John didn’t have any answer for her. He didn’t know why. He had almost been killed himself, trying to save her life. All he knew was that he had protected her from her lover. The Dark Stallion. A wanted man. John had done it because he had to. It was his job. His duty. Saving people’s lives was the right thing to do.
But at the same time, John was struggling with his feelings. On a personal level, he didn’t have to do what he did. Julie had moved on a long time ago, accumulating boyfriend after boyfriend while he had been struggling to forget. Didn’t she deserve it?
He closed his eyes and shook his head.
John knew that he wasn’t thinking straight. He knew that this kind of thoughts was inadmissible. He wouldn’t want his daughter to know that he was feeling this way toward her mother. It was wrong. But wasn’t he allowed to have weaknesses?
John convinced himself that he was just a man with real feelings and real wounds. Physical and emotional ones. Nothing wrong with that. Julie was the mother of his daughter no matter what. He could never change that. It was a fact. He would be connected to her forever.
However, she wasn’t his wife anymore and he had to accept it. For good. That was still the hard part. She was now free to do whatever she wanted with whomever she wanted. It was her life. But why did it have to interfere with his life? What had he done to deserve this? Why?
Again, John didn’t have any answer. He didn’t know why. But maybe, he thought, it didn’t matter at all.
He glanced at his daughter. Claire was with Daddy. Safe. Happy. She had accepted Cécile. And Cécile had accepted Claire. The two women in his life were getting along pretty well. That was what really mattered, John realized. He couldn’t ask for more. The past belonged to the past.
And he was now ready to move on.
22
It was Tuesday night when John received a phone call. Unidentified caller.
“Montclair,” John said.
“Good evening,” a man with a confident voice said. “Jacques Lacroix. Gérard Bourdot’s lawyer.”
Shit, John thought. Jacques Lacroix, one of the best lawyers money could buy. Probably calling to cut a deal or negotiate some kind of bullshit. Not going to happen.
“Yeah?” John said. “ I’m busy, what do you want?”
“As you probably know, since you had something to do with it, my client is in a hospital bed suffering multiple bone fractures and his face is severely disfigured,” Lacroix said.
“Sorry to hear that,” John lied, making no effort to hide the sarcasm in his voice.
“Don’t be so cocky, Montclair,” Lacroix said. “This is an angle that I will exploit to defend my client, and I will make sure that you are held responsible. Personally.”
“Self-defense,” John said. “There’s a video to prove it. Recorded by your client.”
Lacroix chuckled. “Actually, the footage only shows my client being interrupted while making love to his partner – a woman who had agreed to be with him, by the way. And oh, what a coincidence. She happens to be your ex-wife; interesting. The ex-husband using his influence as a cop to assault his ex-wife’s new lover. What do you think a jury will think about that?”
“You son of a bitch,” John said through his teeth. “He was about to kill her!”
“That’s your assumption. The footage shows my client hiding to protect himself. Scared, obviously. And finally we clearly see him being thrown to the floor, defenseless, before being savagely punched in the face. About a dozen times. Not exactly what a calm and professional cop would do, unless there was something personal to it.”
“Bullshit,” John said.
“According to the footage, the only person assaulting someone else is you, Montclair. There’s absolutely no proof that my client had attacked you or was about to kill anyone. Only assumptions.”
“He had a knife.”
“Doesn’t prove anything.”
“There’s Julie. She saw everything.”
“She was blindfolded. She didn’t see anything.”
“My partners saw everything.”
“I don’t think your fellow team mates would be considered unbiased witnesses. Plus, I’m no expert in firearms, but it seems to me that the weapon you were carrying was unauthorized. A Desert Eagle .50. Bought on the black market. I hope I have your attention, Montclair.”
Shit…
“So what? What do you want?” John said impatiently.
“I just want to tell you something,” Lacroix said. “I always win. Always. You can check. It’s publicly available.”
John didn’t need to check. He knew it was true. He suddenly felt like somebody was drilling a hole in his stomach. Lacroix had serious arguments.
“Not this time,” John said, not totally convinced. “This is going to be your first loss and I’ll be happy to see it.”
Lacroix chuckled, unimpressed. “Let me put it this way Montclair,” he said. “As soon as my client recovers, he will walk out of the hospital. As a free man…”
To Be Continued
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What’s next?
This investigation has been draining for John, both emotionally and physically. His ex-wife was about to get brutally murdered and mutilated by a sick psychopath, and he managed to save her just in time.
Yet it seems like Bourdot has taken his precautions by hiring an excellent, but ruthless lawyer. Is justice going to be served? In real life, criminals don’t always get punished and sometimes walk away without paying for their crimes. Is it going to be the case with the Dark Stallion?
The answers are in the 3rd book in the John Montclair series: Taste of Justice.
However, John will have to solve another case before the final confrontation with Bourdot in Taste of Revenge, which is the 2nd book in the series.
John Montclair is still recovering from his previous investigation and waiting for what could be the biggest trial of the last twenty years. But some people have their own agenda and have been planning to kill for months. What happens in John’s life or in anybody’s life doesn’t matter to them: all that matters is revenge.
When French presidential candidate Jacques Placide is assaulted at home in Paris's suburbs by a group of four armed men, money seems to be the most obvious motive. However, no amount of money will stop the four killers, all brothers and determined to repair what they perceive to be social injustice.
This time, Detective John Montclair is officially suspended by his boss, due to his controversial methods on the field. Is it fair? Is it personal? Who knows, but one thing for sure is that John remains a cop and his instinct cannot be turned off. His personal investigation will lead him further than the official team and much closer to the truth than he thought.
When love, money, religion, social discrimination and painful memories all mix together, the worst is always to be expected. And unfortunately for John, the worst will actually happen.
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Also available:
Taste of Justice – John Montclair 3
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