Officer Bradley walked into the Pub, shivering slightly.
"Cold out there. Weather's changing. Sorry it took me so long. The night clerk had to get hold of the manager and the day clerk."
He looked at Lindsay.
"Your instincts were right. This guy Jeff Lawson fits the description of Jackson Lamont."
"Can wese get him arrested?"
"We don't really have anything on him and besides, we have another problem."
"What is that?"
"Seems this guy has already checked out. He used the automated checkout service in the room. The night clerk never even saw him leave. I checked some of the other hotels and motels, in the city, but no one fitting his description checked in."
"So he could be anywhere?"
Officer Bradley nodded.
"I will check in Deer Lake and even Port-aux=Basque, but I don't think we will have any more luck."
"So the fucker could bes anywhere."
~~~~~
Jackson Lamont glanced at his cellphone, mounted on the dash, as it connected to the bluetooth in his rental jeep. He saw Angie's name.
"What does she want?"
He considered not answering, but he knew she would only call back.
"What?" he quipped, boringly.
"Its me."
Jackson calmed a little.
"No kidding. What do you want?."
"Well, ahhh."
"Fuck. What?"
"Noel got caught."
"What do you mean, he got caught? He texted me and said it was done."
"Well, apparently it wasn't and apparently, they had security on the site. And apparently they caught him before he did the deed."
"How do you know this?"
"I called Tanya Rideout. Her voicemail said she is on vacation and that I should contact Lindsay, ah I think her name is Pike?"
"I know who she is. What has this got to do with anything?"
"Well she told me that someone had tried to burn the motel and then, well then, she started asking me why I was interested and why I was calling at seven in the morning."
"And what did you say?" Jackson demanded.
"I got flustered. I told her who I was. And she knew who I was. I tried to convince her I was concerned about my brother, but I don't think she believed me and she kept asking why I was so interested in what was happening and ...
well I fucking panicked."
"You stupid bitch."
"Well fuck you."
"What?"
"Fuck you," the woman yelled.
"I was a fucking idiot to trust you and now, well, I'm basically fucked."
Jackson laughed.
"Remember, you approached me. With your big sob story about how you were in love with this woman and she only looked at you as a friend.
Boo, fucking, hoo.
You were the one that said you wanted to get back at her."
"So, I made a fucking mistake. You fat Albertan fuck."
Again, Jackson laughed.
"Well, you are on your own now, bitch."
"You promised me money."
"You promised me a burned down motel."
"You didn't say anything about security there."
"That isn't my problem."
The woman laughed.
"Well it is now, you arrogant bastard."
"And just what is that supposed to mean?"
"It means I am going to drive to Tuckamore Bay and tell them all about the plan that me and you devised. The plan that you promised me a million dollars, if it succeeded."
"Go. Do your damnedest. Who do you think they are going to believe? A well respected billionaire business man or a self pitying dyke?"
"You fucking bastard."
"That's right, bitch. You can't bring me in on this, without ruining your life.
And believe me, you will be the one to suffer, not me."
The woman took a deep breath.
"Yea, but you forget one thing, you fat fuck."
"And what is that?"
"I have nothing to lose and you have everything."
"You have nothing on me. Nothing that can tie me to anything. It was all your doing."
The woman laughed.
"Maybe not, but you become pretty loose tongued, after eight or nine whiskeys and a b.j. from this dyke.
The cops just might be interested in knowing about what happened to your son in law."
Jackson, momentarily, lost control of the jeep rental. He pulled over to the side of the road, slamming the jeep into park.
"What the fuck are you talking about?"
"I wonder how your daughter, Gail, I believe her name is, would feel, if she knew that her Daddy basically murdered her husband."
Jackson slammed his fits on the steering wheel. His utter folly; wanting to be with a lesbian, could possibly be the ultimate downfall, for him.
"Fucking bitch," he yelled.
The woman laughed.
"See, Jackson, while you were getting drunk and bragging about how you got a dyke to convert, I was just taking it all in.
It is amazing what a man will talk about, while a woman has his penis in her hand.
And believe me, Jack-ass, you spilled the beans."
Jackson closed his eyes and let out a long breath.
"What do you want?"
