William Bell - Fanatics

“They got the guy,” Mom began. She related that in response to her call the cops had employed a silent approach-meaning no sirens-as they descended on Geneva Park. The Rama First Nation officers got there first, finding two unconscious men lying in the dirt. They had cuffed both of us before more cops charged onto the scene in a cloud of dust. The bag holding the gun and ammo was discovered minutes later. By the time the ambulances arrived police had sorted out the good guy from the bad guy and I was on my way to the hospital. Where they took the terrorist, no one knew.

“You have a concussion,” Mom went on, “and a bad cut on your head. Twenty-one stitches. You’ll have headaches for a few days, but the doctor assured us you’re all right.”

“That shiner is a doozy, but all in all, no worries,” Dad added. But his expression said “We were scared to death.”

“None of us in the auditorium had a clue what was going on outside,” Raphaella told me. “The show was a huge hit-the kids loved it-and with the music and the roars of laughter and the applause, it was mayhem in the auditorium. After the final curtain calls I went outside looking for you, and there was no hint that something serious had happened, that we had all been within an inch of our lives. Then I noticed a lot of cops moving around, a few hanging yellow DO NOT CROSS tape across the pathway to the cabins, and I realized something was going on. I still can’t get my head around it. We could all be dead right now.”

“We tried to call Raphaella to warn her,” Mom went on. “But you had her phone, remember? I sent you the photo?”

“There’s a publication ban on the details connected with the incident, ordered by a judge,” Dad said. “The official story is that a man with a history of mental illness was arrested at Geneva Park. That’s it. Your mom has been helping the police a little, and you’ll have to give a statement in a few days, when you’re feeling up to it.”

“And after you’ve talked things over with our lawyer,” Mom added. “We can discuss all that when you’re home. I just hope the police don’t find the cellphone with the terrorist’s picture in it. That could cause us problems.”

“The phone’s safe,” I said. “During the fight, it fell between the boards of the deck at the cottage door. I erased the image.”

“And now, Annie,” Dad said, “I think you and I should go to the cafeteria and have a cup of their horrible tea.”

After the door had hissed shut behind my parents, Raphaella sat on the edge of the bed and took my hand.

“Your dad says you should get a medal. You’re a hero.”

“I’m no such thing.”

I told her everything that had taken place after I left her in the auditorium.

“When I finally worked out who he was and what he intended to do, I was petrified. All I could think about was that huge room full of kids-and you-and pictures I’ve seen on the TV news when somebody goes into a school or someplace with a gun. I didn’t know what to do. I said something stupid to him, and he turned around and hurled the shovel and hell broke loose. It was a fluke, the way it turned out. It could just as easily have gone the other way.”

“Maybe your dad thinks you’re brave because of what you didn’t do.”

“What’s that?”

“Run away.”

I HAD BEEN HOME a couple of days when the cops telephoned and asked me to come in to make a statement and answer some questions. By then my constant headache, the jungle drum beating in the background, had faded, although my face still looked as if I’d stayed in the boxing ring one round too many.

My parents were having their five o’clock glass of wine together on the patio when I got off the phone, and when I told them about the upcoming interview they exchanged glances. My dad was up to speed on everything by that point. Mom had been in a bad mood lately. I didn’t blame her. A judge had clapped a total ban on publication of any aspect of the story. Mom’s exclusive-at least for the time being-had gone out the window. So much for freedom of the press.

“We’d better go over this together,” Mom cautioned. “When are you due at the cop shop?”

“Day after tomorrow at 10:00 a.m.”

“I’ll call Mabel Ayers and see if you can get in to see her tomorrow,” Dad said, getting up and going into the kitchen.

“Do I really need to talk to a lawyer?” I asked my mother.

“I can’t believe you asked that,” Mom replied.

Long experience as an investigative reporter had left her with a schizophrenic attitude toward police forces in general. She respected cops, knew their jobs were difficult in ways the public did not understand, agreed we needed them. “They’re unappreciated,” she would say. But she had also seen cops fudge evidence to get a conviction and even lie in court, under oath. She had, within the walls of our house, renamed the RCMP the RCLC-Royal Canadian Lies and Coverups.

“You have to be prepared for what they’re going to ask you, that’s all,” she said, putting down her wine glass. “They may try to trick you. And Mabel will be helpful.”

THE NEXT MORNING she and I drove to the city and met with Mabel Ayers, a chubby middle-aged woman with a small, messy office and a phone that rang constantly. The morning after that, I drove over to the OPP headquarters and met with three inspectors who represented, together, eleven letters of the alphabet-CSIS, RCMP, and OPP. The Rama First Nation cops who had arrested the paintball terrorist weren’t represented.

I was nervous. The two males wore dark blue suits, one with a red tie and one with a red-and-blue tie. They were clean-shaven, their hair clipped short. The woman-OPP-had on a dark grey pantsuit and wore her sand-coloured hair short. They sat across a big table from me, each with a newish file folder and a pad and ballpoint pen. It seemed more like a business meeting than an interrogation. Mom had warned me to keep my wits sharp. I jumped right in with the question Mabel had told me to ask first.

“Are you recording this interview on audio or video?”

RCMP frowned, then exchanged glances with the others. “This isn’t a formal interview, Garnet. And no, we’re not recording you.”

“On video or audio,” CSIS added. “Now, Garnet-”

“So I’m not under investigation?”

A look of irritation crossed CSIS’s face.

Mom had warned me that they’d call me by my first name, and she had been right. It was a technique to make me feel at ease so I’d trust them, and at the same time it emphasized that they were in control. They had introduced themselves using surnames only, but I was Garnet.

OPP tried her luck. “Garnet, this is just a chat. A conversation. We think you can help us fill in a few blanks, that’s all. Okay?”

I nodded.

Under questioning, I related that I had taken a walk around the grounds of Geneva Park, waiting for the show to start, when I noticed a man in a groundskeeper’s uniform emerging from the woods with a shovel in one hand and a duffle bag in the other. When I asked him what he had been doing in the woods he attacked me.

“I was just being nosy, I guess. I didn’t expect him to clobber me.”

From the time he bonked me with the shovel I didn’t remember much, I told them, except that I was mad and wanted to hit him back. I answered their questions truthfully but volunteered nothing. They didn’t ask me if I’d ever seen the guy before. Why would they?

“Is he hurt bad?” I asked.

“He’ll live. Do you remember opening the duffle bag?” the woman enquired.

“No.”

“Or putting it behind a tree?” one of the men-CSIS-asked.

“No.”