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“So.” Ethan withdrew a yellow legal pad and pen from the file folder. He pushed them across the table toward the other man. “Simard had enemies, you said. Just like all businessmen. Write down theirnames.”
Slowly, Fournier reached for the pen. “There’s a difference between enemies and people who could have done this.” He indicated the pictures still displayed before him. “A bullet is easier. Or a knife.” But he bent over the paper and wrote down some names. After he’d finished, he shoved the pad back across thetable.
“When was the last time you spoke withSimard?”
Fornier scratched his chin through the beard and thought for a moment. “He arrived on Saturday afternoon. He was hoping to meet with an acquaintance here this week. I last talked to him Sunday, about noon. I called him back Monday and got no answer. I needed to tell him there was a problem. This man…the hotel where we thought he was staying had no record of hisreservation.”
“The man’sname?”
Hesitating for a moment, Fornier finally said, “ArmandVance.”
Nyle and Ethan exchanged a glance. “The embattled financier, Armand Vance? Simard knewhim?”
With a twist of his lips, the other man shrugged. “He hoped to set up a meeting. We learned Vance would be in Nova Scotia this week. Felix lost money investing withhim.”
“But Armand isn’there?”
“No. That’s what I was calling Felix about. I went to Toronto and checked for myself. Armand Vance never left the city. We had good intelligence that he was going to do so. Perhaps he changed hismind.”
Alexa wondered if she was the only one who ascribed a sinister motive to Simard’s attempted “meeting” withVance.
“But you were never able to give him thatinformation.”
Fornier slowly swung his head back and forth. “Felix was no longer answering his phone by Monday. Today I got on a plane to come look for him. And met you.” He nodded towardEthan.
“Did he say anything else when you spoke with him?” There was a note of impatience in Ethan’s voice. Alexa wasn’t surprised. So far, the man had revealed little ofvalue.
“We spoke of business. Some…matters I was taking care of in his absence. He mentioned that he thought he’d seen someone we both knew. I convinced him that was impossible.” His tone was tinged withderision.
“Is that person on this list?” Ethanasked.
Fornier snorted. “No. He’s a nobody. A pest who tried to make trouble for Felix years ago. We caught up with him then and convinced him that blackmail didn’t pay. He wouldn’t show his face around either of us again if he’s even still alive.” He grinned widely, his teeth very white against the black beard. “He didn’t seem a healthysort.”
“When did you last have dealings with theman?”
“Two…no, three years ago,maybe.”
“And hisname?”
An expression of contempt crossed Fornier’s face. “I never learned his real name. He said it was Anis Tera, which of course wasfake.”
A shock zipped down Alexa’s spine. “Anis Tera? You’resure?”
“Of course.” The man flexed his hands again, his gaze wandering insultingly down her figure. “As certain as I am that he lied about that, as well as many otherthings.”
She pushed away from the wall to approach the table, aware that Ethan was sending her a questioning glance. “And he tried to blackmail Simard three years ago. How did thatoccur?”
“He is what we call a piss-ant. He thought he was being very clever by contacting Felix through an anonymous email server, with messages that disappeared minutes after opening.” Fornier curled his lip. “We convinced him that Felix couldn’t wire the blackmail money because police were monitoring his accounts. A cash transaction was arranged. We set the bait, and he tookit.”
She stared at him for a moment, her mind racing. “And Simard thought the man was here. When wasthat?”
“Saturday evening. Felix said he saw him driving by in a white van. But as I told him, that isimpossible.”
“And why isthat?”
“Because this person who calls himself Anis Tera is not a man. He had to hide behind a computer to make his threats. He would never have the courage to approach Felixagain.”
She nodded as if she understood. “Because he’s a piss-ant.”