ôHe says heÆs Cotton KaratÆs lawyer? A Tobias Pushman.ö
Moments later, we all stood outside with Mr. Pushman, who I remembered from the day before, when heÆd been accompanying Mr. Karat to Town Hall. He looked as slick and well-dressed as yesterday, only his demeanor was more subdued, which was hardly surprising, considering heÆd just lost his client.
ôWhat IÆm going to tell you has to stay between us,ö the lawyer urged Chase and Odelia.
ôIÆm sorry, sir,ö said Chase. ôBut I canÆt make that promise.ö
The lawyer thought for a moment, then decided to take his chances.
ôThat man in there? The man who died? His name isnÆt Cotton Karat.ö
Chase frowned.ôAnd I have it on good authority that it is.ö
The lawyer sized Chase up for a moment, as if wondering if it was a good idea to take the detective into his confidence.ôCotton Karat is holed up in a rehab clinic right now, kicking a nasty addiction. I just spoke to him on the phone and heÆs alive and well.ö
Chase and Odelia shared a look of confusion.ôSo who is the dead man?ö asked Chase.
ôHis name is Eric Blandine, and he was standing in for Cotton while heÆs staying at the clinic. You see, it was imperative that people thought it was business as usual at the Karat Group, in light of certain recent events that involved Cotton displaying behavior that reflected badly on the group.ö
ôYou mean the shareholdersÆ meeting where he was drooling all over that model?ö
The lawyer winced.ôYou can understand how a drop of fifty percent in share price had us all on the ropes. So it was decided that Cotton would take a step back, until he got his life back on track. In the meantime we asked Blandine to step in. And he did a great job.ö
ôAre you telling us that it wasnÆt Cotton Karat who received that award yesterday?ö asked Odelia. ôBut Eric Blandine?ö
The lawyer nodded.ôThatÆs exactly what IÆm saying.ö
ôI thought he acted a little out of character,ö said Odelia.
ôEric was still learning the ropes. It was early days. But with a little help from me and CottonÆs family, he was getting there.ö He dragged a hand through his perfect coiffure. ôAnd now this,ö he said, gesturing to the barn.
ôDo you have any idea who might have killed Mr. Jardine?ö asked Chase.
ôBlandine. And yes, I have a pretty good idea,ö said Tobias Pushman, his expression hardening. He reached into his car and came away with a sizable tin of foie gras. ôThis arrived at the office this morning.ö
ôFoie gras?ö asked Chase, staring at the tin.
ôNot exactly,ö said Mr. Pushman, and opened the tin.
Judging from the horrified expressions on Chase and OdeliaÆs faces, I understood it wasnÆt the delicacy that had made the Karat Group famous that was in that tin. But it was only when Odelia lowered the tin so Dooley and I could take a sniff that I understood.
The tin contained a perfectly preserved, gleamingly fresh human organ.
And if I wasnÆt mistaken, it was in fact Eric BlandineÆs liver.
Chapter 10
ôThere was also a message,ö said Tobias Pushman as he handed an envelope to Chase.
Odelia had quickly closed the tin and had put it in an evidence bag her husband had supplied. She and Chase now read the message the envelope contained.
Odelia read out loud for our benefit,ôæThe ducks will have their revenge! This is your first warning! Stop the atrocity or more people will die! Foie gras is murder! Ducks are people, too!Æö She looked up. ôSounds a lot like the animal rights activists we saw yesterday.ö
ôThey like their exclamation marks, donÆt they, Max?ö said Dooley, whoÆd listened with bated breath, just like I had.
ôActivists in general arenÆt known for their subtlety,ö I said. ôThey like bold statements, and bold statements seem to include a lot of exclamation marks.ö
ôLook at this,ö said Tobias as he pointed to the envelope.
Chase and Odelia squinted as they took in what looked like a symbol printed on the envelope.ôDLF,ö Odelia finally read, and looked up at her husband. ôItÆs the Duck Liberation Front. The group my gran and Scarlett joined.ö
ôWait, your grandmother is part of the group that killed Mr. Blandine?ö asked Tobias.
ôIÆm sure she wasnÆt aware theyÆre as radical as this,ö Odelia assured the lawyer.
ôSo this envelope arrived with the tin?ö asked Chase.
Tobias nodded.ôWas on CottonÆs desk when I arrived at the office this morning.ö
ôWe better have it checked against Mr. Blandine,ö said Odelia. ôBut as far as I can tellùthough IÆm not an expert on human livers, obviouslyùthis could very well be the murdered manÆs liver.ö
ôIn which case this Duck Liberation Front have just turned to murder as a way of protesting against foie gras,ö Chase concluded.
ôDo you have any idea what Blandine was doing here last night?ö asked Odelia.
ôNone. He certainly didnÆt advise me of his plans.ö
ôWhen was the last time you saw him?ö
ôYesterday at six. We left the office together. I went home, and I assumed he was going home, too.ö
ôWhere was home for Mr. Blandine while he was playing the part of Cotton Karat?ö asked Chase.
ôWeÆd set him up at CottonÆs place for the time being. It was important that he looked the part, so weÆd instructed him on the kind of clothes Cotton likes to wear, CottonÆs hairstylist had given him a haircut, but otherwise weÆd told Blandine to keep a low profile. He wasnÆt to go out to restaurants or socialize if he could avoid it. In fact weÆd cleared his schedule as much as we could. The awards thing yesterday was something we couldnÆt get out of, unfortunately, but otherwise we were working to limit BlandineÆs exposure to an absolute minimum.ö He sighed. ôWhich is why IÆm surprised he came here last night.ö
ôDidnÆt he have security?ö
ôOf course. He had two bodyguards assigned to him at all times.ö
ôSo what happened?ö
Tobias looked sheepish.ôHe gave them the slip. Said heÆd gone to bed, but he must have snuck out through the bedroom window and taken off. They only found out this morning, when the maid came to open his bedroom curtains and discovered him gone.ö
Chase nodded, and studied BlandineÆs phone through the clear plastic of the evidence bag. ôHe must have received a message to meet him here at some point. A message from a person he thought he could trust. And walked straight into a trap.ö
ôWell, it wasnÆt me,ö said Tobias, looking alarmed. ôI had nothing to gain from BlandineÆs death. On the contrary. If the Karat Group goes belly-up IÆm out of a job. Not to mention my stock options will be reduced to zero.ö
ôNevertheless I have to ask, Mr. Pushman. Where were you last night between ten and midnight?ö
ôI told you. I left the office at six and went home. I worked out at my home gym for an hour, then had dinner and spent the rest of the evening figuring out ways and means to further clear BlandineÆs schedule so we could pull off CottonÆs big disappearance trick.ö
ôCan anyone vouch for you?ö
Tobias shook his head.ôI live alone. But why would I kill Blandine? It makes no sense.ö
Chase grunted something, but I think we could all see that the lawyer had a point. Why would he go out and murder Eric Blandine? He had absolutely no reason to.
Which brought us right back to the Duck Liberation Front.
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The next person to talk to was of course the poor guy whoÆd found the body. Merle Poltorak looked as distressed as anyone would be if the first thing they saw when they arrived for work were the murdered remains of their biggest client. Merle might be used to murdering ducks on a regular basis, but clearly the sight of Eric BlandineÆs corpse had affected him greatly. His weather-beaten face was quite pale and drawn.
ôWhen exactly did you come upon the body of the dead man, Mr. Poltorak?ö asked Chase.
ôSeven oÆclock,ö said Merle, rubbing a stubbled cheek. ôIÆd mucked out the big barn and was going to start on the smaller one when I practically stumbled over him. I knew he was dead the minute I laid eyes on him.ö