Alex Harris 00 - Poisoned

clever boy.” I went back to the bed where Chantal still sat, and placed an envelope on the spread. “This is like Christmas.” I gently opened the envelope even though it wasn’t old and tipped it allowing three smaller envelopes along with something that looked like a deed of some sort to fall onto the bed.
    “The letters! Alex, you did it. What do they say?” Chantal asked even though I hadn’t taken them out of their envelopes. They were very definitely old, and yellowed, and very worn.
    “I’m worried about fingerprints. Maybe I shouldn’t open them. I wish I had gloves.”
    “Mrs. Platz keeps a box of those disposable ones under the kitchen sink, will that do?”
    “Sure,” I said as Chantal headed out the door. “Get two pair.”
    A few minutes later Chantal came back with two pair of thin plastic gloves. They looked like the kind I used when I highlighted my hair. We put them on and Chantal gingerly picked up one envelope and removed the paper. She read it carefully, slowly, speaking very softly.
    Strasbourg, le 7 Novembre 1837
    Cher Lucien,
    Quand tu liras ces lignes ...
    “Chantal, can you translate?” I asked trying not to sound impatient.
    “Huh? Oh, sorry, Alex. Yes, let’s see. It’s dated 1837 and it’s from Strasbourg. That’s in France. It’s from...” Chantal scanned the two pages. “Here it is. It’s from someone named Joseph Jaeger. I remember that name from the stuff I typed up, but I don’t really remember the connection. Okay. It says:
    Dear Lucien, by now I am sure that you have gone through with your plans. I cannot, in all honesty, say that I agree with the actions that you found necessary to take, but you know that what you have told me shall go no further .”
    Chantal stopped reading for a moment and I asked what was wrong. “Nothing. It’s just that the ink is a bit faded and there’s a tiny hole in the paper. I’m trying to figure out the missing words by the next sentence. She mumbled in French for a few more seconds and then continued.
    “ I fear that what has brought you to this conclusion is greed. It is what I have always feared the most for you for I have known you all your life, and have always been aware of your ambitions and needs, which I dare say are great. I never thought you capable of murder and it saddens me. No, I must be honest, it disgusts me to think that it is so. The fact that the blood is not on your hands does not diminish the truth of what you have done.
    You have nothing to fear from me, cousin. I will carry your sin to my grave. I wish that I did not know this side of you but I believe deep down it was always there and because I loved you, I turned a blind eye. You felt it necessary to confess to me, for that is what it was, a confession, and though I cannot say I am happy you told me, I understand the need that led you to unburden yourself, if only to me. Perhaps your charity to the widow Thiry will erase some of your sins in the eyes of God. I don’t know, but I can only pray that it will. Sadly, I feel that I must sever all ties with you. To carry your sins is one burden I will endure because we are family, but to condone your actions by continuing our relationship would not serve either one of us well.
    I will carry you always in my heart, dear Lucien .
    “It’s signed Joseph .”
    “What the heck does all this mean?” I stood up and walked around the bed to peer over Chantal’s shoulder. “Obviously someone is dead, but who? What does this all have to do with Bradley?” I asked, getting a sick feeling that instead of solving a crime we may have just opened up a whole new can of worms.
    “There’s two more letters,” said Chantal. “Let’s see if they help.” She took one of the letters from an envelope and looked up at me. “This one’s in English and it’s dated December 15, 1836.
    Paul, I trust everything is ready and the terms that we agreed upon are still satisfactory. Maudlin fool that I am, I think it best to wait until after Christmas. Let Raymond have one more feast with his family. I do not want to know the details and I see no reason for us to ever meet again. The money will be waiting for you in the agreed location after it is done. Do not let me down! I know too much of your past for you to cross me. It would be very unwise.
    Lucien ”
    I put my hand to my heart. “Jesus! This Lucien sounds horrible. This sounds more like gangsters in the 1920s than businessmen in the 1800s.”
    Chantal put her