Chapter Seventeen

My head was hurting from the night before but I had work to do. Heather greeted me with her usual hello and I set about confirming my appointment with Mr. Forth. I was not looking forward to the meeting but I had no choice because now I was working for Donald Haze. I hated the man but something kept telling me to find out what really happened to Gritty. I had gone this far with the investigation and I wanted to finish what I had started. I loved Richard but I was happy that his attention was focused on other distractions. He was meeting with the painter and planning a work schedule for our new offices. It would really be his office space because I would remain in the Plateau and he would be looking after the office in the centre of Montreal. We both suited our assigned locations.

It was a little before 2:00 p.m. when I entered the building on 13 Prince Street. Richard was right; it was a very unusual location but when I got inside I realized it was the perfect building. It was a charming warehouse, probably used as a drop off point for traders at the earlier turn of the 20th century. The port was the perfect location. I could visualize men with their toques, full face beards, hair down to their waists and knee high boots trying to keep their balance on such an uneven surface. The owners would be dressed in black top hats, lined Nankeen Jackets and buckled ox hide shoes. The brick walls hid the sounds of men bantering and trading; I could feel the spirits within.

The heavy elevator doors opened right into the reception area. Was that Jessica? “Hi, my name is Jessica. Do you have an appointment?” Nothing to worry about with her. She could have played one of the ugly sisters in Cinderella. I got great satisfaction out of her not being pretty. No wonder she was all over Richard. She probably never had a man pay any attention to her, let alone my hunk. I hated myself for being so catty but felt relieved anyway.

“Yes, my name is Adam Garwood. Mr. Forth is expecting me.”

“Please come this way. I’ll show you to his office. Would you like a coffee or tea perhaps?”

“No, I’m fine, thank you.” He was sitting with his back to us, looking out the window. He seemed deep in thought. As I entered he turned to greet me.

“Mr. Garwood, it is a pleasure to meet you.”

Wow, what a handsome looking man. He was in his early 70s, tall, with such perfectly straight posture that he looked like one of those ballroom dancers. His eyes were hazelnut in colour which complimented his tanned skin to perfection. His hair was pure white and immaculately coiffed. He was the best looking older man that I had ever seen. “Please, sit down,” he said.

I nervously sat. There was something of authority about him that made you feel inferior. He was polite enough with you, but I felt it was his total package that demanded attention, looks, posture and assuredness. He was big in presence taking over any space he would be in. I tried to control my fidgeting. I awkwardly crossed and uncrossed my legs, one hand over the other, then removed them and place them on my knees. What was wrong with me?

“Mr. Garwood I won’t waste your time; I’ll get right to the point.”

Somehow I knew that he would! “What can I do for you Mr. Forth?”

“Grenville Haze… I believe he retained you. You were working for him, right?”

“Yes.”

“I don’t know what he told you but I will be happy to clarify my position.”

“What position is that?”

I thought he would kill me with his stare but he continued. “Grenville was blackmailing me. He was a very sick man and unfortunately I was deeply involved with him.”

“I know.”

“I’m not sure what you know but I want it to remain within these walls. Do I have your word on that? If you want me to pay you, money is not a problem.”

“Wouldn’t you consider that a mild form of blackmail as well?”

“I am a very powerful man and I could destroy you and your little agency. I have done my research and am very much aware of your circumstances. You need all the help that you can get. You are just meeting your monthly expenses.”

That was it; I got up and made for the door. “I don’t care who you are; no one talks to me that way. Now fuck off and get out of my way.” What! Did I just say that? I actually stood up for myself. At that precise moment, I was, in my eyes, taller than him. I couldn’t believe I spoke to him in that manner. I wanted out.

It seemed as if the roles were reversed for now; I had the power. “Mr. Garwood, forgive me. That was not the way I wanted to approach the situation. Can I be totally frank with you?”

I reached out my hand and said, “Hello I am Adam Garwood. Now shall we start over again?”

“I like your style kid.” He walked towards the bar. “Please, join me in a drink and I will come clean with you. Scotch on the rocks?”

“Sure.”

“I hated the bastard and was happy or should I say relieved when I heard he was dead. He was nothing but trouble. Crazy in the head as well!”

“Maybe we can start from the beginning. How and when did you meet Grenville Haze?”

“I met him over twenty years ago, no, perhaps longer than that. I think it was at a bar. He was really cute and well I swung both ways. I was married at the time, unhappily and a little action on the side was a welcome diversion. I never felt I was cheating on my wife because it was with a man.” He put his hand up when he saw my face, and said, “I know; ridiculous statement!”

“From that first meeting we became inseparable. I fell in love with him and he reciprocated. He told me that he needed a job and I was quite well up the ladder here. I loved the idea of him working close beside me. The first few years were great… we would sneak off together and well history was made. It started to change after that.”

“Did your wife find out?”

