The Investigators, Inc. The Case of Jacie’s Murder. Chapter 4. Next Visit.

Well, we had an interesting visit with Peter and Laurie Boardman, parents of Jacie, although poor Laurie had to be sedated after finding out that Jacie’s body was cremated, something they did not want. We will visit that funeral home later today, whether they want us to or not. We need to put a little pressure on them, they are a weaker link in this chain of mystery. Right now we are heading to a new section of Calgary to visit with Jacie’s boyfriend Dan, and his partner, Barry.

This should be fun, though not in the usual definition of the word. I don’t expect much cooperation from them. I am going to ask some tough questions, and they might not like that, but their reaction will be helpful anyway. This house is quite large and valued at $1.8 million. Apparently he has no mortgage, he paid cash for the house. Not bad considering that their business has only been in operation for 12 months. They must have been in the sex trafficking business for a while before starting their present business venture.

Hannah is trying to find out some information about that possibility. We brought one of the guys with us on this trip and that was Mac. I figured if anyone could find a hit man in this city, he could. Or anyone willing to kill if the price was right, but it had to be someone that is professional, or close to it anyway. Although, in some ways this didn’t look like it was a professional hit, but Mac thought it was, just that the man deliberately did some things to throw off anyone who might decide to investigate.

So, Mac is doing some investigating on his own, in a bad part of town. I wanted him to take 4 of the girls with him, but he said no to that because it would scare the people away that he wanted to meet. I agreed with him, but I still didn’t like it. As he left this morning in his own car, I told Kristina to go with him, invisibly of course. Mac likely knows I did that, but he didn’t say anything. We pulled into the driveway of Dan’s house and got out of the car.

As we arrived at the front door a voice came over the speaker and invited us to come in. The door opened by itself and we walked inside with the door closing behind us. Very nice indeed. Then Dan appeared, coming out of the living room and inviting us to come in and sit down. He called down the hall to let Barry know we had arrived. “He’s working in our home office this morning so he would be available for your visit,” said Dan. Barry came jogging in and I introduced each of us.

“I knew you were Crystal,” said Dan, “Jacie had showed me your pictures each time you sent some. I wish we could have met at our wedding, instead of Jacie’s funeral.” Dan got quite somber at that point, something I did not expect. Then he asked if we would like some coffee and we all said yes, so he went out to the kitchen to get it for us. Samantha went to help him. “Barry, may I use your washroom?” asked Crystal.

“Yes, just down the hall,” he said, “on the left, that’s the green bathroom.” She thanked him and left, then returned immediately carrying a tray with 4 cups of coffee. I could see Barry frowning a bit as Crystal handed out coffee. Samantha brought more with her, plus cream and sugar. “Are you not going to use the washroom Crystal?” asked Barry. “Um, no, that’s not necessary,” she said, “but where is it anyway?” “I told you when you asked before,” he said, “don’t tell me a private investigator has a bad memory.”

“I never asked about a washroom,” she said smiling. “That’s true, she didn’t,” said Kitty. “I think you are trying to play with me,” he said chuckling, “but really, I have nothing to hide so just ask whatever questions you want.” We did ask questions and they both answered perfectly, though Barry’s answers seemed to be quite rehearsed. Dan, however, had more normal responses, including getting choked up at times and he even had tears a couple of times. That was definitely a surprise.

Then a phone call came in for Barry, so he went to the office. Crystal asked about the washroom again and Dan told her where to find it. She returned immediately from the kitchen with more coffee for everyone. “Wow, that was fast Crystal,” he said. “Well, the kitchen is not far away,” she said smiling. “I meant about using the washroom,” he said. “I didn’t go to the washroom,” she said, “I went to get more coffee, don’t you remember?”

“Oh, yeah, guess my head isn’t working too well these days,” he replied. “That’s understandable,” I said, “may we see the bathroom where your wife was found?” “Yes, of course,” he said and took us to a second floor bathroom which was all yellow. Apparently it was Jacie’s favorite bathroom, and it definitely was nice. “I understand that a man called the police and said he found your wife in the bathtub,” I said, “but he was gone when the police arrived.”

“Yes, that’s what the police told me,” he said, “but it doesn’t make sense. Why didn’t the police try looking for that man? I mean, Jacie had been beaten, maybe she had been raped too, and then drowned by that man. But the police felt it was just an accidental death. So what, did she beat herself and then accidentally drown in the tub? And what about the river water found in her lungs? That makes no sense either.” Then I told him that the original police report said Jacie’s body was found at the river, not in the bathtub.

“I think they are trying to cover up what really happened to Jacie!” exclaimed Dan. “I think so too,” I said, “but proving it might not be easy. And we were told that Jacie’s body had been cremated yesterday as well.” “What?!” he exclaimed, “They can’t do that! Her parents wanted to bury her, not cremate her, and that’s what I wanted too! They’ll hear from me about that one I assure you!” He then broke down crying and Barry showed up right then so he took him to his bedroom to lie down.

Samantha said she could give him a sedative and Barry thought that might be a good idea. Barry did invite us back anytime we had more questions and I thanked him. We then left and went back to the hotel restaurant where we met the rest of the team. Interestingly, that same Mercedes came by Dan’s house while we were there, the same man in the back seat, minus his black coat. Brandy took more photos and also sent the license number back to Wisty.

She already had an answer for us while we were eating. The car was owned by a wealthy businessman here in Calgary, named Lionel Kenwood. Hmm, now why is he so interested in this case? Meanwhile… “Don’t worry, they just asked a few questions, said person one. “I still don’t like them being involved,” said person two, “they could spoil everything.” “What can a small team of investigators from France find out?” asked person one, “They will look around a bit and when they can’t find anything, they will go back home.”

“You better be right,” said person two, “or some serious problems will come your way.” Meanwhile, in another part of town. “Hey old man,” said Rick, “we don’t like people snooping around our territory. So now we gotta teach you a lesson, then you leave.” “Don’t start something punk,” said Mac, “you are taking chances, and that isn’t smart.” Rick came closer, but Mac took out his knife and had it at Rick’s throat. But then there were 5 other young men surrounding Mac in the alley…

To Be Continued. ©2025 Steve McLeod.