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“Victor Tremblay in: Paper Blood" by Pascal Farful (part 2 of 2)
The mystery of the downed plane grows ever more complex, as it turns out not everyone’s been telling the truth. Not even Tremblay himself...
Today’s story is the second and final part of “Victor Tremblay in: Paper Blood” by Pascal Farful, who is a writer, fursuiter, musician and railway photographer. You can find more of his stories on his Furaffinity page.
Last time, Detective Victor Tremblay and Detective Rhys Jones had met with the airline owner, Justin Walker, the lead suspect, Jack Anderson and had investigated the aircraft. And finally, Detective Tremblay is called in to hear the black box recorder.
Read for you by Rob MacWolf — werewolf hitchhiker.
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https://thevoice.dog/episode/victor-tremblay-in-paper-blood-by-pascal-farful-part-2-of-2
Transcript
You’re listening to The Voice of Dog.
Speaker:This is Rob MacWolf, your fellow traveler,
Speaker:and Today’s story is the second and final part of “Victor Tremblay in:
Speaker:Paper Blood” by Pascal Farful,
Speaker:who is a writer, fursuiter, musician
Speaker:and railway photographer.
Speaker:You can find more of his stories on his Furaffinity page.
Speaker:Last time, Detective Victor Tremblay and Detective Rhys Jones
Speaker:had met with the airline owner, Justin Walker,
Speaker:the lead suspect, Jack Anderson
Speaker:and had investigated the aircraft.
Speaker:And finally, Detective Tremblay is called in to hear the black box recorder.
Speaker:Please enjoy “Victor Tremblay in:
Speaker:Paper Blood” by Pascal Farful,
Speaker:Part 2 of 2 “Nobody burst into that cockpit. The only struggle was between the crew and the
Speaker:plane.” I said to Rhys down the phone. “I’ll
Speaker:have more later.” I added,
Speaker:then confirmed our next meeting tomorrow morning and hung up.
Speaker:I took a small walk up a few blocks, down a couple alleyways,
Speaker:my eyes scanning the buildings and trying to forget what I had heard.
Speaker:In a small back street, I ducked into an unscrupulous club.
Speaker:I passed the ID check on autopilot. I needed
Speaker:drink. Lots of it.
Speaker:I made it to the bar, ordered some of their strongest eau-de-vie and started drinking.
Speaker:It wasn’t glamorous, but it was numbing and that’s what I needed.
Speaker:I made it through a few glasses of whiskey in quick succession before I placed the glass down on the counter and asked for the bill.
Speaker:Thank god it wasn’t an addiction,
Speaker:just a coping mechanism.
Speaker:Wasn’t exactly the cheapest one, but the good ones cost even more.
Speaker:I paid the bill and got up to leave, before taking pause and looking around the building.
Speaker:Upon further review, it seemed to be a dancing club.
Speaker:And not the disco kind.
Speaker:As I looked around the room, I spied a contact of mine sat in a booth off to the side.
Speaker:Well, it was otherwise to be a wasted trip.
Speaker:I figured if anyone would know Mr. Edgar,
Speaker:these people might. Iwalked over to my contact, a rat in a beige trenchcoat.
Speaker:“Good evening.” I said, sitting down beside him.
Speaker:“Well, well, if it ain’t the lemur himself.”
Speaker:He smirked, looking around to see if we could speak freely.
Speaker:“Odd place to find
Speaker:you” He said with a smirk.
Speaker:“A detective in a strip club?”
Speaker:I said dryly. “Practically my habitat.”
Speaker:“To what do we owe the pleasure?”
Speaker:“Having a poor day. Heard some shit I’m trying hard to unhear.”
Speaker:He nodded. “Can I get you anything?”
Speaker:I sighed. “Got any of my usual?”
Speaker:“Of course.” The rat smirked. “How much d’you want?” I handed him a couple twenty dollar bills,
Speaker:he smirked and handed me back a packet of cannabis.
Speaker:I rolled myself a joint and lit it,
Speaker:putting the rest in my pocket.
Speaker:“Thank you.” I said politely.
