims, Gadzooks Gallery or Alvin’s apartment in Hull.

      The Bluesfest is real as are the splendid performers mentioned. The legendary Fuzzy’s Fries in Sydney is still worth the trip. Once again, I am indebted to Mary Mackay-Smith and Janet MacEachen for their friendship, enthusiasm and sage counsel. Ron Keough has been a tremendous and cheerful source of information. The Ladies Killing Circle Inc. (Joan Boswell, Victoria Cameron, Audrey Jessup, Sue Pike and Linda Wiken) applied its usual bracing and astute recommendations.

      I thank my husband, Giulio Maffini, for his support and encouragement, despite the disturbing fact he always knows whodunnit, and my daughters, Virginia Maffini Findlay and Victoria Maffini Dirnberger, for being dangerous and perceptive, yet always helpful. Thanks also to Louise Crandall, Carole Dalgliesh, M. L. Dalley—Missing Children’s Registry, RCMP, Barbara Fradkin, Keary Grace, Sergeant Dave Morrison of the Cape Breton Regional Police, Dr. Lorne Parent, George Pike, André “A. J.” Sauvé, Micah Shannon and Michael Steinberg, and the guys at Compact Music.

      Alvin expresses his appreciation to Cheryl Freedman of Crime Writers of Canada. Once again my publisher, Sylvia McConnell, and editor, Allister Thompson, managed to keep stiff upper lips throughout the creation of this book. Bless them.

      Any errors are mine alone.

       1985

      They were supposed to stay in the house until it stopped raining, Ma told Jimmy and his brother, Allie, before she left for Sobey’s. It was hard for Jimmy to wait, because he really wanted to see his baby ducks. He’d been watching those ducks since they hatched by the creek. He was lucky to have seven ducklings in his own park across the street. Jimmy had two big K-Mart bags full of stale bread ready by the door.

      As soon as the sun peeked out, Jimmy said, “It’s stopped raining. Can we go now, Allie?”

      Vince was the one in charge. He was doing algebra homework in his room, so the little kids had to leave him alone and play quietly. He didn’t want to hear one word. But before they left, Allie called up the stairs. “We’re going to feed the ducks. See ya.”

      Vince didn’t answer.

      Jimmy said, “We better tell Frances Ann.”

      But Frances Ann was off at her piano lesson, so how could they tell her? And Tracy was in her bedroom playing with her Barbies and she had the NO BOYS EVER sign on the door.

      Jimmy didn’t want to wait for Frances Ann, because she might stop to see her friends. He wanted to feed those ducks.

      When they went out, Jimmy had on his yellow rubber boots. He liked the way they squished in the puddles on the way to the park. Allie pointed up to the sign. He said the X meant CROSS, and this was a special crossing for ducks. Jimmy could only read kindergarten stuff, but he already knew about the special duck crossing, because Allie told him every time they went to the park. Allie thought it was funny.

      Sometimes a mother duck and babies would waddle to the other side in the duck crossing, and the cars would have to wait. Jimmy and Allie would fall on the grass laughing, because some of the drivers got real mad.

      Allie made Jimmy look both ways. Then they raced over on the duck crossing. Allie said the ducks were getting smarter, and now they could read signs. He said those ducks would be so smart by next year there’d be ducks in Jimmy’s Grade One class. Allie said the ducks might get gold stars in their workbooks, and then the rest of the kids would quack up. Then Allie rolled down the hill into the park, past the daffodils, all the way to the pond.

      • • •

      It was already time to go home when the big guys showed up.

      Jimmy didn’t notice because he was busy feeding the ducks. Allie said, “Uh oh. Let’s get out of here.”

      Jimmy had a couple of crusts left, and he had been waiting a long time to come to the park, so he said, “I’m not finished.”

      “Forget it, Jimmy. Run.”

      “Wait.”

      “Now.”

      When Jimmy looked up, Allie was already near the top of the hill. “Wait for me, Allie,” he yelled. “I’m coming.” But somehow he got some water in his boots and, he couldn’t really run fast because of his asthma. Allie knew that. Allie had disappeared over the top of the hill. Jimmy could hear him yelling, “Hurry up, stupid.” The big guys chased after Allie but only ran halfway up the hill.

      It looked like Allie got away. That was good. The big guys turned around and walked back into the park. They stood next to Jimmy.

      The really tall guy in the brown jacket picked up a rock and threw it into the water. The rock hit one of the ducklings. The mother duck squawked and flapped her wings. The other guy laughed, and they slapped each other on the back.

      “Get her next.” They both had rocks. The guy with the yellow eyes aimed for the mother duck. The rock hit the duck and she sank below the water without making a sound.

      “You can’t do that,” Jimmy yelled. “Leave the mother duck alone.”

      “Listen to short-arse,” the tall guy in the brown jacket said, heaving a rock. The rest of the ducks were quacking and flapping their wings. They must have been afraid.

      Jimmy thought another duckling got hit. He couldn’t stop crying. “Stop it. You big fat bullies. Leave the ducks.”

      The tall guy said, “Who the hell do you think you are?”

      Jimmy looked around,