The Case of the Mock Murder
Chapter 21
21.1
Ed Brown and Paul Drake were released in downtown Chicago. They watched as Dareau's men sped away in their vehicle.
"Thanks a lot!" Paul yelled after them. "Leaving us here, miles away from our car!"
"Forget it, Paul. We can get a cab. First, we have to call the chief. He and Perry need to know about Dareau," Ed said.
"What did you make of all that?" Paul asked.
Ed thought for a moment before answering. "I don't know. Dareau claims he is not a member of the Revolution, but admits beating up Frank Rousseau. Then he tells us to have the chief and Perry do nothing; that everything will work itself out. How does he know that? And how can it all just work itself out?"
"That's easy," Paul replied. "If Rousseau's body is not found, Robert walks. Perry knew what he was doing when he called for a dismissal based on the lack of a body and nobody actually declaring him dead."
"Dareau obviously doesn't know Arthur Tragg. He thinks Robert is guilty. He is not going to stop until he finds out what happened to Frank Rousseau."
"Well, standing here is not going to answer any questions. Let's get a cab and call the chief." Sergeant Brown looked down the street both ways, looking for a taxi cab.
Paul grabbed his arm. "What if Dareau is telling the truth? What if he is no longer a member of the Revolution or never was? Don't you think we should check it out?"
"I think we need to talk to Perry and the chief." Ed hailed a cab as it pulled to the curb. He and Paul got in and Ed gave the cab driver the location of their rented car.
21.2
Perry and Ironside arrived in the garage of the lawyer's apartment building. Mason shut off the vehicle, got out of the car, and pulled his brother's wheelchair from the back seat. Wheeling it around to the passenger side, he opened the door and helped him into his chair. Mason got behind the chair and pushed his brother to the door of the apartment building. After the lawyer unlocked and opened the door, Ironside placed his hands on both sides of the door frame, and pulled his chair into the building.
They traveled to the elevator in silence. Both men were lost in their own thoughts, yet thinking about the same thing... their interview with Robert. When they reached the elevator, Perry pushed the button to bring it to their floor. Ironside turned his chair so that the back was to the elevator door. As soon as the doors opened, he backed his chair inside. Perry followed him in, and pushed the button representing the floor his apartment was located.
They got out of the elevator and they headed down the hall. Perry unlocked the door, opened it, and shut off the alarm. "Della!"
When he received no response from her, he went looking for her. Ironside waited in the living room for his brother to return. Perry returned a couple minutes later. "Della is not here. She always calls me and let's me know where she is going. I don't like her out at night without me."
"She did not tell you she was planning to go out?" Ironside inquired.
"No." Perry reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone. He called his secretary and waited for an answer that never came. He displayed a look of concern. Where could she be? "She is not answering her phone," he told his brother.
"She will call, Perry. Maybe she went out to get dinner to bring back," he said. Trying to refocus his younger brother, he wheeled over to him. "Now, show me what was in that safety deposit box."
Mason hesitated, his thoughts still with Della Street. He was uneasy about her not answering her phone. She knew he would worry under normal circumstances; he preferred her close to him whenever they were working on a case. He could not protect her when she was away from him.
Maybe Bob was right. She may just have gone to get dinner. They had not been doing a lot of cooking since this case began. He looked at his brother and nodded. He disappeared up the very few stairs to the elevated area where the bedrooms were located. He headed down the hall, only to returned shortly with an envelope in his hand. Walking over to Ironside, he dropped it in his lap.
"That is what I picked up from the safety deposit box," he told him.
"What is in it?" Ironside asked.
"Open it and take a look for yourself," Mason said.
Ironside did exactly that. He pulled the contents out and set the envelope back in his lap, as he looked over the material. The money trail Mason had lost to the police was included, but it was not what caught the detective's eye. He held up a piece of paper and read the message contained within.
Robert, you must check this out. It will answer a question that I am sure is bothering you.
