“Lexus has it coming to her. And what if she did kill Gritty? Someone did! She had all the reason for doing so. He was abusive towards her and never took full responsibility for Peter. She struggled alone with it. And now he is a millionaire! What if she found out about his money and was really pissed off? I wouldn’t blame her for killing that bastard. What a piece of work he was! I am not looking forward to tomorrow but I want this over with. It was never going to be the same with Lex and me anyway. She burned too many bridges with me, her lies have finally caught up to her. I could never trust her again. It is sad but it is over.”
* * * *
She answered the door as if she were waiting for someone. “Do you have any news?” she asked.
“Do you have the coffee pot on?” I felt that giving her such unsettling news at the front door was not an option. I was happy that Marc let me be the one to tell her. He could have sent a cop over. “I have some information. Let’s go and sit in the kitchen.” There was a sprint to her step. I could not read the look that came upon her face. She was more anxious than concerned. She seemed to only want a report of what was happening. She slid the coffee cup over to me so quickly that I grabbed it for fear that it would land on the floor.
“Did they find Gritty?”
“Lexus, they found his body. It was dragged up from the Lachine canal. I’m sorry.” Nothing, not even a blink of an eyelid… she remained calm. At first I felt that she was in some comatose state. Her stillness was unnerving, no reaction what-so-ever! I did not know what to expect from her. I reached out only to have my hand pushed away. She got up and started to whimper something only for her own ears to hear. I approached her and her demeanor was dead. She appeared to be another person, not the Lexus that I had grown to admire and love. “Talk to me Lex,” was all I could say.
“That son of a bitch! How dare he leave us like this! I hate him. I am happy that he is dead and I hope he rots in hell. All the time and effort that I put into that bastard!”
“You’re upset: time will heal. Lexus he was sick. You told me that yourself. He had demons that no one could fix. They were living inside his head.”
“I am only happy that Peter never knew that he was his father. He is better off without him. Adam, I am so mad. You will never understand!”
“Of course I understand. He was a pathological liar. He played everyone: you, me, Peter and the system. Who knows what other stories might crop up with his death being made public?”
“What are you crazy? This must never get out,” she said pleadingly.
“Lex, it is out of my hands now. The homicide department is involved and unfortunately we will all be questioned. Even you!”
“Adam, you have to protect me. I could lose everything. This is my living, Peter’s and my only income.”
“He died a millionaire. They found his bank account and I would say that Peter will inherit his father’s wealth.”
“But there is no record of Grenville being his father.”
“Have you heard of DNA? Of course they can prove him to be Peter’s father. We live in a new world of technology. That’s the easy part. The hard part will be coming clean to Peter and explaining that Gritty was in fact his father.”
“I want to be alone now. Please go.”
“Okay, but answer all calls. You will definitely be called down to the precinct. I’m sorry, this cannot be avoided.” She slammed the door behind me and I knew she just might be planning her escape. I could only hope that she would not do anything stupid. I no sooner left when I got a call from Marc.
“You located him. He is still alive! You knew that already. Why didn’t you tell me this before? Are you free for lunch?”
I couldn’t believe that Donald Haze was still alive. He had to be well into his late 80s. I was anxious for answers and hopefully Marc would have some. I had so many questions for him.
How did this Donald Haze fit into the scheme of things?
Chapter Fifteen
Nick’s had its usual boisterous crowd. Thankfully lunch hour was almost over and the place was emptying. Marc had already reserved us a table. The precinct was around the corner and he always got there before me. Nick nodded from behind the bar as I passed. “I’ll be with you guys in a minute,” he said. I gave him a thumbs up and sat down.
“Where have you been? I was trying to reach you.”
“I finally got the nerve up to tell Lexus the news. It’s funny Marc the way she took it. I thought that she would be a basket case.”
“Wasn’t she?”
“No quite the au contraire; she took it almost too calmly. It was as if she was not at all surprised. I could not make out if she was in shock, relieved at his death or just didn’t give a shit. You must remember Lexus has been through a lot with that guy. I feel she was happy it was finally over.”
“Over, anything but! She will be presented with a subpoena to appear in court. She will have to testify about her involvement with Mr. Haze. It could get really messy. His hiding days will be exposed and there might even be charges brought against her for running a house of sorts, if you get my drift.”
I looked at Marc with question. “But they are two different things. One should not interfere with the other. They are separate.”
“Yes, I am sure that the courts will see that but they will not pass up a chance to open up a whole new kettle of fish. Once they ask for financial statements pertaining to her income that might get them questioning other stuff.”
“Marc, that’s ridiculous! I cannot see the two intertwining. Lexus is really just an innocent bystander.”
“Are you kidding me? She is the mother of Grenville’s son, Peter. She is very involved. They are looking for a motive for his death. He was a millionaire. She had a very good motive for killing him. Her son was to inherit a fortune.”
“But no one knew that Peter was his son.”
