LITMIR.BIZ

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there, Tommy. I sure hope John-Joe is safely inside somewhere.”

      “Stupid bastard. If he’d had the sense to stay in jail, he wouldn’t be out there playing with death.” Despite his harsh words, I could hear the worry in his voice.

      “Yes, but maybe there was a very good reason why he fled.”

      “Yeah, I’ve got Decontie looking into it. But his escape combined with the rest of the damning evidence is making a joke of his defense. The only way I’m going to succeed in keeping him out of jail is by pointing the finger at someone else. And my list of possible suspects is very empty at the moment. In fact, I’m beginning to believe that John-Joe’s name is the only one that should be on that list.”

      “Well, you can put Pierre Fournier on your list?”

      “He was a friend of the victim’s, wasn’t he?”

      “Yes, and the police must suspect him too. According to his girlfriend, they are looking for him.”

      “Might have nothing to do with the case. I did a background check on Chantal’s friends, at least the ones John-Joe could name. Everyone came up clean except for Pierre. This guy has two drug dealing charges as a juvenile. The first was knocked out of court because of insufficient evidence. And although he was convicted of the second charge, he was placed on probation because it was his first offence. Since then, he’s kept his nose clean, but that doesn’t mean he gave it up. Just got smarter. So more likely the cops are looking for him for some drug-related offence.”

      “That’s certainly possible.” And I recounted what I’d learned last night. “So you see, given Thérèse’s evasive response, this business pays Pierre enough money to buy her a diamond bracelet, and in cash, no less. And also has him frequently on the road. It could very well have to do with drugs.”

      “You’re probably right, but it certainly doesn’t make him Chantal’s murderer.”

      “What if there is a drug angle to this murder? Remember the guy I saw wearing John-Joe’s orange cap could’ve been the dealer who sold those kids the marijuana. Pierre was on the same trails as John-Joe the day he lost his cap. He could’ve found it and used it to frame John-Joe. He could also have supplied the stuff found at John-Joe’s cabin.”

      “Yeah, so what? These days no one kills for a soft drug like marijuana.”

      “But they do over money. What if money is at the root of her death? Say a fight over territory or whatever drug dealers fight about?”

      “I suppose it’s possible, but there is no evidence to suggest that the victim was in any way connected to drug dealing.”

      My breath caught as I thought of one person who had been linked to drugs. “There’s something you should know.” I finally told him what I’d learned from Yves; the possibility that John-Joe was also involved in dealing.

      “I’m really sorry to hear this,” Tommy said. “I thought John Joe was made of better stuff. But regardless, there is nothing to link Chantal’s killing to a drug war.”

      “I know, I was wondering about that myself. The only answer I can come up with is that Pierre was more interested in getting John-Joe out of the way by having him jailed for her murder than killing him.”

      “Rather weak. Most drug dealers would rather get rid of their competition permanently.”

      “But say jealousy was also involved? Pierre’s girlfriend hinted that Pierre might have had an affair with Chantal. Say he killed her in a jealous rage, then made John-Joe pay for it by framing him?”

      “At this point, all conjecture, and without evidence it gets us nowhere. Look, I’ve got a lot of work to do, I’ve got to—”

      “Wait, what if I told you I saw a motorcycle helmet in his girlfriend’s apartment, that is almost identical to the one described by John-Joe. This could help prove that Pierre was the new man in Chantal’s life.”

      “Okay, okay. I’ll check to see if he owns a motorcycle.”

      “Do you know when Chantal was killed?”

      “Unfortunately, because of the cold temperature, the coroner isn’t able to pinpoint the exact time of death, other than to say she’d probably been dead for about four or five days. This puts it at any time between the time John-Joe and Chantal arrived on Thursday afternoon and the following Friday night.”

      “Well, I can definitely place Pierre in the area on the Thursday at around five p.m. I saw him myself. In fact, one could ask the question, ‘Why?’ We’d stopped doing trail work a good four hours earlier, after Yvette’s father kicked us off his land. So why was Pierre still hanging around?”

      “But it doesn’t place him at the crime scene.” The sound of rustling papers came loud and clear through the telephone line.

      “No, but that four hours would’ve given him more than enough time to go the five or six kilometres to John-Joe’s cabin. Or he could’ve gone later, after letting Eric know about Yvette’s accident. He didn’t come back with Eric. In fact, his girlfriend hasn’t seen him since that day.”

      “Doesn’t necessarily mean anything. They could’ve had a fight. He could be staying with friends or off on a trip.”

      In the background, I heard the sudden beep of a watch alarm.

      “A client’s here. I’ve got to go, Meg. You’ve raised some interesting points. I’ll see what I can do to have them followed up. Bye.”

      And he hung up, leaving me wondering if he really were interested in keeping his friend out of jail.

      At least I could be assured of Eric’s help, I thought as I called his office again without success. I even got up the nerve to phone him at home. I left messages at both places, hoping he would recognize the urgency and get back to me quickly. In the meantime, I decided to have my lunch, and if no word came from him by the time I’d finished, I’d go looking for him. I’d no sooner put the soup on the cookstove than a roar outside warned me of a visitor. It was Eric.

      I stepped outside and braced myself as he turned off the skidoo engine.

      “You okay, Meg?” he said removing his helmet. Worried grey eyes stared back at me. “Sorry I didn’t come earlier, but I just got in from an overnight trip to Ottawa. I came as fast as I could, figuring something must be up.”

      I tried to banish the image of that woman’s beautiful face from my mind and couldn’t. So rather than attempting to go through social niceties, I said, “I need to talk to John-Joe. I’m hoping you can tell me where he is?”

      His concern changed to annoyance. “John-Joe? Who says I know where he is?”

      “Please, Eric, don’t play coy with me. I know he must be hiding out somewhere on the reserve. Just tell me how I can reach him, and you can go back to doing whatever you were doing.”

      “Is this the reason for all those phone calls, even the ones to my home?” His glance shifted away from me as he said these last words.

      I held my breath, waiting for him to say something about his house guest, but when he didn’t, I continued as if she didn’t exist. “It’s urgent that I talk to John-Joe.”

      “Meg, I’m surprised at your stupidity. Do you honestly think I would put my people at risk by helping an escaped criminal? If I catch one whiff of his presence on the reserve, I’ll have Decontie after him so fast the snow would melt under his cruiser’s tires.”

      “Hey, now it’s my turn to ask what’s going on with you. Why the about-face? Only a couple of days ago, you were defending John-Joe. Now you’ve tried and convicted him.”

      “The bastard’s been selling drugs.”

      My worst fears were finally confirmed.

      “How do you know?”

      “One

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