Sunny swore his oath of office as a Councillor for the City of New Westminster and took his designated seat at the continuous semi-circular wooden desk at which they all sat, each with a microphone and a monitor. He was pleased to see Regan Nakamura's seat was next to his, and after she'd been sworn in and seated, she smiled at him and said, "How's your shoulder?"
"Better, but I still need the sling," he said, making sure his microphone was off. The public hadn't been let into the Council chamber yet, but he didn't want his voice broadcast for everyone to hear. Rodney Maxwell, the re-elected mayor, was taking his seat at the centre of the desk, and he and the other councillors didn't need to hear their personal conversation, as friendly as their association might have been.
"Have you seen Lauren lately?" she asked. "We've exchanged texts, but I haven't seen her since we went to the Nikkei Centre together." Sunny had introduced Lauren and Regan to each other at his campaign opener, hoping their shared Japanese heritage would lead to them becoming friends.
"I have," he said, "but just in the context of our hospital visits to our friend, Al."
"Oh, yes, the one in a coma," she said, nodding.
"Actually, he's awake now."
She brightened. "Oh, is he? That's fantastic!"
"Yeah, he woke on Saturday. We were all there for it."
"Oh, that's lovely, I bet he was cheered by your presence."
"Otherwise, I think Lauren has been resting at home." Except for the little drive she took this morning, but to tell Regan about that he would have to explain about Al's former girlfriend, her estranged husband and the murder he might have committed, and Regan didn't need to be involved in that.
He hadn't predicted Lauren would drive herself to Queensborough when he called her with Tej's news. He just thought his friend would take the information and hold on to it for later in case Patrick Marinville actually bought a property in Queensborough and they needed to sit on him then. He should have known Lauren wouldn't have been able to resist snooping, though, and maybe a small part of him had wanted her to, which made him feel like a heel because she was still recovering from her injuries. The feeling didn't last long, though, when she called him and told him of how successfully she'd tailed him and informed him of the other party doing the same. He didn't know what to do with this information, but to be safe he called Agnes earlier to let her know. To his disappointment, he got her voicemail (she must have been working an evening shift at the library,) so he kept it as cryptic as possible in case anyone else was checking. He also called Mandeep to let him know so he could represent his client best.
"Hopefully, once she's a hundred percent, we can get together again," Regan said.
"We might find ourselves busy with committee work, soon."
"You have to make time for friends or else you'll burn out."
He was about to respond when he felt his phone vibrate in the inside pocket of his blazer. He pulled it out and saw it was Agnes, probably calling back. He pressed answer just as he saw the doors to the Council chamber open and the public stream in.
"Agnes, hi," he said, sotto voce. "Sorry, my Council meeting's about to begin, can I call you back?"
"What?" she cried in confusion. "I need to talk to you about what you said about Patrick being in town."
"I'm so sorry, I'm going to have to turn off my phone. I'll call you back when I'm finished."
He hung up before she could say more, feeling terrible. He should have told her when he left his original voicemail that he'd be unavailable right now. He didn't turn off his phone, though; if there was a family emergency he knew he would leave, meeting or no meeting, and he had to have his phone at least on vibrate in case someone in the family needed to reach him, just as he'd promised his mother.
"Everything all right?" Regan asked.
"Yeah, sorry, new divorce client, worried about her husband."
Her eyebrows rose. "Is there domestic violence involved?"
"No, but it's too complicated to go into right now."
She nodded thoughtfully. He knew she volunteered with Victim Support Services for the New Westminster Police. They'd interacted on more than one case where a client of Sunny's experienced abuse and the police needed to be called, so he knew her to be capable and discreet, but any discussion had to wait because the chamber was filling up, and now he had to put on his Councillor hat, figuratively.
Being a newcomer to Council, Sunny knew his first few meetings were going to be a learning curve, so he sat back and listened as they chugged along in their agenda, receiving reports from the City Clerk and the various staff departments responsible for bylaws, zoning, land use and service delivery. He'd read the package of reports beforehand (maybe skimmed was more appropriate in some cases; Joe had been right when he'd said he didn't envy him all he had to read), and absorbed what he could of the intent behind them, the benefits or the costs of each venture. He voted where a vote was required, and as most of the initial motions were formalities, he voted in favour. The zoning hearings required more consideration, and this was where the public generally got their say.
Hours passed. Sunny's ability to pay attention began to waver. He'd already had a full day of work, and he couldn't stop worrying about Agnes and the tone in her voice when she'd called him. It didn't help that she called every half hour or so after that (he checked his phone below the sight line of the desk just in case.) She was worried. He hoped she was all right.
Eventually, the Council meeting was adjourned after further smaller meetings were scheduled to deal with issues that had arisen tonight, by committees formed by two or three Council members plus select City staff. As the public filtered out of the chamber, some shaking their heads and muttering under their breath at not getting the chance to speak to motions, Regan turned off her microphone, turned to Sunny and said, "First meeting as a member of Council under your belt. How does it feel?"
Sunny turned his off and said, "Honestly? I'm exhausted."
"Don't be discouraged. More business gets done in the small committees than in the Council meetings. Have you been assigned yours?"
"I have. Some of them meet in the afternoon, so I'll need to rearrange my work schedule. Luckily my partners at the firm are supportive."
"I hear you. Those meetings will be shorter. So, do you have to call your client back?"