Speaker:“Pretty unlike you. You’re often fairly well stocked, by all accounts.”
Speaker:The rat grinned. “Yes,
Speaker:well.. fortunately most days of the week I don’t have to listen to the last words of a flight crew plummeting into the ground.”
Speaker:I grunt, trying not to cough as I smoked.
Speaker:A macho display, nothing more. “It’s
Speaker:just today wasn’t one of those days.”
Speaker:The rat gulped. “I guess you ain’t allowed to tell me anything detailed about it.”
Speaker:He mumbled. “Correct. Though I can ask you questions.”
Speaker:I replied. I'd wished I had my cassette tape, but I couldn’t risk contamination,
Speaker:nor revealing my misgivings.
Speaker:“Do you know anything about Bruce Edgar?”
Speaker:I asked. “Yeah, I knew of him.
Speaker:Bank job guy, big money shit.
Speaker:He came in here all the time.”
Speaker:The rat said. “Is that so?”
Speaker:I asked. “Did he seem like he was having a good time lately?”
Speaker:The rat blinked. “He’d
Speaker:just got off scot-free from a bank job,
Speaker:bought himself an Armani suit and was getting his dick sucked by Sandra Snugglepuss every day,
Speaker:so I’d think he was doing alright.”
Speaker:He said, nodding his head towards the centre stage.
Speaker:“He walked in here a month ago,
Speaker:climbed up on that stage in an Armani suit, with Sandra wrapped tight in his arms,
Speaker:telling proud tales of his last bank job and
Speaker:how many beds they intended to shred that night.”
Speaker:His tone wistful and
Speaker:reverential. I blinked.
Speaker:“Sandra…?” “Snugglepuss”
Speaker:The rat said. “Stripper.
Speaker:Beautiful woman. Black cat.
Speaker:Gorgeous tits. Can’t miss her.”
Speaker:I peered around to see if there was anyone in eyeshot that fitted her physical description. “How’s
Speaker:she taking the news?”
Speaker:“Poorly, seems like she really loved the guy.”
Speaker:“I can see why.” I said.
Speaker:“You can? Guy was a criminal and she’s a stripper. Not exactly Romeo and Juliet, is it?” He grunted. I raised an eyebrow at him.
Speaker:It was the kind of grunt a man makes when he’s pretending not to be hurt.
Speaker:This man was no great pretender. “Given that you’re a drug dealer, I think you’re doing her, him, and indeed, yourself, quite the disservice.”
Speaker:I said. I’d not admit to it, but I’d spent many lonely moment of weakness wishing to have been
Speaker:wrapped around a powerful, lawless man like that.
Speaker:Even if it’s not an honest lifestyle, the mind does dream of sin.
Speaker:I got the impression the rat had similar fantasies.
Speaker:The rat scoffed. “People like us don’t matter, you know that?"
Speaker:I finished my spliff, stubbed it out with my foot.
Speaker:“Don’t be so sure about that.”
Speaker:I said, standing up.
Speaker:"You matter a lot, if not to someone,
Speaker:to the grand puzzle we live in.
Speaker:in." The rat sighed and shrugged.
Speaker:Perhaps it was a bad time for philosophy.
Speaker:I placed the remains of the spliff in the small plastic bag he’d given
Speaker:me and thanked him for his time. He nodded and I walked out of the club, keen to get myself back on track if I could.
Speaker:There were, of course, ethical concerns to any of this information I'd just gathered being brought forth in evidence,
Speaker:given that I was drunk and high at the time,
Speaker:but anything to almost justify my coping mechanisms were worth exploring.
Speaker:Speaking to Ms Snugglepuss was
Speaker:unlikely to be immediately useful, but I kept in the back of my mind just in case.
Speaker:I arrived back home, showered and climbed into bed,
Speaker:apologising for being so late home.
Speaker:I knew Charles knew what I’d done.
Speaker:It’d take a little time for the smells to fade, but he didn’t seem to mention it. –
Speaker:Next morning, I sat down with Rhys and
Speaker:I explained the tape to him.