“If someone plans a murder, they have definitely thought out how to validate the identity of Peter. Like I said before, it is all in the DNA. For sure they will do the test anyway. They will have to link Grenville with Peter and there is no trace of him being his father from the birth certificate. And the forged certificate will be questioned and also the doctor who issued it,” said Marc with a knowing glance.
“Holy shit! It just goes on and on. I am at a loss as to how to help Lexus.”
“My advice to you is to stay clear of this one. Let the system do its job. People will be held accountable for what they have done. Adam you have every right to continue your investigation.”
“How can I continue; my client is dead.”
“But Lexus is not. Did she mention you representing her? She will undoubtedly need legal defense.”
“I’m not working for one of the suspects in the case. I was working for Gritty and as far as I can see my involvement is over.”
“Okay I won’t push you. Be ready to be put on the stand and questioned. You did know the victim and also the suspect. You might be of great help to the judicial system. You are an encyclopedia of information. At least that is the way I perceive it.”
“I am more concerned about this Donald Haze. You mentioned that he is still living, where?”
“He is in a residence in Westmount. We had to contact him regarding his son’s death. He did not take it well! The nursing staff was concerned for his health. Apparently he needed oxygen.”
“Well of course that would be a shock, learning that your son has died. Not only a shock to your system, but I am sure remorse played a big part of it. I wonder if he ever had any contact with Gritty. Do you think it would be in order for me to pay him a visit? I was probably one of the last communications his son had. Should I give the residence a call?”
“I never thought about that,” said Marc with new concern. “We might have a slim chance of finding out some information that could be helpful to the inv
estigation. Sure give them a call!”
“I feel it will give me some sort of closure. I want to know more about Gritty, his past and what really happened to his mother and him. I want to know why Donald Haze abandoned them.”
“I have to go. They are closing in on a huge drug ring in Laval. I want to be there when they nab those bastards. So, let me know what you find out.”
“Okay Marc, I’ll be in touch.”
* * * *
I made some stops along the way, then headed back to the office. I wanted to place a call to the Manoir Westmount before they closed. Luckily they answered on the first ring.
I asked to speak with the director and they transferred my call to a Miss Prior. At first she was very guarded but when I explained the nature of the situation she mellowed. I arranged a visit for the following day.
“Hey, I thought I saw your car out front.”
“Hi Heather, what’s up?”
“Nothing much, but there was a man looking for you yesterday. He gave me this note to give you. I would have called you but he said it was not important and to be sure to give it to you when I saw you. So here it is! Oh, by the way, I have some left-over sandwiches. How about I bring you up a plate.”
“I’m not going to refuse that offer. Thanks Heather.” It was nice having her around. After I had helped her get her business back on track, Heather and I had become somewhat of friends. Popping into each other’s office was becoming a very natural thing to do. And she always came bearing gifts, food. The moment she left I opened the letter. What the hell! What could he possibly want from me? Before I could wrap my head around the perplexity of it all, Heather returned with my feast. I couldn’t wait to bid her farewell and figure out what would be my next move.
I ate my little snack and packed up the rest to bring home. I wanted to get some work done but now I couldn’t wait to get home. I found myself relying more and more on Richard’s input. He was not as involved with the case as me so his neutral opinion added value. He had this wonderful keen sense of being able to not get as emotionally involved as me. I knew that he would be as shocked as I was with the letter and its unusual request.
* * * *
“I was about to call you. You’re home early?”
“I hope you did not bother too much with dinner. I met up with Marc and we got a bite at Nick’s. Then Heather gave us this gift package.”
“No actually I was going to suggest we order in a pizza or something. I think I found us the perfect office downtown. You are still interested in opening another office, aren’t you?”
“Yeah of course I am but look at what was delivered to my office yesterday.” Richard looked inquisitive and opened the letter.
“What the fuck! Do you think he connects us? His timing is right on.”
“No, it says that he, being Gritty’s former employer was saddened at his passing.”
“Bullshit! We both know that’s not the case here,” said Richard getting red in the face. He hated him. “Gritty took a lot of secrets to his grave and what a relief that must be for our dear Mr. Forth. Are you going to meet up with him then?”
“He wants to. Is it possible that Jessica might have let the cat out of the bag? How loyal is she to you?”
“I can almost swear on it that she would never say anything. She gave me Gritty’s file and her job would be on the line for that. She is not stupid. She would never jeopardize her position within Invor. She is paid well for what she does. I would almost bet that she did not say anything. I trust her.”
“Okay then, I will call and have him come into the office.”
“I can’t blow my cover now. I always thought that Invor got rid of me last week because they might have suspicion that I was there for the wrong reasons. I found out today that they found a more qualified person for the post and because of him being directly out of McGill and it being his first job, they were able to pay him half the salary they paid me. I was only on trial for three months anyway.”
“How did you find all that out? Oh, let me guess, Jessica!”
“What can I tell you? The girl is crazy for me.” We both saw the humor in it and had a good laugh. I really needed to lighten up a bit.
“I forgot to tell you the most important news of the day. I have an appointment tomorrow to meet with Donald Haze.”
“You what?”
