by Robin Caroll
“I hate this for you, I really do.”
“I know.” She couldn’t be mad at him. She’s the one who kept him in the dark. He had every right to be hurt. If the tables were turned, she’d be hurt.
Just like her father would be when he found out. Because now he would find out. It was only a matter of time. She would have to make sure she told him before he heard it from someone else.
Dimitri
“May I speak to you?”
Dimitri looked up from the recipe he’d been adjusting in his notebook. He closed the pad and motioned Geoff inside. “Of course. I need a break anyway.”
Geoff sat straight on the edge of the chair in front of the desk, his shoulders squared and jawline tense.
“What’s on your mind?”
Before he could answer, Adelaide walked into the office. “I got a message to come to your office?”
“I hope you don’t mind, Mr. Pampalon, I asked Ms. Fountaine to join us.” Geoff’s voice was firm and steady.
“That’s fine.” Dimitri waved Adelaide to the seat beside Geoff. He nodded at their chief security officer. “The floor is yours.”
Geoff took in a breath and exhaled slowly. “I need to tell you both something, but also apologize.”
Adelaide opened her mouth but Geoff tapped her arm. “Just let me get it out.”
She nodded. Dimitri had to admit, he was more than a little confused.
“I had a plan of revenge and carried it out. I’d gone over each and every step and knew I could pull it off without a hitch. And I did.” He glanced at Adelaide. “But I made a few mistakes that I hadn’t foreseen, and it’s put you in jeopardy. My actions have brought suspicion and questions about you.” Geoff included Dimitri in his stare. “You too. It’s totally my fault, and I see now that there’s no way I can remain silent about what I’ve done. My friend with the police informed me there is substantial reason to bring Ms. Fountaine in for more questioning regarding the murder here last week.”
Adelaide looked crushed. Dimitri had a feeling he knew where this conversation was going. There was only one incident that their security officer could be referring to, and if that was the case, Dimitri and Adelaide shouldn’t hear any more. “Geoff, I’m not—”
“Mr. Pampalon, I have to tell you both, as my employers and as my friends, what has transpired because you will need to promote someone to replace me in my position with the Darkwater Inn. I would recommend Sully or Leon. Both are good men and will serve the hotel well.”
“I can appreciate your candor and—” Dimitri started to speak.
Geoff ignored him and plowed on. “When my sister was in college at Northwestern, she was raped. About three weeks after, she killed herself by overdosing on sleeping pills. We had no idea why. But I kept digging until I found out why. She’d kept a journal, and in it, she wrote about Brayden Colton raping her. The entries after that date . . .” He shook his head. “She spiraled down into depression to the point where she just couldn’t continue.”
Dimitri listened to Geoff, but his stare fixated on Adelaide. Her tears couldn’t be contained as they slid silently down her cheeks. She grabbed Geoff’s hand.
“I checked with the university police, talked to Jada’s roommate and friends, until I realized that there wasn’t anyone named Brayden Colton. He didn’t exist. So I had to really do some searching and digging.”
Dimitri had only known about his sister for days, but he couldn’t imagine how he would feel if that happened to Lissette. Looking at Adelaide’s tear-stained face, rage boiled in his gut.
“I finally found the connection of Brayden Colton to Kevin Muller. It took a while, a long while, but I finally made it. And when I did, I started following him. Tracking his moves.” Geoff released Adelaide’s hand and gripped his together in his lap. “I found out where he lived, where he worked, what he did on weekends. I researched him until I knew what he ate for breakfast every morning.”
Dimitri could see that—the drive and thoroughness was one of the reasons he’d been so eager to have his father hire Geoff.
“I’d planned to confront him, but then I found that his company had signed a contract for their event to be held here at a future date. It was signed three years in advance, so that gave me a great interval to bide my time and plan.”
Dimitri held up his hand. “Geoff, you probably shouldn’t say anything more.” As much as he understood Geoff’s emotions, he couldn’t hear any more. Plausible deniability.
