A Lifetime Burning in a Moment Read Free Page B

tomorrow is the soonest.”
    Devlin saw worry creep into Elise’s face.
    “Is there anyone else, or a spare, anything?”
    The attendant shook his head. Devlin squeezed her hand.
    “We’ll be fine.”
    They returned to their cabin and continued their vacation without a single incident. Not even a chipmunk to startle them in the night. Relief came two days later when Jed, a twenty-something under-the-hood type, with a nice smile, arrived to fix their tire. It was perfect timing. While he worked, the Devlin’s packed. When he finished, Jed showed off pictures of his baby daughter.
    “She’s brand new,” he beamed as Elise cooed. “We named her Ivy. She’s the good news that we need in the county, especially after what happened a few days back at the north end of the lake.”
    Elise and Devlin looked at each other then stared at Jed.
    “What’re you talking about?”
    “That’s right, you wouldn’t know - being out here all isolated and stranded with your tire situation.” Jed went to the cab of his truck, came back and handed Devlin a newspaper, The County Beacon . The main story on the front page was headlined:
    “ Triple Murder: Retired Doctor, Wife, Grandson, Slain At Cabin”
    Devlin and Elise read how police suspected the killers had followed the doctor and his family to their remote lake property in what one source called a gruesome multiple homicide. “In all my years I’ve never seen anything like this.”
    Devlin’s heart leapt when he read the next paragraphs. Investigators were seeking the public’s help locating a vehicle seen in the area at the time. “A dark, older model pickup truck with a damaged front fender, and a light colored cap over the bed. Two male occupants were seen inside.”
    When they finished packing, John Devlin and his family drove for three hours to the RCMP subdivision.
    Sergeant Lew Segretti of the Major Crimes Section, was one of the Mounties investigating the killings. He took careful notes. Another member brought coffee, juice and doughnuts for the kids.
    “Your encounter with the men in the pickup, your description of the tattoo, could be a critical lead. We’ll keep you posted,” Segretti told Devlin.
    They returned to the city and the routine of their quiet lives, trying and failing to put the incident behind them. Devlin scrutinized the newspapers and TV reports, but the story faded. Weeks passed, a month, then three until one weekend afternoon when Devlin got a call at home during the first quarter of the football game.
    “Is this Mr. John Devlin?”
    “Yes it is.”
    “Lew Segretti, RCMP Major Crimes. You provided us information on the Cushing family murders at the lake?”
    “Yes, Sergeant.”
    “Mr. Devlin, there’s been a break in the case, and it stems from your report. It led us to two suspects, Aaron Sikes and Daniel Johnson. Both dead now.”
    “Dead?”
    “They tried shooting it out with the ERT Team in a trailer in the foothills near Pincher Creek.”
    Devlin’s pulse quickened.
    “Mr. Devlin, we couldn’t tell you at the time, but your thorough description was the linchpin. It helped us identify them. Sikes and Johnson were a murder team. We’ve connected them to the three homicides here and four in Ontario. We’ve been working with police across Canada, tracking these men until they led us to K-Division.”
    “I’m sorry?”
    “Alberta.”
    “Alberta. And you’re certain both are dead?” Devlin sat up.
    “One hundred per cent. Johnson died at the scene. Sikes died in a Lethbridge hospital a few hours later.”
    “In hospital?”
    “Yes, but before Sikes died, sir, he spoke to one of our members, who took a declaration, a taped final statement. I think you’d better sit down. I have a transcript and he mentions your encounter.”
    Devlin cast about the room. His wife was in the doorway holding a dish towel. Devlin swallowed.
    “I’ll just summarize it, but Sikes told the Corporal that he and Johnson had selected you and your