Page 101 of Sapphire Nights
Walker gestured for Monty to sit back. “Tell us about Juan and Gump,” he said to Francois, offering him a stick ofgum.
The chauffeur ripped off the wrapperand chewed to calm himself. “They are murdering turds,” Francois finallysaid.
Monty clenched his hands in an apparent attempt to keep from throttling his mother’s toady. Walker had to keep one eye on him while interviewingFrancois.
“You saw them kill Michael Walker?” he asked withoutinflection.
Francois shrugged. “I saw nothing back then. The green-jacket turd told me heneeded to change his tire, and I gave him my tools. He brought them back washed. He was wearing his ugly green jacket when he borrowed the tools but not after. He stank of sweat, but I thought nothing of it until I saw him get in a car with matching tires. Who keeps matching tires for a spare? Not in that littleCorvette.”
Walker’s gut twisted, but he pushed on. “Was anyone else with Gumpwho might have seen him change or not change histire?”
“Juan,” Francois spat. “The blackmailing little worm was everywhere, even back then. I had to give him the watch Mrs. Kennedy gave me for Christmas when he threatened to tell her I was letting kids wash the car and pocketing the extra she paid me to have itdone.”
Monty raised his eyebrows. “That was an expensive watch. Youmake that much on carwashes?”
Walker figured the blackmail was over more than car washes, but that line of questioning was beside the point. He gestured for Monty toquiet.
“So Juan might have seen Gump using your tools for whatever purpose?” Walkerasked.
Francois shrugged. “I saw Juan burn a green coat in the incinerator. It looked muddy, and when I asked him about it,he told me Gump was good for a lot of cash for keeping his mouth shut. I figured I’d look out for chances, but the ugly coats did not come back much after that, not until recently. The snake shed his green skin, but he was stillpoisonous.”
Walker kept his expression neutral, even realizing that Francois offered only circumstantial evidence that Gump had killed his father. But everyoneinvolved was dead, adequately punished for theirmisdeeds.
What mattered was how justice should be servednow.
“And recently?” Walker asked. “What made you take the gun? Were youfrightened?”
Francois gestured dismissively. “Me? Not me. It was Mrs. Kennedy. That pig Juan threatened to tell you about how the skeleton died. He said it would look very bad for her and her family.He wanted a payincrease.”
Shit. Walker glanced at Monty, who ran his hand over his eyes at this hint that his father may have been involved inmurder.
“Your uncle learned from your experience with Juan’s blackmail,” Walker told the mayor, not opening the path of Kennedy involvement in the skeletal remains. “Presumably, your mother didtoo?”
Monty nodded understanding. “Juanwas allbluff.”
“So how did Mrs. Kennedy deal with Juan?” Walker asked, as if they were sitting at a bar carrying on irrelevant barchat.
Francois rolled the water bottle between his hands. “She got the gun from the vault. She locked it there when the mister died, said she didn’t want her boys to haveit.”
“And then she shot Juan?” Walker asked, allowing a hint of incredulitythrough.
Francois shook his shaggy head. “No! She is a lady. She would never do such a thing. She just threatened the swine and told him if he ever approached her in such a manner again, she would kill him rather than just fire him. She finally booted the littleturd.”
Monty raised his eyebrows. “That must have been the night she was in such a rage. She told us she’d fired the wretch,and Kurt argued. Juan was a rat, but he was an observant rat and good at hisjob.”
Walker nodded and directed his question at Francois. “And then she told you to put the gun back in thevault?”
Francois nodded. “She gave me the key and the gun. But Gump was there that night. I saw him having dinner, and I remembered what Juan said about him paying big cash. So when I had a chance,I told him that Juan had been blackmailing Mrs. Kennedy about the skeleton on the property. I didn’t know what he knew, but I took a chance, just to see if he’d pay to keep my mouthshut.”
Xavier drained his bottle and set the empty on the table. “I remember that night. Kurt had to drive me home because Gump was staying at the lodge and had been drinking. Gump didn’t want to take me homeas he usuallydid.”
Walker nodded and turned back to Francois. “And then whathappened?”
“Gump gave me a hundred, thanked me for letting him know. He asked if he could borrow the gun before I put it back. He said he wanted to threaten Juan into leaving so he didn’t bother Mrs. Kennedy again. I thought maybe he was sweet onher.”
Monty buried his head in his hands, and Walkersympathized. The mayor had to suck up the knowledge that his family was the reason that a monster had been unleashed on Hillvale. And the second time was his and Kurt’s fault. The two of them had sat there that night, discussing plans for a development with a murderer. That was how Monty’s father’s life had ended—with blood on hissoul.
“You didn’t think anything of it when Gump returnedthe gun at midnight and told you to take it to the vault?” Walker asked, sounding like a cynicalcop.
“It smelled of gunpowder,” Francois said in distaste. “I’d heard the shots earlier, but Bernardo said he’d heard a lion in the woods, and Gump had been shooting at it. I took his money and drove the gun to the vault and didn’t think anythingmore.”
“Until morning, when you learnedJuan was dead?” Walker asked indisgust.
Francois chomped on his gum hard enough to crack molars and refused tospeak.
