Chapter 41:
William got out of Mr. Barton's car. He had previously questioned Mathias Rojas in his compartment. The interview was very quick. The man did not know the victim, had spoken to him only once at the table during the trip and had an alibi. Indeed, he was talking with Pierre Barton, in the driver's car at the time of the murder. William had been very surprised by his statement and had a hard time believing him. Coincidentally… he thought to himself. Finally, it was simple. All he had to do was ask the driver. And, he had him confirm his alibi. Matt Rojas had come to ask him about their arrival time in Toronto. Unfortunately, the driver could not give him a definite estimate and Matt did not like it. The discussion had lasted about twenty minutes, much to Mr. Barton's dismay.
William therefore went back to the wagon which he knew to be that of Mr. Duval. He stopped in a hallway and took a deep breath. He needed to calm down. He really had to be objective in this story. He was professional and he would do it perfectly. On the other hand, he was upset by his discussion with Julia. He did not appreciate her defending him and insinuating that he would not be fair. Besides, maybe he was not so innocent in this whole thing. For starters, there was this wagon story that was unclear. Julia had explained to him – the day they had tried to find her watch – that Magnus Duval had told her he was at the front of the train. He had even entered the car when it was not his. Maybe it had nothing to do with the investigation… but he had to check.
Magnus greeted him with some reserve, eyes narrowed in suspicion. He invited him in, knowing full well that he had no choice. He offered to sit on the sofa, while he positioned himself on the armrest of the armchair just opposite.
"So?" he asked quickly. "You wanted to question me?"
"Yes, Mr. Duval. Did you know the victim?" began the detective.
"Well, we've often taken this train together to be honest. But he always had a bad reputation. He wasn't someone I liked talking to." explained the man who wore a navy-blue suit today.
"What did you hear about him?"
"Maybe it was nonsense… But people said it was a…" Magnus hesitated, brushing his blonde hair back in place. "…a real rapist." he almost whispered, as if he did not want to be heard.
"A rapist?" William immediately worried.
"It was just rumors. Listen… I'm not the perfect guy, that's for sure. But I hate those kinds of people and I want nothing to do with them." said Mr. Duval firmly.
William nodded, rather impressed by Magnus' reaction.
"Well… There were other rumors after. It was said that his fortune came from unclear places."
"That's to say?"
"Illegal traffic if you will. But again, these are just rumors…" Duval finished.
"Well, when I get back to Toronto, I'll check all that out... It's kind of worrying."
"Well, let's say, if all of that is true, someone had to have a 'good reason' to kill him". he declared, imitating quotation marks with his fingers.
"Where were you last night between 9:00 and 9:30 p.m., Mr. Duval?"
There was a silence during which the man looked at him with widening eyes.
"You don't think I killed him, do you? After all that I have just told you. I'm cooperating, right?" he suddenly lost his temper.
"Calm down sir…it has nothing to do with your cooperation. Thank you for that, by the way." began William. "But, according to Dr. Ogden, Lazare Lamoureux died between those hours last night. A large part of the passengers was in the dining car. But you?"
"I don't know anymore... I was in my room, I think. I didn't have dinner last night." Magnus explained, his mouth hanging open in surprise.
"Can anyone confirm this?" asked William.
"Yes Julia."
William felt all the color in his face fade.
"No, no…" Magnus sighed ironically.
The detective immediately felt angry.
"Don't play this with me." he said seriously, jaw clenching.
"You like her, it seems…"
William did not answer and kept his jaw clenched.
"She told you we almost had sex? Until you come and ruin everything by knocking on the door of her compartment." Magnus smirked that made William spin. "She is so beautiful."
"That's enough! If you say one more word, as soon as we get back to Toronto, I put you in custody, for no reason." William raised his voice and he saw Mr. Duval startled slightly and take a moment of recoil.
"I'm perfect for her… You, on the other hand…" Magnus did not finish his sentence and the two men looked at each other with threatening eyes for whole seconds.
"Can anyone confirm your alibi?" William insisted, teasing each word angrily.
"Nope." Duval answered coldly, his brow furrowed in defiance.
The young detective nodded, brushing a lock of his black hair that fell over his face in emotion.
"I have one last question for you. A witness says he saw you enter a compartment that was not yours before the train left. Then it turned out that you were not in this one at all but the opposite. I even remember seeing you in your current compartment just an hour later, in a green suit if I'm not mistaken. I didn't realize it was you, until now. Can you explain this to me?"
"I don't know what you're talking about." replied the man firmly.
"Honestly, you're really not in a good position. You don't have an alibi for the time of Mr. Lamoureux's murder, and you don't want to tell me about what happened before the train left. Who tells me you didn't go put something in a room to hide it or something? A weapon for example?" William asked, without mentioning that the murder weapon was, in fact, a pocket square.
Magnus shook his head negatively, but said nothing, closed like an oyster. William understood that Mr. Duval would not say anything more and got up from the sofa.
"Thank you for your time, Mr. Duval. We will decide your case in a timely manner." he smirked at him as the man looked at him with murderous eyes.
He turned his back on him and opened the compartment door. He faced Duval again and spoke calmly.
"Julia is in love with me… She admitted it to me just yesterday. So, I don't really worry about our relationship." William finished, pleased with the man's almost livid face. "Good day, Mr. Duval. And above all, I am at your disposal if you decide to talk."
Note: It settles its account it seems haha! Thanks for reading :) Thank you for your review ! Such a hate for Magnus haha