"Yes, I'd better." Just as he was about to, though, Rodney Maxwell approached them both and commended them for their efforts as first-time councillors. Another fifteen minutes passed as they chatted while packing their bags and leaving the chamber, and it took until Sunny reached the parking lot and his car before the mayor finally left them to enjoy the rest of their night.
He pulled out his phone, noting all the missed calls from her, but no voicemails, and looked at the time. Hopefully she'd still be up.
"Hey, do you need a ride home?" he asked Regan.
She shook her head. "I'm not far away, and I have my bike here." Green transportation and the establishment of more bike lanes had been one of Regan's planks in her campaign platform. "Let me know how it goes with your client."
He nodded and they said their goodbyes. Once Regan rode away, he called Agnes.
It rang and rang, and just as he thought it was going to go to voicemail, she picked up. "Sorry," she said low into her phone. "I'm at home with my kids and my parents. I had to find a quiet place before I answered."
"No problem. Sorry I'm so late calling back. I didn't predict it would go so long."
"Did you say Council meeting? Are you actually a Councillor?"
"As a matter of fact, I was just elected, and tonight was my first meeting."
"Oh! Well, congratulations. Sorry I was so peeved. I didn't predict you'd be busy when I called. I was also irritated that I missed your call because I was working at the time."
"I understand completely. You're concerned about your husband."
"I didn't know he was already here. I suspected, because of that email he sent me, but didn't know for sure."
"It's actually an incredible coincidence that my wife was asked to be his agent, otherwise we wouldn't have known."
"Will you thank her for me, for letting you know?"
"Of course. He's looking for property in Queensborough. Do you know where that is?"
She chuckled. "I may have been away from the Lower Mainland for fourteen years, but I haven't forgotten its geography; it's right next to Richmond on Lulu Island."
"Okay, so, by chance, I called Lauren, and she drove over there to keep an eye on things. She actually followed him back to Langley, where he's renting because he works at the detachment there."
"Jesus, he got a transfer?" she breathed. "How have they not arrested him yet?"
"As you say, I'm sure he and his buddies did a good job covering up. But there's more. Apparently, while Lauren was watching him, she noticed that someone else was, too."
"What?!" Now Agnes sounded panicked. "Who? You don't think it's..."
She trailed off. "Who?" Sunny asked.
"Well, remember I mentioned the guys who showed up at my door. Maybe they followed him here from Kelowna, too. Or maybe they hired someone to."
"Huh. That's a dark possibility."
"Goddamn it, now he's brought his mess to my home town," she muttered.
"So, I take it he hasn't tried to see you at your parents' house?"
"No, thank goodness, but it's only a matter of time. My kids will be delighted to see him, of course, because they don't know he's done anything wrong. My parents don't know either."
"I take it you haven't talked to them about moving to Rachel and Al's townhouse?"
She sighed. "No. I'm sorry."
"You don't need to apologize. It's your choice to move or not."
"I just think it's too late, now, if Patrick's already here."
"If he does come around, be ready to call the police."
"What if he calls them on me?"
Sunny couldn't help smiling. Agnes was a smart woman. "You mean if he wants to press charges of kidnapping."
"Exactly."
"I guess there's nothing stopping him. You know what I'd like to do? You know how I mentioned knowing another RCMP officer? It seems she works at the same detachment as Patrick does. I'll call her and ask her to keep an eye out for him."
"That's good of you, thank you."
"In the meantime, let Mandeep Randhawa know. He needs to keep apprised of the situation in case he needs to defend you in criminal court."
She chuckled sardonically. "Do you think he'll work pro bono too?"
"Don't worry about that right now. In any case, now that we know Patrick's close by, it'll be easier to serve him divorce papers."
She sighed in resignation. "I guess, although it seemed easier when I thought he was farther away."
"What, did you think he'd just sign them in Kelowna and send them back to you?"
"Yeah. Kinda."
Her sheepishness made him chuckle. "I don't think we were ever going to avoid sitting across a table from him, but you can be sure I'll be there with you when we do."
She was silent a moment, and when she responded, her voice was heavy. "Thank you, Sunny. You're very reassuring, has anyone told you that?"
"Aw, shucks."
"You and Al are two of a kind, you know; I can see why you're friends with him."
He cleared his throat and said, "I can understand your wanting to run away from the mess your husband made in Kelowna. I can also understand if you also felt the need to run back to the person who made you feel safest before you moved away."
She was silent a moment before asking, "Was I that obvious?"
"Yeah."
"Okay, so sue me, I still have feelings for the guy, even all these years later. Maybe it's like you said, he just represents a better time in my life, before it went to shit. In any case, it doesn't matter, because he's married now, and happily so. The last thing I want to do is break up another marriage."
"Okay, good. I like you, but Rachel's one of my oldest friends, and I wouldn't take kindly to any threats to her happiness."
"Duly noted. Thanks again, and we'll talk soon?"
"Talk soon. Good night, Agnes."
"Good night."
She hung up, and before he forgot, he made one more phone call.
Thanks for reading this far! Anyone who read the book before this, "The Hero Next Time," will know that Sunny's run for City Councillor was central to the story, but the realities of being in office are often different from the fantasy. If you liked what you read so far, hit "Vote" to send this title up the ranks. Leave a comment and let me know what you think!
To see how Joanie does with her first exposure to being media relations officer, click on "Continue reading."