CHAPTER 5
SIDNEY LOOKED AT INSPECTOR PIERRE.
“So this argument,” she said, “between Grace and Julian. I understand that many resort guests witnessed it, since it occurred near the pool. And it happened in the afternoon of the day Julian was killed. But is an argument between two young lovers so uncommon that it made you immediately suspect Grace? I don’t know any young couples who don’t have a spat every so often. ”
“The argument alone was not what raised my suspicion, it was the cause of the argument,” Pierre said.
“Grace admitted that it had to do with her past relationship with Daniel Greaves.”
“That’s what she suggested,” Pierre said. “It was a convenient way to explain the fight, and clearly implied that Julian was angry with her. That he was the jealous one.”
“But you didn’t believe this?”
“No. We pulled the phone record from Julian’s room.
It showed three calls to a New York extension during his stay.
When we tracked down the recipient of the calls, we discovered that it was Julian’s past girlfriend.
What you called, a lover. The final call to New York was made on the afternoon before Julian was killed, and immediately preceded the witnessed argument between Julian and Ms. Sebold.
And when we pulled Ms. Sebold’s phone log, we found an outgoing call to the same New York extension.
So it was my logical conclusion that Ms. Sebold discovered that Julian had been phoning his ex-lover, and that she called the number to confirm her suspicion.
This is what caused the argument between them.
And despite how Ms. Sebold would like things perceived, she was the one who was angry that day, not Julian Crist.”
“This ex-girlfriend of Julian’s,” Sidney said. “Does she have a name?”
“Ms. Allison Harbor.”
“You spoke with her during your investigation?”
“Of course. And she confirmed that her and Julian’s relationship was still ongoing.”
“Ongoing in what way?”
“In an intimate way, Ms. Ryan.”
Sidney took a moment to collect her thoughts. The idea of Grace discovering Julian’s continued relationship with a past girlfriend had caught her off guard. Finally, she looked back at the inspector.
“I can understand how this omission on Grace’s part could be considered deceptive.”
“I would classify it as a lie,” Pierre said.
“Understood. But this single misrepresentation of an argument, given by a young girl under tremendous stress—remember, her boyfriend had just been found dead, and she was now being interrogated by the police—that was enough to cause you to focus your investigation so tightly on her, and her alone?”
Inspector Pierre shook his head. “No, Ms. Ryan. You asked how Ms. Sebold originally came under my suspicion when more than one hundred guests were registered at the hotel. Her lie about the argument was the origin of my distrust. But it was the blood that caused me to suspect Ms. Sebold above anyone else.”
“The blood?” Sidney said.
“Yes.”
Sidney had seen the photos of the splatter on the bluff many times. “The blood was so minor, though. I’m confused.”
“I would argue that the blood was minor in no way. There was a great deal of it.”
“A great deal?” Sidney asked. “Four drops of blood, isn’t that correct? The splatter pattern on the bluff contained four drops of blood?”
“That’s correct. Plus another collection of blood from a second location on the bluff.”
“So a single splatter of four drops and a second collection is considered a great deal of blood, by the St. Lucian Police Force? And how, exactly, did the blood up on Gros Piton raise your suspicion that Grace was involved?”
Pierre narrowed his eyes and slowly shook his head. “You are considering only the blood found on the bluff, Ms. Ryan. When taken with the other blood we discovered in Ms. Sebold’s room, it can be described as a great deal.”