there is only his word for it. Even if he were to be tested now, it’s too late. This type of drug metabolizes very quickly into the body, leaving no trace. That’s why the tox report on Chantal didn’t reveal anything.”
“And I guess that’s why the killer used it. But at least the scotch proves it was used.”
“But it can also point to John-Joe being the perpetrator. The police are already considering this angle. They’ve asked for a DNA sample. If the semen proves to be his, as it no doubt will be, since he admits the purpose of the rendezvous was sex, they will say he gave her the drug in order to rape her, things got out of hand and he killed her. Without evidence to the contrary, it’s going to be difficult to prove otherwise.”
I groaned. Tommy’s theory sounded just too plausible. “But he was the one who brought up the possibility of being drugged. Why bring it up, if he did it?”
“To mislead the police. Remember, he could’ve drunk the drugged scotch after the murder.”
“No. I refuse to believe that of John-Joe. It requires a degree of cold, premeditated reasoning. At no time in my dealings with him have I seen anything other than genuine shock and distress at her murder. Besides, whose side are you on?”
“You forget, as his defense lawyer, I have to look at all possibilities.”
A sudden thump from the front of the house startled me. “Can you hold the line a minute, Tommy?”
I hurried to the front door, expecting to see John-Joe’s snow-encrusted head, but saw only empty white. I stepped out into the penetrating cold of the verandah.
“John-Joe, you there?” I shouted into the storm’s relentless stream of snow. But only the wind-whipped trees answered. I called again. Nothing.
But something had made the noise. Then I noticed the dark line of a newly fallen tree branch on the stairs below me and relaxed.
I returned to the phone. “God, what a dreadful morning out there, Tommy. I sure hope John-Joe is safely inside somewhere.”
“Stupid bastard. If he’d had the sense to stay in jail, he wouldn’t be out there playing with death.” Despite his harsh words, I could hear the worry in his voice.
“Yes, but maybe there was a very good reason why he fled.”
“Yeah, I’ve got Decontie looking into it. But his escape combined with the rest of the damning evidence is making a joke of his defense. The only way I’m going to succeed in keeping him out of jail is by pointing the finger at someone else. And my list of possible suspects is very empty at the moment. In fact, I’m beginning to believe that John-Joe’s name is the only one that should be on that list.”
“Well, you can put Pierre Fournier on your list?”
“He was a friend of the victim’s, wasn’t he?”
“Yes, and the police must suspect him too. According to his girlfriend, they are looking for him.”
“Might have nothing to do with the case. I did a background check on Chantal’s friends, at least the ones John-Joe could name. Everyone came up clean except for Pierre. This guy has two drug dealing charges as a juvenile. The first was knocked out of court because of insufficient evidence. And although he was convicted of the second charge, he was placed on probation because it was his first offence. Since then, he’s kept his nose clean, but that doesn’t mean he gave it up. Just got smarter. So more likely the cops are looking for him for some drug-related offence.”
“That’s certainly possible.” And I recounted what I’d learned last night. “So you see, given Thérèse’s evasive response, this business pays Pierre enough money to buy her a diamond bracelet, and in cash, no less. And also has him frequently on the road. It could very well have to do with drugs.”
“You’re probably right, but it certainly doesn’t make him Chantal’s murderer.”
“What if there is a drug angle to this murder? Remember the guy I saw wearing John-Joe’s orange cap could’ve been the dealer who sold those kids the marijuana. Pierre was on the same trails as John-Joe the day he lost his cap. He could’ve found it and used it to frame John-Joe. He could also have supplied the stuff found at John-Joe’s cabin.”
“Yeah, so what? These days no one kills for a soft drug like marijuana.”
“But they do over money. What if money is at the root of her death? Say a fight over territory or whatever drug dealers fight about?”
“I suppose it’s possible, but there is no evidence to suggest that the victim was in any way connected to drug dealing.”
My breath caught as I thought of one person who had been linked to drugs. “There’s something you should know.” I finally told him what I’d learned from Yves; the possibility that John-Joe was also involved in dealing.
“I’m really sorry to hear this,” Tommy said. “I thought John Joe was made of better stuff. But regardless, there is nothing to link Chantal’s killing to a drug war.”
“I know, I was wondering about that myself. The only answer I can come up with is that Pierre was more interested in getting John-Joe out of the way by having him jailed for her murder than killing him.”
“Rather weak. Most drug dealers would rather get rid of their competition permanently.”
“But say jealousy was also involved? Pierre’s girlfriend hinted that Pierre might have had an affair with Chantal. Say he killed her in a jealous rage, then made John-Joe pay for it by framing him?”
“At this point, all conjecture, and without evidence it gets us nowhere. Look, I’ve got a lot of work to do, I’ve got to—”
“Wait, what if I told you I saw a motorcycle helmet in his girlfriend’s apartment, that is almost identical to the one described by John-Joe. This could help prove that Pierre was the new man in Chantal’s life.”
“Okay, okay. I’ll check to see if he owns a motorcycle.”
“Do you know when Chantal was killed?”
“Unfortunately, because of the cold temperature, the coroner isn’t able to pinpoint the exact time of death, other than to say she’d probably been dead for about four or five days. This puts it at any time between the time John-Joe and Chantal arrived on Thursday afternoon and the following Friday night.”
“Well, I can definitely place Pierre in the area on the Thursday at around five p.m. I saw him myself. In fact, one could ask the question, ‘Why?’ We’d stopped doing trail work a good four hours earlier, after Yvette’s father kicked us off his land. So why was Pierre still hanging around?”
“But it doesn’t place him at the crime scene.” The sound of rustling papers came loud and clear through the telephone line.
“No, but that four hours would’ve given him more than enough time to go the five or six kilometres to John-Joe’s cabin. Or he could’ve gone later, after letting Eric know about Yvette’s accident. He didn’t come back with Eric. In fact, his girlfriend hasn’t seen him since that day.”
“Doesn’t
