Chapter Thirty Three
Arsenault tied Sebastian's hands behind the chair with an electric wire while his buddy, Starr sat behind the desk watching. When he had Sebastian tied to the chair, Arsenault pulled a cigarette lighter from his pocket lit a smoke and then held the flame towards Sebastian's face.
He smiled and said, "I could straighten this fucker out for you Cam. Let me straighten him out and I'll get rid of the body for you too."
"I have a few questions for you," Sebastian said.
"Shut the fuck up. You got nothing for me. I will ask the questions and I will tell you what's going on," Starr said.
He sat at the desk with his feet up and his hands clasped behind his head. He looked like he was trying to give the impression that he was in charge but Sebastian sensed that Starr didn't know what his next move should be. He wanted Sebastian and Teddy to think he handled situations like this all the time but Sebastian knew that was unlikely. He wasn't all that comfortable with this situation, maybe things were going too fast or maybe he was worried he couldn't control Teddy Arsenault.
Arsenault still held the flame near Sebastian's face. He cradled the shotgun in his other arm and smoked his cigarette.
"Listen to Cam," Arsenault said. He seemed angry that Sebastian wasn't frightened.
He glanced back at Starr and then he swung his hand closer to Sebastian's face so that the flame was under Sebastian's nose. The heat was intense. It immediately seared his skin and Sebastian recoiled from the pain and the scorched smell in his nostrils. His reaction to the pain caused Arsenault to giggle.
"Stop," Starr shouted out, "not yet. I have to sort this out,"
"When did you buy the car Cameron?"
Sebastian wasn't going to back down. He kept his eye on Arsenault and the shot gun as he questioned Starr.
Starr looked confused.
"Shut up."
"I mean I know that when you got the promotion Vail was already dead but I learned you bought that car a month earlier," Sebastian said, "who told you that Vail was going to die? How did you know that a promotion was coming and you could buy that sweet car? The cops want to know Cam."
Arsenault didn't like Sebastian bothering Starr. He was agitated and stood over Sebastian liking a hound that had caught the rabbit and didn't know what to do with it now. He knew his master didn't want Sebastian harmed but he wanted to take a bite.
The shot gun was still in the crook of his arm. He was more excited about burning Sebastian again and was unaware that the gun was pointing straight up and no longer at Sebastian.
The chair was one of those old wooden office ones with metal wheels. He rolled it back about six inches. Arsenault seemed to think he was trying to get away from the lighter and this excited him more. He stepped closer towards Sebastian.
Sebastian wanted to move further from Starr who was behind the desk with his feet still propped up. He needed to get enough distance between himself and Starr so that he could disarm Arsenault quickly when the time came. He rolled back slightly again and Arsenault followed him again. Starr seemed unaware that Sebastian was gradually moving away. It didn't matter to him.
"The cops are asking too many questions and it is all your fault,"
Starr was angry. "You know Pezzo did it. Everyone knows it."
"But how did you know Paul Vail was going to die before he was murdered?" Sebastian asked again.
"I didn't know anything. Paul was moving to Mexico. He told me. He was leaving for a while and he wanted me to look after things while he was gone. That's when I bought the car."
Starr was trying to act tough but Sebastian knew that these questions bothered him. The funny thing was that it sounded to Sebastian like he wasn't lying. Starr wanted to control this situation but there was a little desperation to his voice which made Sebastian think he also wanted to clear his name.
"Paul told me I was in for a big promotion about a month before he died and then once he was gone Jessie picked me to run the place anyway."
Arsenault began waving his lighter towards Sebastian again.
"Let me torch this prick, Cam. I'll teach him a lesson."
This time, Arsenault held the flame up to Sebastian's ear lobe. He singed his ear and Sebastian smelt burnt hair but he didn't react except to roll his chair back a few inches again.
Arsenault was pleased with himself. He enjoyed having the opportunity to hurt someone and have the approval of Cam Starr while he did it.
Sebastian was stretching this situation out long enough to learn how involved Starr was in the murder. Putting up with Arsenault was the easy part.
"So you knew that Vail was leaving. That makes sense."
Now he changed the line of questioning.
"So why did you buy the roofies Cam? Did you give them to Vail or were you saving them to rape his wife or daughter?"
He already knew that answer to that.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Starr snarled.
Sebastian rolled his chair another six inches away from the desk. He was now more than ten feet from Starr who was still sitting with his feet up. When he wanted to disarm Arsenault, it would take Starr time to get out from behind the desk.