"I want in. I don't know what you are up to, but I want in. And I want the million dollars that you promised me. I am giving you one hour, to transfer the money to my account. You have the information. I gave it to you the night we were together.
And I want to know exactly what it is aboutTuckamore Bay, that has you all hot and horney."
The woman giggled slightly.
"So, Jackson. I am going to say goodbye for now and I am going to go to the liquor store and buy the most expensive bottle of red wine that they carry. I might even buy a case of the wine. And when I come back home, I had better see a wonderful new balance in my bank account, or I will be on the phone to Lindsay Pike and the RCMP, about how the billionaire, Jackson Lamont, tried to burn down the little motel in Tuckamore Bay.
Do we have an understanding, Jack-ass?"
Jackson fought the urge to tell the woman to go fuck herself.
"Okay, Angie. You win.
Go and buy your fucking wine. I will see to it that the money will be in your account."
"That is a good little boy," Angie laughed.
"And by the way, Jackson. It is little men like you, with their tiny little penises, that turn real women like me, into, as you say, dykes."
The call ended.
"Fuck," Jackson yelled.
Immediately, his mind went into damage control. Like many men, he had let his penis rule his life, for one short night and now, he had to deal with the consequences.
He opened the contacts on his cellphone and tapped one.
"Mr. Lamont. How can I help you?"
"We have a problem, Penny, and I need you to make it disappear."
~~~~~
Lindsay Pike ended the call and stared at her husband, Carl.
"What were that all about?" Carl wondered.
"That was Angie Harris."
Carl shrugged. He did not register the name.
"She is Perry's sister. She was the one who tutored Tanya."
"Oh, okay.
So what did she want?"
"Nothing really. But she was pretty interested in what 'appened last night. And she almost sounded upset dat the motel is still standing and dere bes something even funnier."
"What bes that?"
"When Ise told 'er that we caught da guy, she asked 'ow Noel were."
"Did youse tell 'er 'is name?"
Lindsay shook her head as she stood up.
"No. Come on. Ise wants to talks to this Noel guy."
Lindsay walked to Noel's table. All of the others from the crews that Perry and Cathy Harris were also in the Pub, under the watchful eyes of Officers Bradley and Temple and several of the men from the Bay.
She approached the two RCMP officers.
"Has you got any more info?"
Both officers shook their head.
"Noel Fitzpatric was staying at the Tuckers. All Harry knows was that he woke about midnight last night. He thought he heard something, but he just passed it off as spirits," Officer Temple informed her.
"Has Noel talked?"
"Not a word. I think its time we turned this over to the detachment in Corner Brook."
Lindsay shook her head.
"No. This stays in da Bay."
"What about the other people in the crews?"
"I have talked to a lot of them and honestly, I don't think they know anything about this," Officer Bradley spoke up.
"And Dave has spoken to the rest. We both feel that Fitzpatric was doing this on his own."
"What about the Perrys?"
Officer Temple shrugged.
"They both claim that they had nothing to do with it. I did some checking with Deer Lake and Corner Brook and they have nothing on these two. Not even a parking ticket. They are both hard working people and very respected in their field. They would have nothing to gain from this."
"Well, I am not to sure about that," Lindsay informed the officers.
She started to Noel's table. The three men followed her.
Lindsay sat at the table and stared at Noel.
"Youse 'ad a 'ard night, Ise 'eard."
Noel stared at Lindsay, blank faced.
Lindsay smiled.
"I heard you had a little run in with our security?"
Noel's eyes opened wide.
Lindsay leaned across the table and whispered.
"How would youse like it ifin Ise put youse in a little room with a dozen or so of our security people?"
Noel's face completely drained of colour. He opened his mouth, but no words came out.
"Youse are fucked, Noel. This is Tuckamore Bay and wese looks after own own problems here. Now, unless youse wants to spend the next ten hours in a small room, with our security, you will tell me everything."
She sat back in her chair.
"I know youse are working with Angie Harris, but who else is involved in this."
She looked around the room.
"Any of these people?"
Noel shook his head.
"So, Angie Harris was the woman youse were working with?"
Noel nodded.
Lindsay looked at the two RCMP officers.
