Veil of Crimson

The Mystery of Adrian LeBlanc

I jump out of the car as soon as I pull myself together from the initial shock. LeBlanc is already parading towards the house like a peacock, while I whistle through my fingers in an attempt to stop him. He turns around in surprise, smiling. “Resorting to cat calls now, are we?”

I glare at him, already moving towards him. I ignore his remark, then shove my finger at his chest. “Explain yourself right now. What is your connection to this woman? If you’re connected to this case, you can’t be on it,” I declare.

He sighs like I’m frustrating him. Oh, pal, you have no idea what you do to me. “You people and your stupid rules,” he scoffs, then crosses his arms against his chest. “Fine. The girl came asking me for a favor. In order to pay off her father’s debts, she also had to give up the house they lived in. She had nowhere to go and I offered her a solution. A new house,” he explains.

I stare at him, not knowing why I’m not believing a single word coming out of his mouth. “Why? How do you know Miss Saint Germain?” I question him, unable to believe that he’d just buy a random girl a whole house.

He leans a little closer, a sly smirk appearing on his face. “Are you jealous?” he wonders in a suggestive tone, making my face fall. I roll my eyes, then turn away from him and head towards the house. Fine. If he doesn’t want to tell me, he doesn’t have to. I can manage on my own. “Detective wait!”

I ignore him and keep walking. But before I’m able to knock on the door, he stops me, his hand clasping around my wrist. I blink, startled. How did he catch up with me so fast?

“Look, sometimes, when I think it could be useful to me, I grant people favors. And in exchange, they have to pay up when I deem it suitable,” he explains, something in his voice hinting at a dangerous undertone.

I stare at him for a moment, not knowing what to think about his words. Then, I yank my hand away from him, and he gets the memo, letting go of me as soon as he feels me pulling away. “Whatever,” I remark dryly, not wanting to let my mind wander to dark places. I knock on the door, waiting for an answer patiently.

I have a feeling that Adrian is hiding something from me. I’m not sure what it is, but I’m sensing it’s nothing good. I might not have discovered anything unusual while raiding his restaurant and his other premises, but he’s … He’s strange. Really strange. I’ve never met anyone like him before. I feel this weird pull that I’m trying to ignore.

But every time I’m around him, it’s right there, at the pit of my stomach. Rushing to the surface again and again and again. I have no idea what it means, or why it makes me like him and dislike him at the same time. And it scares the crap out of me.

As the door swings open to my face, it reveals a young, almost fragile looking girl. She seems pale and in general, quite unhealthy. Before she manages to open her mouth, her eyes fall on LeBlanc and they widen, her words dying in her throat. She grows even paler if possible, making me frown.

“Roxanne Saint Germain? I’m Detective Elise Gauthier from the NOPD, this is Adrian LeBlanc, he’s a consultant. We’d like to have a word with you,” I introduce myself, not knowing why I’m introducing him, since he bought the girl a whole house. But anyway, it’s procedure.

The girl looks at me, her eyes still wide and frightened. She glances back at LeBlanc, before turning back to me. “S-So you’re not here to collect your debt,” she stutters, turning her gaze towards him again. Something’s not right here.

I look at him as well, demanding answers with my gaze. He offers the girl a charming smile. “Oh, but of course I am,” he lets her know, making her let out a scared whimper. She tries to close the door into our faces, but he’s too quick for her. He has a foot in her door, keeping it open to let us see her terrified face.

“LeBlanc, what’s going on here?” I hiss at him, furious that he’s scared the crap out of the girl. She’s useless in this state. He ignores me and turns his attention to Roxanne.

“Listen, darling, it’s not what you think. You’ll pay your debt by talking to this nice police lady here, alright? I promise,” he reassures her with a charming smile covering his face. I don’t buy it. And she doesn’t either.

“NO! You said my time wouldn’t come so soon!” she protests, making blood freeze in my veins. There’s something about her choice of words that makes shivers run down my spine. Adrian doesn’t seem amused anymore.

He sends her a long look. “Roxanne, for the last time, I’m telling you your debt is settled, if you let us in and answer the Detective’s questions. The new owner of the LaLaurie Mansion was murdered,” he lets her know in a more serious way now. He’s getting impatient.

I already mean to grab him and drag him back into my car to lock him in and talk to the girl myself. But I guess he’d find a way to break out of my car as well, if he managed to get himself out of my handcuffs.

