Sarah Mason’s story gave real credence to the saying ‘the truth is stranger than fiction.’ Worn down by the incessant chatter and interruption to her normal quiet routine, she came clean once it was clear that James and Lewis were not going to put up with her feeding them a bunch of lies. When she was done speaking, the two men rose and walked silently back to the office where the others were waiting. Yann and Sam both looked up expectantly while David and Jonah simply continued working away on other cases. Jim sighed as he grabbed one of the chairs and tugged it over towards the open work area. “Lewis, take a seat. We’re going to unravel this one and make certain it’s true.”
“I think she’s telling the truth this time, boss,” Sam said calmly. “Yann and I ran some of the preliminaries to check it and so far, so good.”
“I just am having a hard time processing all this,” Jonah muttered. “People actually get into these twisted, tangled knots?”
“People like that are loufoques,” Yann sighed. “Complètement fou.”
“Well, if it only happened on television and the big screen, we would all be out of a job,” Jim pointed out. “And, it gives us the means and the motive behind the killing.”
“Even if the motive is what dear Al would call ‘batcrap cray-cray?’” Yann demanded. “Any good defense attorney will get it thrown out in a heartbeat, mon cher commandant.”
“Then it’s our job to make certain that we have all of the facts nailed down so that even the best defense attorney in Nawlins can’t get it tossed,” Jim growled. “Lewis, run it down for the rest of us to make certain that there’s nothing we’re missing.”
“According to Mason, she was contacted by Jean-François Blanchard who had struck up a friendship with the victim. We’ve spoken with him and he’s got a solid alibi for the time of the murder but his reasons for getting to know the victim are very suspicious. Blanchard did not begin coming around our victim until after she and Eckels split up. However, he couldn’t have a romantic angle because he’s got a girlfriend. What he does have is a sister who wanted Amanda Patterson dead. The young Mademoiselle Yvette Blanchard works at the same shipping company that employs Mr. Eckels. She also has a history of mental illness — mostly bi-polar, obsessive behavior, narcissism — and she’s become somewhat fixated on Eckels. We don’t know if he returns her affections at all but she asked her big brother to check in on Patterson and make certain that the other woman was out of the picture permanently. Everything seemed to be going along well enough until about a week ago when Yvette called her brother in a panic. He contacted Mason who supplied the poison and attended the dinner that he was supposed to have attended. In return, Mason was supposed to have been flown out of the country to St. Martin.”
“However, when we quickly determined that Patterson’s death was a murder and not a suicide, big brother Blanchard froze. He knew that if he went through with the plan as it was, he would go down as an accessory to murder. So, he’s been staying low and under the radar,” Jim added. “But, the phone records will all confirm Mason’s account.”
“They already do, boss,” Sam replied. “Plus Yvette seems to have tried to book a Caribbean cruise for Mason within the past few hours.”
“Well then, there’s another connection,” Jim said brightly.
“How could anyone be so stupid?” Lewis asked.
“That’s a question that all of us ask ourselves every damn day, mon ami,” Yann laughed. “But, we’ll keep an eye out, make certain that cher Yvette doesn’t do anything too stupid, finish the follow up, and pass the one on for prosecution.”
“Sam, you and Lewis take care of the follow-up. I’ll do the reports for the DA and finalize the paperwork on this one,” Jim said as he stood up. “And, newbie,” he added as he started to walk off. Lewis glanced up, surprised to see Jim’s normally cool and dismissive brown-eyed gaze containing hints of warmth, “welcome to the team.”
“You owe me a few Ben Franklins,” Alex said with a soft, tired grin when Jim dropped by her home a few days later to report on the case. “I told you when it came it that it was going to be a female killer connected to the ex-boyfriend.”
“My theory that it was a female killer connected to the new boyfriend was perfectly viable,” Jim said defensively.
“Perfectly viable but wrong,” Alex pointed out.
“Fine, I’ll pay up,” he said with mock exasperation. “Lil wants to know when you’re going to come ‘round to supper, Al,” he added in a more somber tone. “She’s worried about you.”
“Christ. You did tell her that I was a virtual shut-in back in college, didn’t you?”
“I did. She doesn’t understand it.”
“How did you manage to marry a woman who can’t understand the need to be alone for long periods of time?”
“Oh, she gets that,” Jim explained, “she doesn’t like that you’re spending so much time alone in your own home in the dark right after suffering such a loss. I can’t say I’m terribly fond of the idea, either.”
“Well, the chief took my badge and gun and put me on leave whether I wanted to be off or not,” she sighed. “I’d much rather be back at work right now.”
“How much longer do you have to be off?”
“Another two weeks before I’ll get my badge back at least. Another three months and a full psych eval before they’ll give me back my gun.”
“They aren’t seriously going to stick you behind a desk, are they?”
“They might try but they’ll fail.”
“You can’t really go around unarmed, Al.” Alex grinned and walked over to the closet. Opening the door, she pulled out a cloth-covered object. When she hefted it and removed the cloth, Jim started laughing. He couldn’t wait to see how their superiors — not to mention the newbie — handled this one. “I knew there was a reason I loved you, Al.”
“Oh, don’t start that shit again, Jim,” she grimaced. “I’ve had enough touchy-feely in the past month to last me the rest of my life, thanks. Anyhow, speaking of the new guy — what’s the pool on his reaction when he finds out I’m a woman?”
Jim’s eyes flashed as he started laughing again. He couldn’t wait to have his partner back on the team.