The Douglas Mental Health University Institute
Perry looked down at his brother. "Does that mean anything to you? Do you know where this Institute is?"
Ironside scratched his chin. "If memory serves me correctly, it is located in Montreal."
"So what does that mean? Why would he have you checking out a mental institution?"
Ironside shook his head. "I haven't a clue, but if Frank wanted us to check it out, that is exactly what we are going to do. It must have something to do with this case."
"Bob, has it occurred to you that he set this all up; the clues in his hotel room; the safety deposit box; and now the clue to this mental institution?"
"He must have known something was going to happen at the police convention. He had to set this all up before he came here."
"Could he have sacrificed his life to protect you and Robert?" Perry wondered.
"I think we will know a lot more when we check out the Douglas Mental University Institute. We have to send Paul or Ed back to Montreal," Ironside said. "We can't check it from here."
Ironside reached into his suit coat pocket and pulled out his cell phone. Ed's number was posted on the home screen. He pressed the icon that represented his sergeant, and waited for Brown to answer.
Ed Brown recognized the chief's number immediately. "Hi, Chief. We just got in a taxi and were about to call you," Ed answered.
"Taxi? I thought you were going to rent a car," Ironside growled.
"We did. It's a long story," Ed groaned.
"I don't want long stories, I want answers. What have you found out?"
Brown told him about being picked up by Armand Deneau and what they had learned from him.
Ironside contemplated what it all meant before he resumed his questioning. "He did not offer any explanation beyond it will all work itself out?"
"No, sir, we questioned him but he would not tell us anything more than that."
"Ed, is it possible that he is telling the truth?" Ironside asked.
"Paul and I were wondering the same thing. It would explain why his name was on that hit list on the board at the Revolutions headquarters."
Perry, who could hear the conversation, as his brother had the sound on his phone turned up to maximum, interrupted. "Bob, that would also mean that the Revolution knows that Dareau is not actually working with them."
"But, it does not explain why Dareau had Frank Rousseau beat up," Ed pointed out, hearing Perry in the background.
"It does, if Frank had been working with Dareau," Ironside told his sergeant. "They could have staged it in order to convince the Revolution that Dareau was still working with them."
"But, he would not be on the hit list, Chief, if they thought he was still with them, " Paul Drake said, obviously listening in.
"Dareau may not know that they are on to him. They could be playing him along... using him," Perry surmised.
"What do you want us to do, Chief?" Ed asked.
"Something else has come up, Ed. Frank left an envelope behind. He did not explain the contents, probably because he was afraid it might fall into the wrong hands. So, we are going to have to find out what it all means." He told Brown what he and Perry had found out about the mental institution in Montreal.
"We can fly back to Montreal and check it out," Paul said.
"No, only one of you should fly back," Perry interjected. "One of you needs to stay in Chicago and continue to find out what Dareau is up to."
"I agree with Perry. Paul, you go back to Montreal and find out what that mental institution has to do with this case. Ed, you stay in Chicago and find out if Dareau is working for or against the Revolution. I want to know why he thinks this will all work out. Is that clear?"
"Got it, Chief. We will call you as soon as we find out something." The phone went dead.
"Okay, now that we have them checking on that end, why don't we check out this money trail?" Perry said.
The doorbell rang. Mason and Ironside both looked in its direction. "Della must have forgotten her key," Mason said, as he headed for the door. He opened it, and found Lieutenant Arthur Tragg standing there.
Mason, still fuming at what Tragg had allowed Holcomb to do, stood there with a dark expression on his face. He waited for the lieutenant to explain his visit.
"Della is across the street picking up dinner. We have been checking out the money trail." Mason just stood there glaring at him, even as relief ran through him knowing that Della was alright.
"Are you going to invite me in, Perry, or are you going to make me stand in the hall?"
"What do you want, Tragg?" Perry demanded. He was not in the mood to argue with the lieutenant. "And what do you mean you have been checking out the money trail? Why is Della with you?"