Speaker:He had the investigator’s transcript of the tape and the feedback from the lab.
Speaker:“The lab’s done tests on all the packages.
Speaker:The ones labelled “baking soda” and “flour” were, indeed,
Speaker:baking soda and flour,
Speaker:but “nose candy” was exactly as expected;
Speaker:cocaine.” The wolverine explained.
Speaker:I nodded. “This would validate Mr Anderson’s accounts that drugs were regularly being flown around on those airlines.
Speaker:Though it’s quite a small amount for a flight.
Speaker:Might be worth further questioning.”
Speaker:Rhys nodded. “As for the voice recorder and black box,
Speaker:no sound of distress prior to the explosion,
Speaker:no unexpected flight inputs according to the engineers.
Speaker:Everything points to a detonation mid-flight. Some form of explosive or similar.”
Speaker:He said. “I suppose the next question is whether or not Bruce Edgar would have reason to take a flight down with him.”
Speaker:“He had no reason to.”
Speaker:I whispered absent-mindedly.
Speaker:I froze, realising my slip and
Speaker:unable to stop it.
Speaker:The wolverine looked to me inquisitively
Speaker:“How do you know?” Rhys asked.
Speaker:“I… met with someone who knew him.”
Speaker:I grunted, shuffling in my chair.
Speaker:Rhys face turned to a scowl.
Speaker:“You told me you had no contacts of that type.”
Speaker:I gulped and fumbled for words.
Speaker:“You lied to me.” Rhys said calmly, but firmly.
Speaker:“Why?” I took a deep breath, fur running cold.
Speaker:“It’s my job to look at dead bodies, listen to tapes of people trying not to die and failing.”
Speaker:I explained. “Sometimes you…
Speaker:have to turn to less glamorous ways
Speaker:to cope.” Rhys stared back at me,
Speaker:cogs whirring in his mind.
Speaker:He sighed and shook his head.
Speaker:“Alright… look, this can wait,
Speaker:what did you find out?”
Speaker:“Bruce had just completed a bank job, had a new suit, a love interest.
Speaker:He was living the high life.
Speaker:I have a distinct belief that it was not suicide.”
Speaker:I explained. “Murder?”
Speaker:“That was the next thing I had in mind.”
Speaker:“You know the name of the love interest?”
Speaker:I sighed. “Sandra Snugglepuss.”
Speaker:“Her?” Rhys said, going red.
Speaker:“Oh?” I probed. “We've met have we?
Speaker:Unbecoming of a married man.” The wolverine tensed, but I read him like a book. This was cruel of me.
Speaker:Pointless cruelty and I sought to stop it the moment I realized I was indulging in it.
Speaker:He has been merciful with me, and I extended the same grace.
Speaker:“I see we both have secrets we’d like to take to the grave. Let’s agree to let them lie.”
Speaker:I said firmly. Rhys agreed, both of us struggling to look at each other. - We went for lunch,
Speaker:something outdoors away from the paperwork,
Speaker:to give us time and space to think.
Speaker:“What’s that?” “Poutine.” I replied, guiding a few of the fries into my mouth.
Speaker:“It’s a Quebec thing.
Speaker:thing.” I explained. The wolverine nodded, taking a bite of a hamburger and tapping at the table.
Speaker:“Alright. I believe, honestly, we can rule out Mr Edgar.
Speaker:For reasons we can agree on, but we can also agree not to discuss at this
Speaker:time.” I said. “I believe it’s worth conferring further with Mr Anderson about the drugs onboard.
Speaker:If he knew anything about where they’d come from it would be useful to know.”
Speaker:Rhys was looking off into the distance.
Speaker:Troubled. “I’m sorry about Ms…
Speaker:Sandra.” “No, it’s not that.
Speaker:that.” Rhys said, having another bite of his burger.
Speaker:“Something… doesn’t
Speaker:feel right.” “Can you tell me what it is?”
Speaker:“When I work out what it is…
Speaker:I will.” he said. “I just think there’s a
Speaker:piece missing in here somewhere.”
