Free Fiona Silk Mysteries 2-Book Bundle by Mary Jane Maffini Page B

leaves.
    â€œI’m better with outdoor plants,” I said.
    â€œI understand,” he said, in his completely unaccented English, “that you observed the vehicle that was involved in the crash on Highway 5 yesterday.”
    â€œYes.”
    â€œI’d like you to tell me what you saw.”
    â€œWas it a fatal accident?”
    He nodded. “Yes, madame.”
    â€œI wasn’t sure. The ambulances were...”
    â€œYou told the officer you had encountered the vehicle earlier.”
    â€œI did.”
    â€œCan you tell me what you observed?”
    I said, “Okay. On the Hull ramp onto Highway 5, a black Cadillac Escalade passed me on the right.”
    Sarrazin nodded. “Is that it?”
    â€œNot exactly.”
    â€œWhat else occurred?”
    â€œFirst, he came shooting right up behind me, well above the ramp speed, and laid on his horn.”
    â€œWhy?”
    â€œI have no idea.”
    He raised an eyebrow.
    â€œWell, my car might have stalled getting onto the highway. But it re-started right away. These things happen. I’ts not like I did it on purpose.”
    Sarrazin gazed out the window at the Skylark, then turned back to face me. He raised his inch-thick eyebrows. “And?”
    â€œAnd he gave me the finger. And he shouted at me.”
    â€œYou heard him shouting?”
    â€œHis window was open.”
    â€œWas the driver swerving at all?”
    â€œSwerving?”
    â€œYes.”
    I thought for a couple of seconds. “No. I’m pretty sure I would have noticed swerving.”
    â€œAnything else?”
    â€œIsn’t that bad enough? I was unnerved by it.”
    â€œHappens all the time.”
    â€œI’ve never seen a fatal collision before. The weird thing is, I feel responsible somehow.”
    He narrowed his eyes. “Why should you feel responsible?”
    â€œI swore at him.”
    â€œThat’s it?”
    â€œWell, it’s not like me.”
    He chuckled.
    I said, “I’m not that kind of person.”
    He nodded. “Don’t worry about it. You’re probably okay under the Criminal Code on that one.”
    â€œFunny.“
    Sarrazin met my eyes. “Did you know him?”
    I shook my head.
    â€œThink about it.”
    I said, “I didn’t know him.”
    â€œTake your time.”
    I stared. “I just told you I didn’t know him.”
    â€œYou want to close your eyes and relive the scene? You might recognize him then.”
    â€œI really don’t want to relive that scene.”
    â€œTake your time. Break it down into frames. Maybe it will come to you.”
    â€œWhy? Who was he?”
    â€œSorry, madame. We will not be able to release the name until the family has been notified.”
    â€œOh. But...”
    â€œIs there a particular reason you want to know, madame?”
    â€œBecause you are asking me about him, even though I keep telling you I didn’t recognize him. And, all right, I’ll admit there was something familiar about him. I just don’t know who he was. And everybody looks familiar lately. But what happened to the woman?”
    â€œWhat woman?”
    â€œHis passenger.”
    Sarrazin frowned. “There was no passenger.”
    â€œSure there was.”
    He blinked first. “I am certain of it. There was only one body found in the vehicle.”
    â€œMaybe she was destroyed by the fire. Maybe her body was...”
    â€œIt doesn’t work that way. If there had been another person in that Escalade, we would have known.”
    â€œBut I saw a woman. I’m positive that—” I stopped myself. “Well, I sure don’t want to hope that someone else was in that crash.”
    â€œYou were under stress from the hospital.”
    â€œYou knew I was at the hospital?”
    â€œI am a police officer. Everyone in the village knows that you visit Marc-André Paradis several times a week.”
    â€œThey