"She came to see me. She really read me the riot act." He stood there a moment before going on. "I guess I deserved it. She told me you did not know anything about her visit."
"I did not," Mason acknowledged.
"Well, anyway, she and Hamilton convinced me to look beyond the obvious," he said, with a smile.
Mason softened a little with the expression Tragg had used. It was just like Della to play the peacemaker. Still, Mason just stood there.
Ironside wheeled his chair towards the door. "Well, are you going to invite him in or shut the door in his face?"
Mason looked at his brother. He could read his expression, which was telling him to let Tragg in. Perry stepped back and opened the door wider. Tragg entered his apartment.
For a moment no one said anything. Ironside and Mason stood there staring at Tragg.
"I don't blame you for your reaction to me showing up here. Della convinced me that I have been acting like a jackass. I want you to know, Chief, I did not know that Holcomb put you in that cell with those men. I thought he had enough sense to isolate you from the rest of the prisoners."
Mason's temper began to rise. "He should not have been there to begin with... in any cell at all."
"I really did believe that you knew something about Rousseau's body. That is why I authorized him to put pressure on you."
"I testified... under oath that I did not. Do you really think that I would lie on the witness stand?" Ironside snarled.
"I thought your judgment was clouded by the fact that Robert Duvalier is your son, but Della made me realize it was my judgment that was clouded. My pride got in the way. I allowed that mock murder to go on and I blame myself for Rousseau's death. I hope both of you will accept my apology."
Again Ironside and Mason said nothing. Perry decided to allow Robert to decide whether or not to accept Tragg's apology. After all, he was the one that was wronged.
Ironside stared at Tragg with those steely blue eyes and finally said,, "Oh hell, forget it, Tragg. What did you find out regarding the money trail?"
Mason shut the door and led Tragg to the living room. "Sit down, Lieutenant."
Arthur Tragg sat down on Perry's couch. The door to the apartment opened and Della walked in carrying a bag. The aroma of Chinese food filled the room. She looked at the three men and said, "Do we have a truce, gentlemen?"
"We do," Perry said.
"Since we are all after the same thing, I think it is time we work together. With Robert coordinating, we should be able to get to the bottom of this in no time," Della said, optimistically.
Perry held back a smile. Everything would be alright... because Della was going to make sure they all got along. He watched Della head to the kitchen to dish up the Chinese food.
"What did you find out about the money trail?" Ironside asked Tragg again.
"First of all, I did not find out anything. The bank manager was not about to give me any information without a court order. Della stepped in and charmed the information right out of him."
"He gave her private information on someone's account without a court order?" Ironside said in disbelief.
"The manager was a young man in his thirties. He could not take his eyes off Della. She told him a man's life depended on his help. He could not resist her. By the time we were all done, he could not do enough for us. Before we left, he asked Della to dinner. Della just smiled at him and said she was already seeing someone. He apparently did not like being turn down. He told us he could get us into a lot of trouble for pressuring him into giving out private information. Della told him we did not pressure him in the least; that if he felt that strongly about it, he could have the bank's district manager contact her boss, Perry Mason.
"I tell you, the color drained from his face when he realized who she was. I thought he was going to faint when he asked her if she was Della Street. Della told him she was, and Mr. Mason would contact the district manager himself, if he would give her his name. He started to back peddle and told her that was not necessary; that he wasn't actually saying he would get them in trouble. He excused himself and beat a path away from us. I think he was headed for the men's room to relieve himself before he had to change his clothes."
Ironside and Perry began laughing. Della walked into the room, carrying the Chinese food, plates and forks on a tray. "I didn't think you boys would patch things up this fast." She dished up the food and placed it in front of the men.
"The lieutenant was telling us about how you charmed the bank manager," Perry said, with a laugh.
Della smiled. "Sometimes it helps to throw your name around, Perry." Everyone laughed again.
