Chapter Twenty Four
"I think he did it because he was angry," Kristy said when she handed over the files to Sebastian.
It was a very different Kristy Robinson who climbed into the back seat of Sebastian's truck. She was no longer the feisty young woman who had spoken with such respect for Paul Vail and such disgust for Cam Starr. Her anger with Starr was flowing from her when Sebastian had first met her and her feelings about her dead boss, Paul Vail, were reverential. Now however she was back in town to confess something.
She had some information about Paul Vail that she needed to get off of her chest.
"Why didn't you give these to me when I came to see you in Salt Lake City?" Sebastian asked.
"I was scared. I was scared and angry. I hate that Cam Starr. He is an asshole.
Once he took over he strutted around that place like he had built it up instead of Paul. I was angry that after working all those years for the Vail's I had to quit.
I was mad at Starr and I was a little mad at Paul for putting him in charge."
Sebastian interrupted, "I thought Jessie put Starr there after Paul died."
"Yes. She did put him in charge. I think she was screwing Cam Starr."
Kristy hesitated for a moment and then she continued.
"The funny thing is Paul thought so too. But he was still going to give Starr the job anyway. I wrote some notes about the whole situation and included them in the files.
I guess I shouldn't have taken Paul's files and I started to get scared that Cam might discover they're gone and maybe I'd get in trouble. That's the reason I wanted to give them to you."
Grace stopped her this time. "So you think Paul Vail suspected his wife of an affair with Cam Starr but he still wanted Starr to take over. Why? Why would Vail need Starr to take over? Why give it to someone who was screwing his wife? I was under the impression that Vail didn't want to sell."
Kristy started to tell her story again.
"I didn't think so either at first. I mean this company was the only thing Paul had. He loved his work and he loved his wife. He built this company and he was going to keep it but I guess when Jessie started fooling around it sort of changed everything. After that I don't think Paul wanted to stay. I think he would have sold it. He would have taken the money and left the business to Jessie and Starr.
I think he figured that Starr was the only person who could run the business so he decided to sell it and let Starr take over. Maybe by then he knew he had lost his wife to Starr and he was going to take the money and go.
Read the files. It's mostly bank deposits and a few notes that Paul wrote after meeting with Vail. It says he was depositing some sort of down payment."
They pulled into the restaurant parking lot at 7:00 and the hostess walked them to their seats. As they sat down Sebastian asked if he could see the restaurant manager. Once again he pulled out his letter from Kelly, hoping that the official letter head would give him some legitimacy with the restaurant staff.
A heavy set man with a dark black beard approached their table.
"What can I do for you?"
"Do you know these people?"
Sebastian showed him the pictures of Jessie, Starr and Pezzo.
"I know Jessie Vail," the man said. He didn't ask who Sebastian was. It didn't occur to the man that Jessie Vail could be involved in any trouble.
"It's terrible what happened to Paul. I knew them both very well. They've been coming here for years. I've worked here since I finished school and they've been eating here almost as long."
"Was Jessie Vail here last night?" Sebastian asked.
The manager seemed to stiffen. Something about the officious tone in Sebastian's voice made him rethink his willingness to share information about his regulars.
"What's going on?" he asked.
"We're looking into Paul's death,"
Sebastian placed the letter from Kelly on the table. He didn't bother handing it to the man. Grace pulled her badge from her purse.
The guy looked at the badge and didn't bother to read the letter before he continued answering questions.
"Yes I saw Jessie. She was with someone. I remember it was a gentleman but I am not sure if it was one of these two. It might be but I can't really say for certain."
He looked at the photographs of Starr and Pezzo that Sebastian had printed. They were taken with a cell phone camera and the shot was taken quickly. It wasn't very clear.
"I don't recognize the gentlemen but I am certain I spoke with Jessie Vail last night and I remember she was with a guy. It struck me because Paul has only recently passed away."
"Was there one man with Mrs. Vail or two?" Sebastian asked.
"I remember her coming in with one guy and then I think someone came to join them later. I believe they all ate together and then the other guy left just before Jessie left with the gentleman she came in with. It might be those two but I couldn't say for certain."
When their meal came, they didn't talk about the case but Sebastian skimmed through the files while he ate. There were some ownership papers a lawyer had drawn up, records of deposits made to a bank in Carbora, Mexico and there was a business card from someone named Tal Harbord at Ashwood Refuse in San Diego.
During the last month he was alive Paul Vail had deposited a total of $140,000 in a bank in Mexico. Sebastian thought that it had to be the money from Rappelo.
After dinner the three of them all crowded into the front cab of Sebastian's truck and as they drove back, Kristy talked a little more about the Vails.
"I overheard conversations all the time at the office. I tried not to listen to personal things but you know when you share an office you hear things. Sometimes, when he was on the phone, Paul would get mad and start shouting at his wife. Mostly it was about the business. She wanted to sell but he didn't. Then one day I heard him say Morgan knows the truth. Paul accused his wife of cheating on him. That's one of the reasons I started to hate that son of a bitch, Starr.
After that Paul started to go to Mexico. It was every Tuesday for about a month.
Once Paul told me that he was going to buy a place on the beach and move there. He was going to sell the business and go."
They dropped Kristy at her mothers place in Winona and then drove on together to Grace's place. Sam was at his Dad's house and Grace invited Sebastian in.
"If Paul was willing to sell why did Pezzo kill him? It still doesn't make sense," Grace said. "Maybe we should call Mr. Harbord from San Diego and see what was going on."
"There's something missing here," Sebastian told Grace. "It still doesn't make sense and we're no closer to finding who killed Vail. It seems to me that if he did take money from Rappelo that makes Pezzo suspect number one but if Starr knew Paul Vail was going to give Pezzo the business why kill him."
Grace answered, "Was Starr sleeping with Jessie. If Starr and Jessie were having an affair anything could have happen. I haven't been involved in many murder investigations but I know that jealousy is often a motive for murder.
Maybe Starr came to see Vail that night and they started to argue. Cam Starr is a big guy. It would be easy for him to kill Vail by accident. It may have been planned or it may have even been an argument that ended badly."
Grace paused for a minute then she said, "And what about the roofies. Remember Teddy said Starr bought roofies for Jessie. I mean Teddy was trying to plea bargain so he might have been telling tales to draw the attention away but still he had no reason to accuse Starr of wanting to rape Jessie.
Maybe Teddy Arseneault wanted the roofies himself or maybe Starr wanted them to use on Jessie but if Cam Starr bought roofies to use on her than he isn't having an affair with her"
"That's the big mystery here," Sebastian said. "Kristy says Starr and Jessie were having a thing. That was the reason Paul changed his mind and decided to sell. Paul wants to leave the business to his wife and her lover while he takes the money and runs. He starts hiding money in Mexico which he probably took from Rapello, by way of Pezzo and it looks like he is leaving but hen Paul starts talking with some company in San Diego."
As they got out of the car, Grace said she would contact Harbord in San Diego in the morning. Sebastian would pay a visit to Teddy and Cam and then Pezzo and ask about the missing money.
Up in her apartment, Grace opened another bottle of wine. Sam wasn't home and they weren't going to solve the case tonight but she did expect to finally find out how Sebastian managed to survive his childhood.