“It’s okay, sir. I’m going to talk to the police after I leave here.” He included Adelaide in his gaze. “I wanted you two to hear it from me first. Once I tell the police, I’ll be arrested and won’t have the opportunity to tell you why I did what I did.”
Adelaide laid a hand on his arm. “I understand, Geoff. Brayden Colton raped me in college too. I relate completely to how Jada felt.” She wiped away tears. “And I’m so sorry. Had I been more forceful and demanded action, your little sister probably wouldn’t have been raped so she wouldn’t have committed suicide.” Her tears flowed freely down her face.
Geoff turned to hold Adelaide by her shoulders. “I’m sorry that happened to you, Adelaide. I didn’t know. I never researched what he did before his assault on Jada.” He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her into a hug. “But you can’t take part of the blame. What happened to you and Jada was not only horrible, but was criminal.”
Dimitri wanted to take Adelaide into his arms, but he was more of an outsider to the situation that she and Geoff would forever be bonded over.
Moments later, Geoff released Adelaide and looked at Dimitri. “I promise you, I had no idea that the knife I grabbed off the counter had yours or anyone’s fingerprints. It looked clean enough, so I didn’t give it another thought about someone else’s prints being present. I wore gloves but never once considered it might not be clean and print-free.”
Geoff turned back to face Adelaide. “But my friend says now that it’s come out what happened to you, Ms. Fountaine, you have motive, so some in the department are looking to ask you more questions and run through a timeline on your alibi.”
The ticking of the clock on the wall behind Dimitri echoed against his own heartbeat.
Geoff nodded at Adelaide. “If it gives you any comfort, he knew why he was going to die before I killed him.”
Dimitri could certainly empathize with Geoff and Adelaide. Kevin Muller had been a horrible person who did awful things to nice people. He deserved to be punished. However, Dimitri also believed that justice should reign and that revenge was ethically wrong.
Yet when he looked at Adelaide’s eyes filled with tears and the pain of an abuse he’d never be able to fully grasp the enormity of . . .
“I know I will have to pay for what I did, but I won’t apologize for killing him. He killed my little sister, and ultimately my mother; he hurt people I care about. From the research I did on him, he hurt many others.” Geoff stared at Dimitri. “Because of his associations and standing in society, chances are he wouldn’t have had justice enforced, and then there’s the statute of limitations that would make much of what I discovered inadmissible in any criminal charges.”
Dimitri nodded. Geoff had done the research.
“Right or wrong, I dealt out the punishment I saw fit for him. Yes, I acted as judge, jury, and executioner, but I won’t apologize. In my heart, I know I saved many other women from being a victim of his.” Geoff stood. “But now I must confess what I did to Detectives Savoie and Taton to clear Ms. Fountaine and face my own punishment for my crime.”
“That’s so wrong.” Adelaide stood as well.
Dimitri pushed to his feet. “What can we do? If you need me to speak on your behalf, you only have to let me know.” His father would throw a fit, but at this point, Dimitri really didn’t know how much he cared anymore. It was time to stand up to his father. To do what was right, regardless of what it would cost him.
Isn’t that what Geoff did be
cause of love? Because of his strong sense of justice?
Adelaide nodded. “Me too. I’ll even testify in court about what he did to me. How he had a pattern of abuse.”
“Oh, mon ange, that means the world to me. That you would be willing to relive such a horrible experience to help me—you are a good friend, Adelaide Fountaine.” Geoff kissed the top of Adelaide’s head. “And I will tell my lawyer.” He stopped and shook his head. “I guess I should get a lawyer before I talk to the detectives.”
“Let me call my lawyer’s firm. Please, it’s the least I can do right now.” Dimitri had to be on the right side of things for once.
Geoff smiled. “I don’t think your father will appreciate that very much.”
“No, my personal lawyer.” The one he’d recently put on retainer to represent him and Lissette when they would push forward with having Lissette declared a legal child of Claude’s. The firm wasn’t connected to Claude Pampalon in any way, which gave Dimitri the freedom to be honest. “He’s with a great firm, not affiliated with Father’s affairs.”