When the laughter subsided, Ironside asked again, "What did you find out?"
"You were right about the money. It went back further then we checked. It came from an overseas account in the name of Pierre Fougere. And Perry, according to the bank officials, Fougere proved his identity to their satisfaction. They have some pretty stringent rules."
"What do you mean to their satisfaction?" Ironside asked.
Tragg looked at Ironside and responded, "The bank requires fingerprints to prove identity. They have had major lawsuits with different countries' law enforcement around the world due to criminals hiding money. They have cleaned up their act."
"Did you have those prints checked against the ones on file in San Francisco?" Perry asked.
"I contacted Chief Ironside's office. I sent the prints to Fran Belding, who checked them." Tragg leaned forward and looked directly at Ironside. "The prints matched, Chief. It was Pierre Fougere that opened and operated that account."
Ironside sat still, trying to comprehend what he had just been told. Even though he had been informed the man who tried to kill Ed and Eve was Pierre Fougere, he thought it was a case of mistaken identity. He figured it was someone who resembled Fougere. Now he was being presented with positive proof that the man was still alive. But how? He was handcuffed to that bomb. There was no way he had time to get the handcuffs off and get out of that room, yet it appeared he did exactly that.
"It proves he opened the account. It does not prove he transacted business on it. If he did die in that explosion, than someone else must be using the account."
Della shook her head. "Arthur checked on that possibility, Robert. Business can only be transacted on the internet using a fingerprint. He would have to use their application and place his thumb on the screen. The system is fool proof. Only his fingerprint would allow transactions on the account."
"That settles it then," Perry said. "Pierre Fougere is still alive."
"And he certainly had reason to want Robert, his son and Frank Rousseau dead," Della said. She looked over at Lieutenant Tragg.
"Alright, I am sold on the fact that he is still alive but it doesn't prove that Robert Duvalier did not kill Rousseau. Why would Fougere want his body stolen? What would he have to gain? If he wanted Duvalier to suffer then why not let him go to trial and be found guilty of murder?" Tragg was not yet totally convinced.
"I don't know the answer to that yet, Tragg," Ironside said. "But it does present a reasonable doubt that Robert was set up."
"No, Bob it doesn't," Perry said, "but at least it is a start in proving that. Those telegrams will help prove reasonable doubt and possibly whatever connection that mental hospital has to do with this case as well."
Tragg turned towards Perry. "What does a mental hospital have to do with this case... other then this is all driving me crazy," Tragg said, sarcastically. That drew a laugh from everyone.
Ironside explained how Rousseau had left a clue in his hotel room for Perry to find, and that it led to the safety deposit box.
"And in this box was the name of a mental hospital?" Tragg questioned.
"That's right," Perry answered. "Bob sent Paul back to Montreal to see if he could get a lead on it."
"What about the telegrams?" Tragg asked. "Have you checked them out?"
"I sent Eve and Mark to track those down. How far did you go with them?" Ironside asked Tragg.
"Only that they were sent by Robert. He was identified by the clerk in Montreal," Tragg answered. "Hamilton insisted I check further into them."
"The clerk identified him with a little coaxing I presume," Perry complained.
"A picture of Robert was shown to the clerk," Tragg said. "He was identified." His voice was a bit defensive. He did not like having his methods questioned. He felt Perry was suggesting the police planted it in the clerk's mind, that Robert was the one that sent the telegrams.
"Or someone that looked like him," Della added.
"I am beginning to think the key to this is the medical examiner," Perry said. "We have to find him. Have you had any luck at all on that, Lieutenant?"
Tragg shook his head. "Nothing."
"Okay. It seems the two things we have to find out on our end is where that medical examiner is and who sent those telegrams," Ironside said. "Eve and Mark are checking the telegrams. We are going to find the medical examiner. Paul will find out what connection the mental hospital has and Ed is checking what Armand Dareau has to do with all this. Somewhere in all this mess is a clue as to what happened to Frank Rousseau. Let's find it and settle this once and for all."
