protecting their
master from golden-haired boys with rope. Then again… “So what’s our next step?” JP asked. Eager beaver.
“Finish breakfast?”
“Then what? What do you want me to do?”
I am a lone wolf when it comes to my career. I don’t play well with others. And that’s the way I like it. But, I had to admit that JP and I had similar goals in this case, and there were things he knew that I needed to get out of him. When I did, I’d cut him loose.
“You know what you can do? You can tell me exactly where I can find the MOM file you found in Lynette’s house.” I needed
to see what Jane saw.
JP bit his lip. “It’s gone. I think that’s what Lynette came to Jane’s office to find. It had all the information we had on her, and whoever it was she hired to kill her mother. She knew it was evidence that would put her away forever, so she needed it back. She must have forced Jane to hand it over.”
I remembered the torn couch lining.
JP kept on. “And when Jane did hand it over, she killed her anyway. God, Russell, this is my fault, isn’t it? If I hadn’t stolen that file in the first place, Jane would still be alive today.”
I saw the anguish in the man’s face. This was why he’d been so intent, so over enthusiastic, so foolhardy in his attempt to get to me. He thought he was the cause of Jane’s death. He wanted to make things right. To do that, he needed help.
“JP, don’t do that to yourself. Jane Cross was a fine detective. She eventually would have found out everything that was in
that file one way or another. And as soon as she did, she was painting a target on her back. What happened was going to
happen, no matter what you did.”
“Do you really think so?” For the first time, he sounded a bit like a little boy.
I nodded. Some lies are also kindnesses.
“Okay, so we don’t have the file,” I said. “I assume Lynette destroyed it as soon as she retrieved it from Jane’s office.
Otherwise the cops would have it and they’d be all over this too.”
JP nodded his agreement.
I dipped a corner of French toast into the pool of Saskatoon berry syrup on my plate. “So, JP, you have to tell me everything you remember from when you looked in the file. You have to dig deep, and be as specific as you can.”
“Oh man, that’s gonna be tough. Like I said, I only went through it enough to get a sense of what was in there. I remember
some newspaper clippings. There were a lot of references to a certain website. And there was a spreadsheet. That’s what I
remember the best, because it was so obvious what was going on.”
“What sort of spreadsheet? What was on it?”
“It was kind of like a wishful thinking income statement. It looked like Lynette was detailing all the money she expected to collect as soon as her mother was dead. Insurance, proceeds from selling land and buildings and farm machinery, that kind of stuff. But the best part was that, after the total income, she deducted something called FH Ending Fee.” JP spelled it out for me.
“Do you have any idea what that was?”
He shook his head. “But over the phone one day, Jane told me she had figured it out. She said she didn’t want to talk to me
about it until we met again in person, and only when she was absolutely certain. But she did say she’d found out some shocking things. And that it didn’t look good for Lynette Kraus.”
“Was there anything else?”
Another head shake.
“Okay. Let’s go back to the other stuff. What about the web-site? I don’t suppose you remember the URL?”
“No. The only thing I remember about the website is that it had this crazy ass name, and had something to do with people
contemplating suicide.”
“Suicide? Where did that come from? Who was suicidal? Lynette? Her mother?”
“I don’t know. I guess Lynette did kill herself in the end. Maybe that’s why she had the gun in the first place?”
“Doesn’t fit with someone who was wishing her
master from golden-haired boys with rope. Then again… “So what’s our next step?” JP asked. Eager beaver.
“Finish breakfast?”
“Then what? What do you want me to do?”
I am a lone wolf when it comes to my career. I don’t play well with others. And that’s the way I like it. But, I had to admit that JP and I had similar goals in this case, and there were things he knew that I needed to get out of him. When I did, I’d cut him loose.
“You know what you can do? You can tell me exactly where I can find the MOM file you found in Lynette’s house.” I needed
to see what Jane saw.
JP bit his lip. “It’s gone. I think that’s what Lynette came to Jane’s office to find. It had all the information we had on her, and whoever it was she hired to kill her mother. She knew it was evidence that would put her away forever, so she needed it back. She must have forced Jane to hand it over.”
I remembered the torn couch lining.
JP kept on. “And when Jane did hand it over, she killed her anyway. God, Russell, this is my fault, isn’t it? If I hadn’t stolen that file in the first place, Jane would still be alive today.”
I saw the anguish in the man’s face. This was why he’d been so intent, so over enthusiastic, so foolhardy in his attempt to get to me. He thought he was the cause of Jane’s death. He wanted to make things right. To do that, he needed help.
“JP, don’t do that to yourself. Jane Cross was a fine detective. She eventually would have found out everything that was in
that file one way or another. And as soon as she did, she was painting a target on her back. What happened was going to
happen, no matter what you did.”
“Do you really think so?” For the first time, he sounded a bit like a little boy.
I nodded. Some lies are also kindnesses.
“Okay, so we don’t have the file,” I said. “I assume Lynette destroyed it as soon as she retrieved it from Jane’s office.
Otherwise the cops would have it and they’d be all over this too.”
JP nodded his agreement.
I dipped a corner of French toast into the pool of Saskatoon berry syrup on my plate. “So, JP, you have to tell me everything you remember from when you looked in the file. You have to dig deep, and be as specific as you can.”
“Oh man, that’s gonna be tough. Like I said, I only went through it enough to get a sense of what was in there. I remember
some newspaper clippings. There were a lot of references to a certain website. And there was a spreadsheet. That’s what I
remember the best, because it was so obvious what was going on.”
“What sort of spreadsheet? What was on it?”
“It was kind of like a wishful thinking income statement. It looked like Lynette was detailing all the money she expected to collect as soon as her mother was dead. Insurance, proceeds from selling land and buildings and farm machinery, that kind of stuff. But the best part was that, after the total income, she deducted something called FH Ending Fee.” JP spelled it out for me.
“Do you have any idea what that was?”
He shook his head. “But over the phone one day, Jane told me she had figured it out. She said she didn’t want to talk to me
about it until we met again in person, and only when she was absolutely certain. But she did say she’d found out some shocking things. And that it didn’t look good for Lynette Kraus.”
“Was there anything else?”
Another head shake.
“Okay. Let’s go back to the other stuff. What about the web-site? I don’t suppose you remember the URL?”
“No. The only thing I remember about the website is that it had this crazy ass name, and had something to do with people
contemplating suicide.”
“Suicide? Where did that come from? Who was suicidal? Lynette? Her mother?”
“I don’t know. I guess Lynette did kill herself in the end. Maybe that’s why she had the gun in the first place?”
“Doesn’t fit with someone who was wishing her
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