Geoff nodded. “I’d appreciate that. If you could call and have him call me so we could talk before I meet with the police, I’d be grateful.”
“I’ll call him right now. And don’t worry about any legal costs. I’ll see that they’re covered, and I’ll hear no argument on the matter either.” Finally he could use his father’s money for something noble.
If one could call defending a man who murdered an abuser noble.
Dimitri did.
Twenty-Three
Beau
“There’s a Geoff Aubois and his attorney here to see you and Marcel.”
This would be interesting. Beau stood up and snapped his fingers to get his partner’s attention. “Thanks. I’ll be up there in a minute.” He hung up the phone on his desk as his partner stood.
“What’s up?”
“Aubois and his attorney are here to see us.” Beau slipped his jacket on and glanced at the large dry-erase board. “Mark us in interrogation two. I’ll bring them back.”
He made his way to the front of the station with long strides, ignoring the stares and whispers. The commander had demanded they bring Addy back in today and question her. He’d also assigned another officer to verify the timeline of her alibi. As if Beau couldn’t be trusted to do his job. He knew Addy didn’t kill Muller, as much as she might have wanted. They just needed to find out who did.
With Aubois here, Beau’s gut instinct told him this case was about to be over. He would be most happy when the case was closed and his commander realized Beau had never allowed personal feelings to interfere with the investigation. Surely that would get him marks toward his promotion.
Rounding the corner, he saw the Darkwater Inn’s chief of security next to another man. Geoff stood as Beau approached. “Detective Savoie.” He offered his hand.
Beau shook it. “You asked to see me?”
“Yes.” He gestured to the older man next to him who also pushed to his feet. “This is my attorney, Xavier Kidel.”
The older man shook Beau’s hand, his flesh cold to the touch and his skin like parchment. Beau resisted the urge to wipe his hand on his pants leg. “Detective Taton will meet us in the conference room.” Which always sounded so much better than interrogation room.
He led the way down the hall and into the room, letting them pick which side of the table to sit on. It didn’t matter to Beau where each of them sat for the discussion, he knew the information—the truth—that would come out. Those familiar tingles had been dancing on his skin since the front desk called him.
Once they were all seated—except for Marcel, who took up space in his familiar place in the corner, leaning against the wall—Beau pulled out his notebook. He flipped on the recorder, identified everyone in the room, then nodded at Geoff. “Okay, Mr. Aubois. You requested this meeting. It’s your show.”
Ever so slowly, Geoff Aubois began to confess to the murder of Kevin Muller, aka Brayden Colton. He started with his little sister’s diary, describing her attack, then painstakingly detailed his research to find the connection to Kevin Muller. Geoff explained how he’d trailed Muller for months on end, determining the man’s habits and patterns, all gained to be used against him.
“It never occurred to you to talk to the Natchitoches police? Or us?” Marcel asked from his place against the wall.
“Why would I talk to you? Kevin Muller hadn’t committed any crime in your jurisdiction that I was aware of.”
Good point. “Did you try to talk to the Natchitoches police?”
Geoff nodded. “I actually did. After I’d spoken with the university police and realized they’d referred Jada to the police, I did speak to a couple of officers in the department, but to no avail. I had no proof. Jada had filed a report complete with rape kit DNA tied to the name of Brayden Colton. This was before I made the connection between Muller and Colton. They were quick to tell me there was nothing they could do.”
Some detectives, some entire departments, wouldn’t go out and do any investigation work unless they were almost forced to. Beau glanced up from his notes. “And after you made the connection?”
Geoff shook his head. “By the time I’d made the connection and had proof, the statute of limitations had expired. And the investigator I spoke with told me that if the victim was unavailable to testify, their district attorney wasn’t very interested in opening a file on the case. I hadn’t thought to look for a record before Jada, which would have given me access to someone who could testify that the two names were the same person. Without anyone to corroborate what I surmised, the DA most likely wouldn’t follow up.”