"Your friend Teddy here told the cops that you brought some stuff back from Mexico to use on Mrs. Vail. You always wanted Jessie didn't you Cam. The date rape drug was just a little insurance, right Cam."
Arsenault was getting nervous about this line of conversation. When he had been arrested for importing steroids, his lawyer explained to him that he would have to plea bargain a deal or his past criminal life would have resulted in some heavy jail time.
"My lawyer made me rat you out Cam. I had no choice. They were going to lock me up for a long time," he said.
Starr realized what Sebastian was doing. He was surprised by what Sebastian had said but he needed Teddy's help right now. He wasn't going to let this get in the way.
"They got nothing on me," Starr said to Arsenault, "don't worry about it Teddy. If it goes to court it'll be your word against mine."
"You'll get away clean Cam. If you go to court the jury will be eating out of your hands," Arsenault said. "My lawyers made me say it but I can deny it in court. You know I wouldn't screw you Cam. I just didn't want to have to go back inside. I just said what they wanted me to say. They found the roofies and I just told them what ever they wanted to hear."
Arsenault was terrified that Cam might be upset at him. He was pacing back and forth and pointing the gun at Sebastian then back to the ceiling. He was frustrated and becoming dangerous.
He thought that he would kill Sebastian even if Starr didn't want him too. He would just kill him and then sort it out with Starr after.
"Let me get rid of this prick"
Sebastian kept pushing Starr with questions.
"The way it looks to me is you do Jessie's dirty work for her. That's what this is about. You do what ever she asks because you always wanted your friend's wife and then you bought some roofies to finally have her. Maybe you think by killing me she will finally give it up for you, Cam, just like you thought she would if you killed her husband, your friend Paul"
"I didn't kill anyone. And I bought the roofies for Jessie. She asked for them. I brought some product for us here at the gym, some pills and stuff for me and Teddy and the clients and Jessie asked me to pick up that other shit. I don't know what for."
That was it. He had it.
"I believe you Cam," Sebastian said and then, as Arsenault cradled the gun back in his arm so that it pointed upwards, Sebastian leaned back in the chair and swung his legs up around Arsenault's neck and pulled him to the ground.
The gun went off and fired a spray of pellets into the ceiling. The explosion echoed through the small room and Starr whose ears were ringing from the noise jumped from his seat and hid behind the desk.
Arsenault tried to swing the gun towards Sebastian, who had it lodged tightly between his leg and Arsenault's shoulder. Starr knew there was still one cartridge left and although Sebastian was tied to the chair it could go off and a short barreled shot gun blast would certainly send enough pellets to catch Starr if he tried to stop Sebastian.
Sebastian squeezed his legs tightly around Arsenault's throat. Arsenault tried released the gun and tried to pry Sebastian from around his neck but it was useless and Sebastian slowly choked him into unconsciousness.
Sebastian released Arsenault, who slowly fell to the floor and then stood and dropped backwards smashing the chair on the floor. Starr peeked out from behind the desk to see that Sebastian had managed to break the chair on his second attempt and although his hands were still tightly bound behind his back, he was holding the rifle now. He ignored Starr and walked quickly out of the back room and into the gym with the gun still held behind his back.
In the gym, Sebastian found a short paring knife behind the bar and placed the gun down on the bar so that he could cut the electric cords from his wrists. As he tried to cut the cord Starr emerged from the back room and Arsenault who had regained consciousness followed him. Seeing the gun on the bar, they rushed towards Sebastian.
He cut through the cord and grabbed for the gun but as he pulled the trigger Starr reached the bar and he was able to push the barrel up.
Again the pellets unloaded into the ceiling with just one catching Starr in the cheek. It was enough to drop Starr to the floor, bleeding from his face.
Teddy Arsenault had picked up a weight bar and as Starr dropped to the floor Teddy swung the metal bar at Sebastian's head. Sebastian lunged backwards out of the way and stumbled over a barbell. He fell onto his back and Arsenault stepped towards him but he kicked Arsenault hard enough in shatter his shin.
Arsenault fell backwards hitting his head on a thirty pound metal disc. It made a dull thud and blood immediately pooled out from his wound onto the carpeted gym floor.
Starr turned to see his friend on the floor slowly dying.
"Teddy. You've killed Teddy."
Starr's face was bleeding heavily as well but he was focused on Arsenault who now lay dying on the floor.
He began to sob at the sight of life slipping from his friend.
Sebastian knew it was the cry of a man who had never committed murder or seen it committed.