Who Killed Darius Drake? by Rodman Philbrick

Author:Rodman Philbrick [Philbrick, Rodman]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Scholastic Inc.
Published: 2017-10-19T04:00:00+00:00

JASPER JONES LOOKS stunned. He takes a deep breath and sighs. “No, of course not. Absolutely not! Your parents died in a tragic road accident. But Winston refused to believe the facts. He put the blame on me.”

Winston. Mystery Man. Pop Pop. Darius’s grandfather has so many names it’s hard to remember them all. That alone is suspicious, right?

Darius asks, “Why did he refuse to believe the facts?”

Jones considers the question. “I guess you’re mature enough to know the true circumstances, and you certainly deserve to. The truth is, your parents came to see me the night they died. It was your mother’s idea, begging mercy for her father. She wanted me to intervene somehow, to get the charges dropped. They were a very appealing young couple, by the way, and of course they had a cute toddler along—you—so it was very hard to refuse. But I’m afraid I had to do so. I wasn’t the only one who was defrauded—all of my investors took a loss. It wasn’t up to me to interfere with the course of justice.”

“My grandfather says that you used your influence to make sure he got the maximum sentence.”

Jones shakes his head sorrowfully. “That never happened. Not at all. Of course I had to look out for my own investors, but I’m not a vindictive man.”

“Why should I believe you instead of him?”

“Well, for starters, because I’m not a criminal. I don’t have a history of defrauding people. And upset as I was to be swindled out of so much money, I’d never do anything so cruel. It’s just not me.” He pauses to carefully clean his sunglasses, as if taking the time to gather his thoughts. “I’ve no idea what Winston Brooks truly believes or doesn’t believe. Maybe he has convinced himself that I’m the cause of all his problems. Maybe he’s so overcome by guilt that he can no longer see reality.”

“Reality?”

Jones nods solemnly. “Guilt not just for his crime, but for all that flowed from it. If he hadn’t defrauded his investors, your parents wouldn’t have driven out on a rainy night to plead his case.”

“So it was his fault my parents were killed?”

“Sadly, it was. I’m sorry, Darius, but your grandfather’s obsession with the Dunbar diamonds led him to break the law. Maybe he didn’t intend that others would be hurt as a consequence of his lies and deceptions, but they were. It must prey heavily on his mind. That would explain him being so … disturbed. He can’t face the truth, so he blames me.”

“But why would he believe that you could be a danger to me?”

Jones looks baffled. “I haven’t the faintest idea. It’s ridiculous, of course. As I say, I remember you as a toddler. Cute little guy. Your hair was red even then, as I recall. Why would I wish you harm?”

“What if I found the Dunbar diamonds? Would you wish me harm then?”

Mr. Jones is obviously starting to lose his patience, and his smile fades. “No, of course not.

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