Fort Liard [Due South]

Chapter 3

They stopped in front of a small cabin about three kilometres away from the general store. Fraser got off his vehicle and swung aside a wide door in the side-shed, and she drove inside and cut the engine. He drove in after her and then quickly got off his vehicle and pulled the door shut behind them. The howling of the storm was muted somewhat. The garage was attached to the cabin, and she could see light shining down through the panes of glass on the door. She didn't see any people moving around inside.

She removed her helmet and got off the snowmobile. Fraser was slipping off his own helmet, and he set it on the seat. She shook off the clumps of snow clinging to her clothing and began unclipping the straps on the sleeping bag and the travel pack with her belongings. Fraser pulled a cover over his snowmobile and came around to stand between her and the door.

"Do you need any assistance?" he asked, leaning over to half-shout against the whistling of the storm against the walls. She slung the pack over her shoulder and hefted the sleeping bag in her other hand and then turned to him.

"None required," she shouted back. He nodded, went up the few steps, and pushed the door of the cabin open. She followed him inside, manoeuvering the sleeping bag around her legs to get through the door. The cabin was larger than it looked on the outside. The room was dark; the only light appeared to be coming from the fireplace. One main room, a door in the back, another closed door on the side, and an open dark doorway on that same wall, to their right. Fraser checked on the fire in the stove, stoked it, closed the door, and then stood up.

"This way, sir," he said, walking off towards the dark doorway. She followed, glancing around the main room. There was a small kitchen area on the opposite side of the cabin, and a table with two chairs set up under the window. A brown rug was spread halfway across the room, with a futon set near the edge. It faced the fireplace and coal stove that were set in the wall that she was walking past. On the other side of the fireplace was a white wolf, lying on its side in the corner. A gasp escaped her lips when she saw the tiny puppies curled up along the length of the animal's stomach. This was not Diefenbaker.

She looked up at Fraser as he lit a lamp in the side room. He moved over to the corner across from the doorway and pushed aside a neat stack of books and a pile of blankets.

"You may leave your things here," he said, standing up. He cleared his throat. "I want to apologize, sir, for my behaviour previously. Your arrival was...unexpected." He held out his hands, and she gave him the pack and the rolled sleeping bag.

"It's all right, Sergeant. The storekeeper seemed to think that I was expected, though," Meg answered.

"You were. Well, not you, exactly, sir. David Cooper told me a woman named 'Meg' was coming. I never thought-well, that may not be entirely-no, I did not think it would be you, sir. He never mentioned your surname."

"I understand. No offense taken. I was not exactly providing a...warm...greeting, either," she said.

"Apology accepted," he answered, inclining his head towards her for a moment.

"Nice place you have here," she said, looking around the bedroom. A bed and a dresser stood opposite each other and a closet was set in the far corner. She thought she could see the shoulder of his red serge poking out from the clothing in the darkness. She swallowed back an unexpected thickness in her throat at the flood of memories that hovered on the edge of her mind. His next words jarred her from her thoughts and she turned away from him.

"I must apologize for the state of my home, Inspector," he said, clearing his throat. "I wasn't expecting a visitor."

"It's quite all right, Fraser," she answered, walking back out into the main room. Everything seemed to be in its place; there didn't appear to be anything to apologize for. She decided not to press the point. "It looks very comfortable."