Tragg looked at Ironside. "And if it proves Robert did kill Rousseau?"
"It won't," Ironside growled.
"Humor me, Chief," Tragg said, "what if it does?"
"Than he will stand trial for murder like anyone else who committed a crime," the chief said.
Tragg realized he had underestimated Ironside. How could he believe this man would ever have taken Rousseau's body to protect his son? Hamilton was right. If Duvalier was guilty, Ironside would not protect him from prosecution. He lowered his head. He could not look at Robert Ironside. He had allowed Holcomb to throw Ironside in jail, and it was now obvious to him he had no more idea what happened to Rousseau's body than he did.
"We will find the truth, Chief. I hope for your sake and your son's that you and Perry are right, but if we find that he is responsible, I have to warn you, he will go back to court, and this time he will be found guilty of murder in the first degree. I want to make sure we understand each other."
"Fair enough, Tragg. The truth is what we have been searching for from the beginning and... that is exactly what we are going to find out.
21.3
Sergeant Brown walked into the police station. He spotted the duty desk and headed directly for it. The police officer spoke to him in French. Ed assumed he was asking him what he could do to help him. "I would like to speak with Detective Contraire."
The officer behind the desk switched to English and asked, "What is this about and who can I say is here to see him?"
"My name is Sergeant Ed Brown. I work for Chief Robert Ironside of the San Francisco Police Department. I am here regarding Robert Duvalier's murder trial."
The officer looked at him as if he was trying to decide whether or not to allow him in to see the detective. "Wait right here, Sergeant Brown. I will check to see if he will see you." The duty officer left his station, and disappeared into the back through a door Ed presumed led to the offices of the higher ranked detectives.
He looked around the room. It looked no different than the room full of police detectives working on cases in San Francisco. A few minutes later, the duty officer returned. "He will see you now, Sergeant. By the way, he is not Detective Contraire, he is Captain Contraire. A lot of people call him Detective instead of Captain. He never corrects them but we don't like to see him disrespected."
"Sorry, I did not know," Ed said by way of explanation.
"Now you do. Follow me."
Brown followed the duty officer through the very door he had disappeared through earlier. He led him down to the last door at the end of the hall to Contraire's office. He knocked on the door. Ed heard a voice telling them to come in.
"Sir, this is Sergeant Brown from Chief Ironside's office in San Francisco," the duty officer informed him.
"I know who Sergeant Brown is. Sit down, Sergeant." He looked at his officer and said, "That will be all." The man turned and left the room.
"I thought you and Mr. Drake were going back to San Francisco," Contraire said, looking Brown squarely in the eye.
"Whatever gave you that idea?" Ed asked, knowing fully well there was only one man that could have told him that.
"It doesn't matter. There is nothing you can do here Sergeant Brown. You can only cause trouble."
"Trouble? How so, Captain? What is everyone hiding that they don't want Chief Ironside finding out?" Ed asked.
"We are not hiding anything, Brown. You are not needed or wanted here. Everything is under control. The great Ironside is not the only one that can solve mysteries. Believe me, you will put lives in danger if you don't just get out of here and go home."
"I am not going anywhere, Captain. I intend to find out what it is that you and Dareau are hiding."
"What have I got to do with him?" Contraire said, with indignation.
"The only way you could have thought that Drake and I were leaving is from Dareau, himself. That ties you to him. If you won't tell me what that tie is, then I will find out on my own," Ed warned him.
"Get out, Brown. You and your super cop have no jurisdiction here."
Ed stood up and headed for the door. It was obvious he would not get any answers here. He turned back to Contraire and said, "I will find out what is going on, and if you and Dareau are in the middle of it, you are going down." Ed turned and left the office.
Contraire did not hesitate. He picked up the phone and dialed. When the phone was answered, he said, "Ironside's detective just left here. He is going to be trouble. You better take care of him."
TBC...