“Yes, Gritty’s father is still around. He is in his late 80s but after talking to the director, she said he has his wits about him. He is just physically immobile. And the best part of it all is he is willing to meet with me.”
“This is crazy. The plot thickens. What’s your take on it all? Do you still think Lexus has a hand in his murder?”
“I really don’t know. She got really cold with me when I told her the news. Not at all like I expected. When Stewart came around with the van to take her shopping she immediately dismissed me saying that she wanted to be alone.”
“Who is Stewart?”
“He is one of the residents; he helps her out with the heavy chores. I had a bit of a power struggle with him the first week that Gritty was at the home. He is a big son-of-a-bitch. I was happy that he was living there though. No one would mess with Lexus with that hulk around.”
“We could narrow it down to major suspects.”
“No, don’t go there. I told you that I am officially off this case. My client is dead and I will let the law handle the rest.”
“Come on Adam, you know well enough that you are itching to find out who the killer is. Lexus hated him and had a good reason for murder. Peter, although supposedly mentally challenged, stands to inherit a fortune. What if he is not so dumb? What if he and his mother are working together as a team? And then there is his past lover Mr. Forth who suddenly has come out of the woodwork. Seems strange to me! Forth had his reputation to keep and Gritty was a livewire, vomiting information and probably in constant contact with Forth. So far we have three suspects with multiple reasons for murder.”
“You’re right Richard. And who the hell knows how many others that he pissed off. He also had a street life. Surely he met some real winners while living in that box. And then there is Bobby. We never questioned him again but if I were he and Gritty just took off on me, I would want to make him pay, big time.”
“Suspect number four and still counting,” said Richard with a gleam in his eye. “It looks as if we have our work cut out for us.”
“We cannot make any presumptions until we do things in the order of importance. Tomorrow is my meeting with Donald Haze. Then I will schedule a meeting with Forth. You on the other hand will have to sweeten the pot with Jessica and find out what she knows about Bobby. And what in the hell is his last name. No one ever mentioned it.”
“I’ll call her tonight and although it makes my blood pressure rise, I will take her out to lunch. She will be over the moon and the thought of a woman touching me makes me want to be sick. But in the name of business, I will have to concede to minimal petting.” No sooner were his words spoken, then he looked towards me, teasingly, for a reaction. I felt seeing as he was cooperating so much, I would feed his ego.
“Remember, no mush. You are mine and I won’t have some dimwitted female mess with my man. Richard, I mean it.”
“Stop being jealous. You know I don’t swing that way. I only have eyes for you my love.” He bent down and gave me a tender kiss and we continued to plan out our schedule of what had to be done.
I heard him place the call to Jessica and he no sooner hung up when he screeched with excitement. “What’s up,” I asked?
“Jessica wanted to know what the nature of our meeting was. I told her I was looking for a Bobby. I did not give his last name. She said he still worked there.”
“That’s good right!”
“You’re not going to believe what else she said.”
“I hate
it when you do this Richard. Spill the beans. I’m going to hit you if you don’t say something quickly.” But what he answered almost made me lose my balance. Bobby’s last name was Forth. What about the nanny and living with Gritty? I was more confused than ever.
Bobby Forth would have to have some answers for me or perhaps his father Mr. Forth of Invor Research would. I was under the impression that Bobby was the result of an affair between the mayor of Montreal and his mother. I guess that made it very clear about using the term of trading favours. They also traded ladies.
Chapter Sixteen
The place was beautiful. I was greeted at the front door by a dignified looking security guard. His smile set the precedence, assuring me of a pleasant visit. Immaculate scrubbed floors and cheerful music ushered me to the front desk. Could it get any better? The receptionist must have been informed of my coming for she greeted me like a long lost brother. First impressions have always been the key to success and my impression of the Manoir Westmount was a welcoming one. Within moments a woman in a nurse’s uniform led the way to Donald Haze’s apartment. We exchanged pleasantries and before long I was entering the most eclectic surroundings that I had ever seen.
Mr. Haze’s collection of art and furniture was beyond proper description. African masks were boldly placed on the long corridor leading to the back of the apartment. The story that they were itching to tell had hidden secrets of travels long ago. Just before the hall expanded into the living room was a beautiful hand painted Murano vase. Africa… Italy; this man had obviously traveled extensively and with no lack of funds. It was as if my entrance was being saluted. Mozart was accompanying my walk with his rendition of The Magic Flute. It was the perfect setting and the utmost welcome feeling. The walk down the corridor seemed like an eternity. Anticipation escorted me. I couldn’t wait to meet this man.
The room was decorated with Louis XIV furniture. Richard had a varied interest in antiques and I could not help but identify and learn from him. Large figural designs adorned with heavy claw-like legs held the tables in place displaying solid wood frames of oak and walnut. He had a diversified array of low-and high-back brightly coloured cushioned chairs. Hung above his ornate fireplace was a huge mirror with motifs of human faces, sun gods and foliage carved out of golden metalized material. One wall was a drapery of velvet fabric which exhibited his art collection. I did not even want to imagine the authenticity or age regarding some of the work.
Gritty Page 14