She was right. You probably could use those more than once. Who knew?
ôHe wasnÆt kidnapped as far as we can tell,ö said Chase. ôWe found his car parked in front of the farm, so he must have driven there under his own steam.ö
ôMaybe they took him there at gunpoint?ö Fabrizio suggested. ôMade him drive his own car?ö
ôI can promise you that weÆre looking into all of that,ö said Chase. ôBut for now, can you tell us where you both were last night between ten and midnight?ö
Maisie and her brother-in-law shared a look of surprise.ôYou donÆt think we had anything to do with what happened to my husband, do you?ö asked Maisie.
ôJust a routine inquiry, I can assure you,ö said Odelia kindly.
ôWell, I was right here,ö said Maisie. ôAfter Eric called, I watched some television and went to bed.ö
ôAnd you, Mr. Blandine?ö
ôSame. I mean, I watched TV and went to bed.ö
ôCan anyone vouch for that?ö
They both shook their heads.
ôYouÆre not married?ö asked Chase.
ôI was married, but my wife left me,ö said Fabrizio unhappily.
ôLook, how is this important?ö asked Maisie.
ôWeÆre trying to form a picture of your husband, Mrs. Blandine,ö said Odelia. ôWhat he was like, what kind of life he led, the people he knewùeverything we can find out.ö
ôBut isnÆt it obvious that he was killed because someone thought he was Cotton?ö
ôItÆs all right, Maisie,ö said Fabrizio. ôMy wife left me for her fitness instructor. HeÆs about ten years younger than she is. This was five years ago. We never had kids, so thatÆs why I was home alone last night, just like IÆve been home alone every night for the past five years. I hope that satisfies your curiosity?ö
He was starting to get a little belligerent, which wasnÆt surprising. People whose relatives have just been killed donÆt enjoy answering a lot of questions probing into their personal lives, especially when those questions touch upon a sensitive topic.
ôI hope youÆll catch EricÆs killer,ö said Maisie when she escorted us to the door. ôAnd I hope youÆll let us have his body as soon as possible. We have a funeral to arrange, after all.ö And with these words, she slammed the door shut.
ôThat was fun,ö said Chase as we returned to the car.
ôIt always is,ö Odelia said.
ôAt least Tobias didnÆt tell them about the removed liver,ö said Chase as he clicked his seatbelt into place. ôThough at some point they will need to be told.ö
ôBest they hear it from us,ö said Odelia, ôand not the newspaper.ö
Which was ironic, since Odelia is a reporter, after all. Then again, sheÆs not that kind of reporterùthe kind that loves to dish out the most gruesome and gory details of a case, hoping to shock people and drive up circulation.
Just at that moment, a message came in on ChaseÆs phone. He read it, a frown on his face. ôAbe,ö he clarified. ôLooks like Eric Blandine was stabbed to death. Single stab wound to the abdomen, his liver removed after the fact. Also, the liver that was sent to the office was indeed BlandineÆs.ö He shared a look with his wife. ôLetÆs have a chat with the Duck Liberation Front.ö
Chapter 12
The person in charge of the Duck Liberation Front or DLF was a young woman named Lita Fiol. She worked behind the checkout at the Happy Bean, a shop that sells all manner of product that might appeal to your health-minded fellow man, and has a selection especially devoted to the vegetarian section of the population.
The Happy Bean wasnÆt exactly buzzing with life when we stepped into the store and listened to the happily clanging bell attached to the door. Only a single customer was present, and seemed to have a hard time deciding between various iterations of tofu.
Lita Fiol wasnÆt thrilled to see us, and with us of course I mean Chase, as a representative of the police department.
ôIÆve talked to your people already,ö she said the moment Chase had produced his badge and so had Odelia. ôAnd IÆve got nothing to add. The man got exactly what he deserved for murdering thousands upon thousands of innocent ducks. It was one bucket of paint, for crying out loud! Send me the bill for the dry cleaners and IÆll happily pay it.ö
She was a petite sort of woman, dressed in an eclectic assortment of clothes. I detected a tie-dye T-shirt in psychedelic colors, a black sleeveless shirt draped across it, a chain around her neck from which a small dreamcatcher dangled, and black leggings over white lace-up sneakers. Her hair was short and stylishly messy, and she wore plenty of black eyeliner and a nose piercing. All in all, I guess, she looked like your average teen, though she was probably in her early to mid-twenties.
ôWeÆre not here about the paint, Miss Fiol,ö said Chase.
ôIÆm afraid thereÆs been a murder,ö Odelia explained.
The girlÆs eyes went wide. ôA murder!ö
ôA man named Eric Blandine was murdered last night,ö said Chase. ôHeÆd been hired by the Karat Group to replace Cotton Karat for the time being. The man you dumped paint on yesterday was in fact Mr. Blandine, and not Mr. Karat.ö
The girl blinked.ôI donÆt understand.ö
ôFor reasons we wonÆt go into, Blandine was hired to take CottonÆs place.ö
ôMr. Blandine was murdered at a duck farm,ö said Odelia. ôHis liver was removed and placed in a foie gras tin, then delivered along with a message to his office this morning. The message was sent by the Duck Liberation Front.ö She showed the message on her phone, and Lita read it with bloodcreeping up her cheeks until they were both a bright crimson.
ôDid you send this message, Miss Fiol?ö asked Chase finally.
ôNo, of course not! Are you crazy? Send a manÆs liver toàö She blinked. ôWait a minute. Are you accusing me of murdering this guy and shipping his liver off to his office?ö
ôIn light of the fact that youÆve been staging multiple protests against Mr. Karat and the foie gras his company produces, and after the protest yesterday at Town Hall, I donÆt think itÆs hard to imagine you or one of your members are behind this business.ö
She held up her hands in a gesture of defense.ôLook, I admit I had a beef with the guy. But I would never murder him. IÆm not a violent person, Detective Kingsley.ö
ôShe looked a little violent yesterday,ö Dooley commented.
ôThey all looked a little violent,ö I agreed. ôEven Gran and Scarlett.ö
ôDo you think Gran is behind this? Her and Scarlett?ö
ôI donÆt think so. Though it probably wonÆt hurt to ask.ö
ôWhere were you last night between ten and midnight, Miss Fiol?ö asked Chase.
She blinked.ôHome. Alone.ö
ôIs that right?ö
ôYes, thatÆs right,ö she said, taking a defiant stance.
ôIÆm going to need a list of all the members of the DLF.ö
ôImpossible.ö
ôWe could get a warrant,ö said Odelia.
ôAnd search your house,ö said Chase, ôsearch this shopùget that list off your computer.ö
ôYou wouldnÆt dare.ö
ôI donÆt think you understand the trouble youÆre in, Miss Fiol. A man has been brutally murdered, his liver removed as if he was a duck, and a message from your organization sent to his office claiming responsibility for the murder.ö
ôBut I didnÆt do it!ö she cried.
Just then, the client whoÆd been perusing the tofu section approached the counter. It was an elderly lady who was holding up two packets of tofu. ôCan you please tell me which one of these has chicken, miss?ö
ôIÆll be with you shortly,ö said Lita with a strained smile. ôAfter IÆve dealt with these people.ö
ôOh, all right,ö said the woman, and wandered off again.
ôLook, I was at a DLF meeting last night, all right?ö said Lita. ôI didnÆt want to tell you, since some of our members donÆt appreciate it when their names and pictures are plastered all over the paper.ö
ôSo why do they join the protests?ö asked Odelia, not unreasonably. ôThey must know theyÆll be photographed.ö