Sad, but very true.
“I couldn’t accept that Jada’s death meant nothing. Kevin Muller had to pay for what he’d done, for the lives he’d destroyed. Just because Jada is dead doesn’t mean she doesn’t deserve justice.”
Beau could understand, especially after hearing Addy’s story, but—
“What did you do?” Marcel asked.
“I made a decision that this man would get what he deserved.” Geoff described how he planned once he found out Muller would come to the Darkwater Inn.
“Three years is a long time to wait to get justice,” Marcel said.
“It’s only a slip of time in the big picture.” Geoff glanced at his lawyer for a moment. “And it gave me plenty of time to blueprint a very detailed plan that I carried out without a hitch.” He shrugged. “Any hesitation I might have felt dissipated as soon as I heard Mr. Pampalon would be out of town during the time Kevin Muller would be at the hotel.”
“Walk me through the night of Muller’s murder.” Beau held his pen over the notebook. “What you did.” He should be thrilled getting a full confession, yet he couldn’t stop the bad taste from filling his mouth.
“I waited until the last night of the convention because I knew from research that the group would drink and let their hair down. I wanted him relaxed and pliable.” Geoff took a sip of the water Marcel had set on the table before they’d come in.
“I’d already gone through the passageway earlier that day while he was in meetings to make sure the door was unlocked and I could get in silently. When it was time, I put on my gloves and grabbed a knife from the kitchen.” Geoff included both Beau and Marcel in his look. “Understand, I thought the knife was clean. There’s no way I could have known there were any prints on it, much less Mr. Pampalon’s and Ms. Fountaine’s. I would have never used the knife if I’d known.
“I hadn’t expected him to have guests, but I probably should have. No matter, I knew he wouldn’t keep them long. He would never let a woman spend the night with him. Not even Sidney Parsons, who was actually in a relationship with him.
“I waited in the passageway, right outside the hidden door to his room. I could hear his words with Ms. Naure. Her raised voice before she stormed out. I heard him pour a drink and sit in the chair. Just as I was about to enter, Ms. Parsons pounded on t
he door.”
He took another sip of the water, then recapped the lid loudly. “She was really mad and let him know it. They had a heated exchange, then she left quickly. Kevin Muller went back to his chair. I knew it was time.”
Beau stole a quick glance at his partner, who stared at Geoff almost in admiration.
Geoff continued. “I made my way out of the passageway into the bedroom. I could see his silhouette and knew he was in for the night. I could hear him finishing off his drink, the ice cubes clinking against the glass.”
He let out a slow breath. “I slipped from the bedroom into the bathroom. I wanted as clean a kill as possible with the least cleanup. Blood is really hard to get out of carpet, and I didn’t want Ms. Fountaine to worry about having to get it cleaned or replaced before Mr. Pampalon returned.” Geoff reached for the bottle of water.
Finishing the note, Beau looked over to the security chief. The pain emanating from him was palpable. Beau couldn’t help feeling guilty for doing his job. Kevin Muller had been a predator, plain and simple. A man who stalked young women and destroyed innocence and hope. He should have been locked up years ago, saving so many women from his destructive grasp. One man finally stood up and did what many didn’t have the strength to do, and it would be Beau’s job to put that man behind bars.
It was by no means fair, but it was the job.
Geoff set the empty water bottle on the desk. “He came into the bathroom and, as to be expected, was shocked to find me there. He asked how I got in there, and that’s pretty much all I remember him saying, but I think he said more.” Geoff gripped his hands together and held them on top of the table. “Just hearing the arrogance and accusation in his voice filled me with a rage I’d never known before. I could only see him over my sister, her tears and pleas for him to stop, and his arrogance ignoring her.”
Beau noticed the lawyer was quiet, as was Marcel. All of them were engrossed in the emotions Geoff Aubois felt while murdering Muller.
