Nothing but Trouble_ A Kevin Kerney Novel - Michael Mcgarrity [90]
“And you believed him?”
“Not without proof,” Paquette retorted. “He had legal papers and official documents from both Canadian and American government agencies.”
“What kind of documents?” Sara asked.
“Dishonorable discharge papers from the U.S. Army and a tax payment agreement from the Canadian government. It was all there in black and white.”
“Didn’t you think it strange that if his legal problems were behind him, he would want you to buy an Irish seaside villa for him in your name?”
“He said he wanted to move on with his life and start over in Ireland without drawing any attention to himself.”
“How did George arrange for you to meet him in Paris?”
“He sent a letter to me at work asking for my assistance.”
“Do you have that letter?”
“No.”
“Why didn’t you call the police when the letter arrived?”
“I saw no reason to doubt him. He wrote that he was no longer in trouble with the law and could prove it to my satisfaction, if I was willing to help.”
Sara rose, walked to Paquette, and looked down at her. “How could he have possibly known when you would be traveling to Ireland?”
“I didn’t think to ask him that.”
Sara stayed silent for a moment, letting the tension build. “Explain to me why George would buy the villa under your name and then hire a solicitor to prepare a conveyance to transfer the deed to him by the end of the year.”
For the first time during the interrogation Paquette’s composure wavered. Her mouth tightened and she gave Sara a stormy look. “If he’s still a criminal, why don’t you just go arrest him and ask him these questions? I’ve done nothing wrong.”
Sara walked behind Paquette’s chair and looked at her in the one-way mirror. “I wonder what a polygraph would tell me.”
“Would you not stand behind me, please,” Paquette said.
Sara stayed put. “You could avoid further difficulties by telling me now how much George promised to give you if you went along with his scheme.”
Paquette craned her neck to look at Sara. “It’s not a scheme. I simply agreed to help out a friend.”
“I’m confused, Joséphine. If this was all on the up and up, why would you pose as George’s lover when the two of you met with the architect and builder?”
Paquette looked away. “I did no such thing. They must have formed a mistaken impression about our relationship.”
Sara patted Paquette gently on the shoulder. “That could well be the case. People make faulty assumptions about others all the time.”
“Which is exactly what you’re doing with me,” Paquette said pointedly as she looked at her wristwatch. “I really must go.”
“Not yet.” Sara moved to the table, sat on it, and smiled down at Paquette. “I’m still a bit confused.”
“About what?”
“Your secret meeting with George on his yacht at the Dún Laoghaire Marina.”
“There wasn’t anything secret about it.”
“Then why was it the one and only time since you’ve been in Dublin that you didn’t use your car and driver?”
Paquette nodded and paused an extra beat. “I needed some time by myself without having to listen to my driver’s incessant chatter.”
Sara reached for the folder and thumbed through it. “Your driver, Martin Mullaney, told us that you informed him early in the day you wouldn’t be needing him that evening. It doesn’t appear that your need to take a break from a chatty driver was all that spontaneous.”
“Believe what you like. I’m telling you the truth.”
Sara sighed and plucked a sheet of paper from the folder. “Joséphine, everything we’ve learned points to the fact that George is paying you to be his intermediary.”
“I’ve been helping out because he’s been spending most of his time cruising on his yacht.”
“We know that your magazine is about to be sold,” Sara said as she scanned the paper, “and your chances of staying on as the editor are slim to none. We know that you’ve been actively job hunting for the past three months and have had no offers. We also know you are strapped for cash and carrying a lot of debt.”
Sara returned the paper to the folder. “The point is, no matter