“I’m sure she knew. She did not want anything to do with me sexually and as long as my needs were being taken care of and she was released from that duty, she turned and pretended that she was unaware of it. But I know that she knew! She was looked after very nicely.”

“What changed?” I asked.

“His whole personality. He got very aggressive and possessive. He accused me of seeing others, which was totally out of the question. He would flare up in the office and a few times he sexually assaulted the women here.”

“What do you mean by that? Did he rape them?”

“Oh, no nothing like that. He would hit their ass as they walked by cursing derogatory remarks at them. On two separate occasions I had to pay these women off to avoid charges being made.”

“You really had a handful there. I bet you felt that you were in too deep to get out, right?”

“You have no idea. The sex was great so I kept him around. He would make promises to change but that would last for a couple of months and then he would be up to his old tricks again.”

“You said that he worked with you almost 20 years or longer. Why did you put up with it for so long?”

“Time went quickly. He would leave the company for months on end, take sick leave and he would return. I really did not know how to handle him. He was threatening to tell my wife what was going on. It was partially her money that was invested in Invor and I could not take that chance of something being disturbed. It was my doings and I felt that I had to deal with it.”

I had to ask. I looked directly at him and said, “You had motive for killing Grenville. Didn’t you?”

“What? You little punk. Are you trying to set me up here?”

“No, I’m just asking. You had every reason to get rid of him. He was blackmailing you.”

“He started to say that he found a cure for some fabricated disease. He got crazier by the day. Finally, I had to let him go. I worried about his finances but I provided for him substantially.”

“His finances!”

“Yes, he was barely making ends meet.”

I did not know whether to tell him that he had been had. Grenville Haze was a millionaire. How could he have been with someone for that long and not realize? Someone was lying here. I just did not believe Forth or his story. I remember someone had said that he divorced his wife, so why would he care about her finding anything out?

“You said that you were worried about your wife finding out. Didn’t you divorce her?”

“Are you calling me a liar Mr. Garwood? If you were doing your job properly and looked into the timeframe you would know that I am telling the truth. My wife and I got divorced when she found out that I fathered a child.”

“And of course Grenville found out as well!”

“Yes, he helped me look after him. It was the only way to avoid disclosure. I kept it from my wife for the longest time. I hired a nanny and I paid for an apartment and all three of them lived with Grenville. I could visit my son when I wanted to.”

It finally hit me as I asked the most obvious question. “Is Bobby your son?”

He looked at me with total confusion. After seemingly getting lost within his confusion, he quickly regained part of his composure.

He finally answered, “Yes,” still looking confused.

* * * *

“I can’t believe it! Mr. Forth is really Bobby’s father. I thought that he was a result of the Mayor having an affair. Both the Mayor and Forth were bedding the same woman. I am sure there was enough proof or else Forth would never have admitted it. And that woman was the nanny to both her son Bobby and Peter. It worked out perfectly.”

“Richard, what is so hard to believe? Jessica told you his last name.”

“I know she did, but I somehow did not believe her. They are all crazy! They have the morals of alley cats. Don’t you see that Gritty had total control over everyone? He was Lexus’ lover and she would do anything for him because he fathered her son, great motive for murder. Forth was hiding secrets from his wife and who knows what else Grenville had over him? That could be another motive for murder. Bobby was madder than hell at Grenville moving out and deserting him, plus he must have had anger issues with his own father, another motive for murder.”

“That about sums it up. You are building a great case but you still don’t know who the hell did it. I feel you have to talk with Bobby. Let’s get his side of the story. There’s got to be someone that you can really link to the murder. I truly feel Bobby just might be the one to get some answers from.”

“We seem to forget about Peter. He was being abused by Gritty. What if?” I put up my hand to stop him continuing on that train of thought.

“Peter is incapable of murder. He couldn’t pull that off himself, even if he wanted to. He weighs all of 90 pounds. Impossible! And besides, he was in a mental facility at that time.”

“No, he was only put into that place after his father was murdered. What’s with you Adam? Don’t you remember?”

“Shit, you’re right! It is highly possible; Peter could have pulled this off with help … motive for murder. We as of now have four suspects and nothing makes sense to me. I just thought of something… far-fetched but anything is possible now.”

“Richard, what if Donald Haze with all his money paid for a hitman? That would be five suspects.”

“What would be his motive?”

“I haven’t quite figured that one out yet but Donald Haze was disappointed in his son. He wanted a relationship and maybe Gritty pushed him away.”

“I would say that it was the other way around.”

“Who knows… motive for murder.”

Richard started laughing and I heard the cork being opened and the sound of wine being poured. This case was getting more complicated by the minute. At least I was on retainer and I now had a right to probe into matters. We sat down and enjoyed the rest of the evening and just before it came to an end Richard said, “Promise me one thing.”

“Anything sweetheart.”

“Do not use the words, motive for murder, ever again, or else I’ll explode. Enough already!”

We could not contain our laughter.