All He Takes by Blake Pierce

Author:Blake Pierce [Pierce, Blake]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Blake Pierce
Published: 2022-12-15T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

At the Pine Grove police station, Nicky and Ken sat across from a sad-looking Charles Dumond--whose real name was, of course, Richard Fanson. As suspicious as he was looking, Nicky couldn't help but feel bad for the old man slumped in the seat across from them, who had obviously been triggered by the entire situation.

Nicky's theory was that he realized they were onto him and snapped. But they couldn't, for sure, pin the murders on him. Not yet.

In a strange way... Nicky found herself hoping it wasn't him. That he was just an ill old man who ran away from a bad life in another place, then came here to start fresh. When talking to policemen, Nicky learned that the townspeople loved Mr. Dumond. It would be a tragedy to learn he was actually a murderer.

But at the same time, Nicky couldn't deny the evidence. The wallpaper. The lying about his identity. It was all pointing to him...

And so, they had to interrogate him.

"Mr. Dumond," Nicky said, "or should I say... Richard Fanson."

He looked up at her, shock in his bulging eyes. "No... I haven't heard that name in so long..."

"It's your real name," Ken said. "Your name is Richard Fanson from Brooklyn, New York."

"No... I'm Charles Dumond from Pine Grove... I've lived here my whole life..."

Nicky's heart twisted. Did he really believe that? Was he really so delusional that he thought he'd lived in this little town his entire life? Or was this all just an elaborate ruse—a man using mental health to shield him from the danger of being caught?

They were going to have to be careful with this one. They couldn't interrogate him or accuse him like they could any other perp. They needed to be more tactful, because he did, on file, have a diagnosed illness. Whether he was lying about it now to cover up would come to light, but Nicky had to handle him with care until then.

So, Nicky started with something lighter. She took out photos of the two victims, Paris and Francine. The third had not been ID'd yet. These were pictures of the girls, alive and well. She slid them across the table to Mr. Dumond.

"Do you know these girls, Mr. Dumond?" Nicky asked.

"No... I've never seen them before."

"Are you sure?" Ken asked, leaning forward. "Look very closely. You don't recognize them at all?"

He was baffled. "No! What is this about? Why did you take me from my shop?"

"You don't remember pointing a musket at us?" Nicky asked.

"What? Of course not!" he exclaimed.

The musket ended up being unloaded, but the fact remained. In his stupor, Mr. Dumond had resorted to violence, and that did not bode well for his innocence in this case.

"You said you were running from someone," Nicky said. "You thought we were some other people who were after you."

"That doesn't make any sense," Dumond said.

"What happened in New York?" Nicky asked.

Mr. Dumond's fingers curled into fists. "I can't--"

"Did you hurt those girls?" Ken asked.

"I... I..." Mr. Dumond whispered.

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