Page 67 - Labelle Gramercy, Detective

Road Kill

intercepted Sally Furth within the necessary time frame. They
certainly hated her enough to commit murder, but they had no
opportunity. On the other hand, the letter that Ferris saw her collect
that night has a direct bearing on this case.”
I waited again. “Well, what about that letter?” I glanced at her
profile. She was frowning.
“The fact is that the letter is gone; the murderer killed her to
prevent her using the information in it, and then destroyed it after
taking it from her body. So its contents cannot be reconstructed, nor
can it be determined who sent it to her. But I can guess what it said,
and that will be verified by what happens tonight.”
And she would say no more. I was disappointed that Labelle felt
she couldn’t confide further in me, but I understood well the role she
wanted me to play. If a diplomat couldn’t maintain a poker face at a
poker game, he wasn’t worthy of the title. We turned off the main
road into the Quartier Nouveau. After a couple of turns we
approached the Peace Corps director’s villa, a slightly older structure
with a neglected garden and walls greatly in need of whitewash. I saw
Harry Hofbrauer’s gardien at the gate and prepared to park next to it;
other cars were parked nearby.
“No,” said Labelle. “Go around the corner.”
Mystified, I complied. She directed me to park behind an old van
with opaque windows in back, a rather odd-looking vehicle to me. As
soon as we stopped, Labelle got out and went to the driver’s side of
the van. I followed, curious to see who was at the wheel. It was
Amadou Coulibaly.

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Having gotten close enough to be seen by Labelle’s police
counterpart, I had to go through the usual lengthy greetings courtesy
required. Labelle, I perceived, restrained her impatience with
difficulty. Too bad, I thought; she didn’t tell me to stay in the car.
She finally got us away from the car window and into Harry
Hofbrauer’s compound. I had no clearer idea of what was going on
than before, however. “It’s all set,” was the only comment she would
make. The situation made me uncomfortable; I could smell trouble
ahead in the sudden accumulation of unknown variables. But I have

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