Speaker:I nodded. “I think we should go and speak to Mr Anderson again.” –
Speaker:Myself and Rhys sat back in front of the fox, this time with his lawyer, Maria Campbell next to him.
Speaker:“We have recovered a small amount of cocaine from the flight that crashed. Do you know
Speaker:anything about the pallet?
Speaker:Where it was going, where it came from or who put it on there?”
Speaker:I asked. “It was flying out of Seattle for Tucson, then it was to change flight
Speaker:for Dallas, that’s all I know.
Speaker:If it had come in from somewhere else, I wouldn’t know.”
Speaker:Jack said, but his eyes narrowed in confusion.
Speaker:“But… you said “small amount”.”
Speaker:“Yes, I did.” “There were about 15 pallets of that stuff.
Speaker:Most of the cargo on board was cocaine boxes.”
Speaker:The fox said. “I watched them being loaded.
Speaker:I had to make sure they weren’t too heavy for the maximum load weight for the craft. If you look through the wreckage,
Speaker:the rest of the cargo, by and large, will be cocaine, I assure you.”
Speaker:He stated. “Most of it has been destroyed in the explosion.”
Speaker:I explained. The fox grunted.
Speaker:“Funny that.” I grunted in kind.
Speaker:The fox was not in the best place to be flippant,
Speaker:by my wagering. I was distracted by a firm grab of my arm from the wolverine.
Speaker:“Can we have 5 minutes?” The wolverine
Speaker:said, firmly.
Speaker:“Of course.” He led me into one of the vacant interrogation rooms to the side.
Speaker:“When Justin called you the first time, what did he say?”
Speaker:“He told me he’d had a plane explode in flight over Portland.” I recalled.
Speaker:“How did Justin know what happened to the plane when
Speaker:he called you?” Rhys asked firmly.
Speaker:My soul trembled.
Speaker:“Motherfucker.” I gasped.
Speaker:It was the only word I had left.
Speaker:“How did Justin know that the plane went down because of an explosion from aboard the plane
Speaker:when he rang you at four in the morning,
Speaker:if the investigators
Speaker:hadn’t even got the black box yet?
Speaker:They’d only just made it to the plane at that point.”
Speaker:He said. I grabbed him firmly by the arms.
Speaker:“Rhys Jones you’ve done it!"
Speaker:I scrambled back into the other room.
Speaker:“Thank you, that will be all.”
Speaker:I stuttered. I didn’t stop to remember what response it was met with.
Speaker:My head was racing
Speaker:far too fast. – “Of course, this all makes sense now.
Speaker:Blow up the plane full of drugs now that you know people are onto you,
Speaker:pin that blame on an outspokenly angry employee or if that fails,
Speaker:a criminal who can easily be linked to the drugs you have on board.”
Speaker:I said. “And he rang you up,
Speaker:believing you’d come to the conclusion that it was Jack or Bruce
Speaker:and that his little plan would all come together.”
Speaker:“Exactly.” I nodded. “See, that’s what I told you about asking the “dumb” questions.”
Speaker:I said, as I climbed into the car.
Speaker:I called in some backup and we made our way back to North Am headquarters.
Speaker:Myself, Rhys and two federal agents entered the building, the rest remaining outside. “Mr Walker, Detective Tremblay and Detective Jones are here to see you.”
Speaker:The receptionist explained over the telephone.
Speaker:“Send them up.” I overheard him say.
Speaker:I did what I could not to give away my misgivings to the receptionist.
Speaker:My heart was pounding.
Speaker:Into the elevator. On went the cassette recorder.
Speaker:We left the elevator and entered the conference suite.
Speaker:The raccoon stood up from behind the table when we entered,
Speaker:a smile on his face.
Speaker:One which vanished as he saw the scowl on mine
Speaker:and the two agents
Speaker:in tow. “Ah, detective. What can I help you with?”
Speaker:he stuttered. I cleared my throat and buried my stare into
Speaker:the whites of his eyes.
Speaker:“Justin Walker, you are under arrest for the suspicion of murder and drug trafficking.
