No Second Chances

by Don Bruns

  ‘So, what you’re saying is …’

  ‘I’m never sure that my insights are correct. I pray every day, but there are times, many times, I don’t understand it myself.’

  ‘You gave me some powerful insight. I don’t think we could have solved the case without you. You knew that Leroy was tied into the murder of Nick Martin. Without that connection, we’d still be out there looking.’

  ‘I know how hard it is to believe, but he spoke to me.’

  Archer shook his head.

  ‘I’m not sure I want to go there.’

  ‘It’s a curse,’ she smiled. ‘I hear voices. It drove my ex-husband nuts.’ She paused. ‘It drives me nuts. Tell me more.’

  ‘The idea was complicated. Matt Fox was struggling, the company wasn’t doing well and he’d lost one of his biggest customers. Somehow, he figured out how to use a mirror to hijack trucks, but he didn’t know anyone who would do the job. His circle of friends didn’t include criminals.’

  ‘So,’ she said, ‘one night it all fell into his lap.’

  ‘As far as that group went, it was a win-win. They didn’t do any time for the attempted heist and he gave them a very lucrative deal.

  ‘Johnny Leroy had already applied to the department?’

  ‘He was going to be a cop. It was already in the works, and it was a perfect fit. He followed up on the hijackings and was able to provide cover for the crimes. He misdirected, hid evidence and totally screwed up the investigation. He even got some award for the hard work he supposedly put in on the case.’

  ‘But once Nick Martin was a fatality, they backed off the robberies?’

  Archer nodded.

  ‘I think they all decided that it was too risky. But then Joseph Brion’s father, André, made some comments about coming clean. That triggered the rest of the group to make plans to kill him.’

  ‘Did you really think this was the way our dinner conversation would go?’ She gave him a grim smile.

  ‘Yes. Because we came together over a murder several months ago, and I don’t know what else we have in common.’

  ‘Well, let’s start here,’ she said. ‘Apparently we both like a good mystery.’

  ‘We both enjoy wine.’

  ‘We both live in the Quarter …’

  Archer smiled, and put his left hand over her right hand. It was a comfortable moment, a chance to share feelings. And he had a lot of feelings to share.