However, strangely enough, the mention of the LaLaurie Mansion makes Roxanne’s interest perk up. She doesn’t seem too happy about the news. She hesitates for a moment, then blinks with newfound determination. “Do you promise?” she asks, still keeping her eyes glued on LeBlanc.

He sighs with frustration, gesturing at me. “Well, you have a witness, if something happens to you, I can assure you she’ll be the first to put me behind bars,” he remarks, making me gasp in shock.

“LeBlanc! We don’t threaten people!” I remind him, glaring at him. He finally turns his gaze towards me, smirking in his usual charming way once again. He turns back to Roxanne triumphantly.

“See? If you don’t trust me, you can trust this nice police lady,” he assures her, finally making her look at me. As our eyes meet, she finally nods and opens the door for us to enter. I go in first, but not before sending a nasty glare at LeBlanc. We’re going to have a little chitchat about this later. For now, I need some info about the murder. If I can get any.

I look around. Considering how neat the house looks from the outside, I wasn’t expecting it to be so out of order on the inside. I have to battle through some stuff, randomly lying around in order to follow Roxanne. She moves past it like she doesn’t even see it.

I suppress a squeal of pain as I step on something small and sharp. As I look down, I see a hairclip. Nasty little thing. That’s almost worse than a Lego. I would know, trust me. I’m an aunt. Maybe I should give my sister a call. And my parents. It’s been a while since they’ve heard from me. They have no idea there won’t be any wedding.

“You can sit down here,” Roxanne invites us, bringing me out of my thoughts. She gestures to the sofa in her living room, joining us on an armchair opposite it. She starts fiddling with her fingers nervously the moment she sits down.

She’s still staring at LeBlanc in a distrusting way, and I’m really hoping I’ll be able to get anything useful from her at all. “So, Miss Saint Germain, you owned the LaLaurie Mansion before Mrs. Wesling did,” I state, managing to get her attention. She nods, a sadness crossing her face. “Did the mansion mean a lot to you?” I wonder.

She nods again, glancing at LeBlanc in a cautious way, before turning her gaze back to me. “Yes. I grew up in it … But we had to move out when … My parents were having money problems. My dad, actually. He was … He was a gambler. He gave up the mansion and lent it out to anyone who wanted it. He didn’t have the heart to sell it. But the people who were coming in there … They hosted wild parties. The wore it down until it was barely recognizable. I know, I walked past it every day, when I went to school,” she responds.

She keeps fiddling with her fingers, while I keep questioning her. “But you had to give it up, when your parents passed away,” I encourage her, trying to get something else out of here. A motive, perhaps.

The girl lifts her gaze and looks at me with tears in her eyes. “My parents died six months ago. Since then, I’ve had to give up not one, but two of my homes. I had no other choice but to sell both our house and the mansion. My dad … He was just in too deep. I gave away everything I had in order to live a debt-free life. But it made me land on the road … I had no other choice but to ask … Ask for help,” she reveals, her voice trembling with emotions.

She glances at LeBlanc, who’s watching her with a blank expression on his face. He looks at me as he feels my gaze on him, smirking at me. “And that’s when you went to LeBlanc here … To get yourself a new home,” I remark, still staring at him.

He puts his hand over his heart in a dramatic way. “And I provided it for her, out of the goodness of my heart,” he almost sings back in response. I have to try really hard to resist the urge to roll my eyes. If I keep doing that, they’re going to roll out of my sockets eventually, like my ma’ always used to tell me.

I turn back towards Roxanne, who is staring at Adrian with a mixture of fear, gratitude and resentment at the same time. Huh. What is going on here? “Yes,” she says quietly, not adding another word. I think for a moment, knowing that she won’t tell me anything else. Not with LeBlanc sitting right across her.

“Okay … And would you like to get the mansion back?” I ask her, laying stones on the path I’m trying to get her to walk down. She nods, looking at me with tears in her eyes again. Straight for the win, El. Good job.

“Yes. It’s my childhood home. Of course I want it back,” she murmurs in response. I nod, pretending to be thinking about her words. In reality, I already have an answer up my sleeve.

“You want it enough to kill for it?” I wonder, making her freeze. If I thought she looked pale before, then I’m not sure how I’d describe her now. She basically blends into the wall behind her.