Speaker:You have the right to remain silent.”
Speaker:He did not. “What?” He gasped, backing up against the window.
Speaker:“What gives you the idea that I had anything to do with this?”
Speaker:“You knew the cause of the plane crash long before anyone on the ground did.
Speaker:You had ample reason to want the plane destroyed. Drugs had been found on your aircraft before, you had an employee with a track record of reporting drug findings and disagreements with you.”
Speaker:I explained, pacing slowly across Mr Walker’s vision.
Speaker:“You felt that you could kill two birds with one stone,
Speaker:down an aircraft to get rid of evidence, incriminate an employee who had meddled with your plans to begin
Speaker:with. Bring myself and Mr Jones in to confirm your lie and the job was as good as done.”
Speaker:I continued. "However, you failed to account for Mr Anderson filing a lawsuit against you prior to today's incident.
Speaker:Your backup plan involving bank robber Bruce Edgar's illegal access to the flight backfired
Speaker:when you didn't plant enough explosive to incinerate all of the cocaine onboard.
Speaker:Why would a bank robber smuggle cocaine onto a flight he himself was on?
Speaker:You couldn't afford to simply not ship the drug of course, you'd already booked it in to be diverted to Dallas if it reached Tucson intact."
Speaker:I placed my hands on the table,
Speaker:looking into the pearly whites of Justin's squirming eyes.
Speaker:"You hired myself and Rhys here,
Speaker:not because we were experts in air crash investigations,
Speaker:but precisely because we are not.
Speaker:You expected us to just convict one of the obvious candidates you'd lined up.
Speaker:up." I growled, leaning back up and taking a deep breath.
Speaker:The two agents stepped around and handcuffed Walker,
Speaker:the raccoon staring back at me silently,
Speaker:his eyes welling with tears
Speaker:but brimming with hatred.
Speaker:The raccoon was led out of the room and
Speaker:I took a moment to revel
Speaker:in the emptiness of the room.
Speaker:“Well, Rhys. I believe we’ve done it.”
Speaker:I said, smiling at the wolverine for the first time in days.
Speaker:"Thank you, your insights have been invaluable, as always.
Speaker:always." Rhys nodded and smiled in return
Speaker:“What shall we do now?”
Speaker:“Perhaps we should go to dinner.”
Speaker:I suggested. “Oh, and, I might also suggest that you may want to buy your wife some flowers,
Speaker:chocolates and have a…
Speaker:frank discussion about your personal lives.”
Speaker:Rhys nodded. “And perhaps you should consider getting some more professional help before someone less understanding discovers your…
Speaker:habit.” I nodded and
Speaker:we departed the headquarters of soon-to-be-bankrupt North Am Airways.
Speaker:- A few days later, I found a note in my letterbox.
Speaker:“I am resigned to admit I recognise that handwriting.”
Speaker:Rhys said when I showed it to him.
Speaker:I sat down to open it.
Speaker:“It is indeed, from Ms. Sandra.
Speaker:Thanking yourself and I for giving her closure on the fate of her beloved.”
Speaker:The wolverine rubbed the back of his head.
Speaker:“Ah… interesting. I assume she gathered our address through one of your…
Speaker:contacts?” I nodded, folding up the letter and placing it in my coat.
Speaker:“I’ll hang on to it,
Speaker:for your safety.” I said.
Speaker:“Have you apologized to your wife yet?”
Speaker:I asked. “Yes.” “Good.
Speaker:Her thoughts?” “Disappointed,
Speaker:unhappy, but… we’re still together.”
Speaker:He explained. “Have you stopped smoking dope yet?”
Speaker:I coughed. “I choose to plead the fifth.”
Speaker:This was the second and final part of “Victor Tremblay in:
Speaker:Paper Blood” by Pascal Farful,
Speaker:read for you by Rob Macwolf,
Speaker:werewolf hitchhiker.
Speaker:As always, you can find more stories on the web at thevoice.dog,
Speaker:or find the show wherever you get your podcasts.
Speaker:Thank you for listening
Speaker:to The Voice of Dog.