"Let the rest of these people go. Tell them to go to the homes where they bes staying."
She turned to Carl.
"TT the Bay and let them know the others are not involved in this. I don't want them to be treated bad."
Lindsay stood up.
"Can Ise have everyone's attention."
She waited until everyone was looking her way.
"We are sorry for the inconvenience we have cause any of youse, but we hopes youse understands that we had to get to the bottom of this. Wese would like youse all to go back to your billets and stay there until we get this cleared up.
Youse are all in the clear and once again we apologize."
The Pub emptied quickly, leaving just Lindsay and the four men.
Lindsay sat back down at Noel's table.
"Okay Noel, you have one chance. Answer these questions or ..."
"I'll tell you everything," Noel gasped.
"I just want to get out of this fucking place."
He looked at the Officers.
"You have to protect me, right?"
"Just cooperate," Officer Temple instructed him.
"Can I have a beer or something and a smoke?"
Carl walked to the bar and brought a couple beer and a pack of cigarettes. He put it on the table, in front of the young man.
Noel drank one beer quickly and lit a cigarette. He looked around the Pub before he started.
"There are no spirits here," Lindsay assured him.
"So I wasn't imagining it," Noel sputtered.
"Fuck."
He drew hard on the cigarette and drank half the second beer.
"I was a student of Angie Harris, at the local Collage. I wasn't the best so she agreed to give me private lessons, at her house. One thing eventually led to another and ..."
Lindsay rolled her eyes.
"Wese don't care about your banging an older woman. Just get to the point."
Noel nodded.
"Angie called me a couple nights ago and made me a proposition. She said she was going to be coming into lot of money and if I did something for her, she would pay me ten thousand dollars and me and her would run off to some place in Mexico or Bermuda."
"So she offered youse ten grand to burn down the motel?"
Noel nodded.
"She said it would be simple. Just go in there and start a fire. When the job was done, I was to call her and she would meet me at the highway. From there we would take off to Deer Lake and get on a plane."
Lindsay closed her eyes and shook her head.
"Youse are not the brightest, are youse Noel?
Let me guess, youse couldn't cut it in Angie's class, so youse decided to go into, what, carpentry?"
Noel shook his head.
"Plumbing. I have always been good with my hands."
"And Angie got you on this crew?"
"Yea. She got her brother to do it as a favour."
"So why did Angie want youse to burn down the motel?"
Noel shrugged.
"I don't know."
"And youse never thought to ask?"
He shook his head.
"All I know is that she said she was working with a guy that had an interest in this place."
"Did she mention the guy's name?" Lindsay asked, having a pretty good idea what the answer was going to be.
"I don't remember. Some stupid name. I laughed when she told me."
Noel thought for a moment as he snuffed out the cigarette.
"Jack, someone."
"Jackson?"
Noel stared at Lindsay.
"Yea that was it."
"Jackson Lamont?"
Noel was nodding furiously.
"Yea that was it. She said he was going to pay her a lot of money."
Lindsay slammed her fist on the table.
"Fucking Lamont."
She looked at the two RCMP officers.
"Get hold of Corner Brook. Talks to Commander Lukeman. Tell him what has happened and have them get to Angie Harris and let them know that Lamont is involved in this again. It is time we bring this fucking asshole down."
"What about the Harris'? They are still at the motel."
"I will talk to them," Lindsay suggested.
"Give me their cellphones and get in touch with Deer Lake and have them send a car here, to take Noel."
Officer Bradley handed the cellphones to Lindsay.
"What is going to happen to me?"
Lindsay leaned on the table and stared right into the young man's eyes.
"You are going to cooperate one hundred percent. You are going to tell everything to the cops, except for one thing.
You mention nothing about what you saw. If you don't, we will see that you get off easy.
You mention one word about the spirits that you saw and you will be haunted every night for the rest of your life.
Do we have an understanding?"
Noel simply nodded.
"Good. You be a good boy and you just might come out of this without spending a pile of time in jail. And a dumb little shit, like youse, don't wants to end up in jail."
Noel shook his head.
"I just want to get out of this place."
Lindsay took a cigarette from the pack on the table and lit it.
"Let's get this thing looked after."
She started for the door, Carl following behind her.