Page 34 of Oleander

“We met at a small café off the LSU campus. She showed me all the evidence she had on Platform Nine. I had to excuse myself and vomit in the bathroom.”

“Didn’t you have a clue before then?” asked Luke.

“Hollis is very good at ensuring I hear things he thinks I need to hear or that will provide evidence for where he was at a certain time or date. But as it relates to the platforms, I’m not usually in the room. I knew a few things about Platform Nine because Dorothy had told me.

“When those twenty-seven deaths were brushed off as an inconvenience, I couldn’t handle it any longer. My father had been rig worker in Alaska. I knew what those men did and how hard they worked. So, Dorothy and I started to formulate a plan. I gathered more and more evidence as he became consumed with the trial.

“It seemed to take forever, years to get him before a courtroom. In the end, he got no jail time. Nothing. Just paid out a bunch of money for the environmental damage and other bullshit.”

“There’s still the civil trial,” said Eric staring at the man.

“How do you think that will go?” scoffed Voss. “He’ll find a way to pay out of court. Sell his precious yacht or one of his vacation properties. It’s sickening. I started feeding the information that Dorothy gave me to Mr. Collins. Then we began working together, face-to-face.”

“I see,” nodded Cam. “That’s how he got all that information.”

“Yes. But Dorothy. Dorothy knew it wasn’t enough,” he said swallowing hard, tears in his eyes. “We planned it. All of it.”

“All of what?” frowned Luke.

“Her death.”

“What the fuck are you talking about?” growled Cam.

“Sh-she made sure to give herself extra insulin even though she didn’t need it. That’s why her blood sugar dropped so fast. She wanted to be on the porch, watching the rain that night. We had to make it look like it was more,” he said shaking his head, the tears coming freely now.

“Dorothy told me to wear double gloves and put some of the oleander on her arms and legs, then set it on fire. Except, it was raining so hard it didn’t burn for long. I didn’t want to leave her. I didn’t want her to die alone. She didn’t want anyone to see me.

“So, I stood around the corner of the house in the dark and we just talked. She was rocking slower and slower, her speech becoming slurred. I begged her to let me call an ambulance. There had to be a better way. She said this would ensure she was finally free of Hollis and the evidence she left behind would force him to hang himself.”

“Jesus. An English teacher figured all that out by herself,” frowned Eric.

“She was much more than that,” said Voss. “She had degrees in engineering, computer programming, and art history. She was brilliant and kind and the loveliest human being ever. And she wouldn’t let me save her.”

“Why? Why not bring all the evidence to the feds or anyone?” asked Luke.

“Dorothy said that Hollis would find a way out of it like he always did. So she planned the whole damn thing. The keys he had to find to the lockers that were empty except for more frustrating clues. The house going to that firefighter. The oleander on her skin. Every damn piece of it.

“When the feds arrived at that warehouse, I thought we had him. I had no clue he’d hired an outside mercenary crew he’d bought without my knowledge. His men killed all those feds and dumped their bodies.”

“Fuck,” muttered Luke. “Now he’s got murder written all over him. There were cameras in the warehouse, right?”

“Inside and outside but I don’t know if he got the footage. He shot me, left me to die in the building, probably to make me look guilty.”

“Where is he now?” asked Cam.

“If I had to guess, his yacht. It’s his safe place, or so he thinks.” Voss tried to reach for his phone but the pain was too much. Cam grabbed it and handed it to him. “Take the phone. I have bugs inside the yacht unless his new crew has swept for them. You should be able to hear where he’s going. His home isn’t safe any longer because of the protesters.”

“Does he have homes in other places?” asked Luke.

“Several. The Bahamas, Jamaica, Cuba, the Dominican, any island that would take him, he’s built a home there and the yacht can take him there.”

“Lyle, why didn’t you come to us sooner?” asked Luke. “Surely Ms. Martin knew about us, she knew my grandparents.” Voss chuckled, shaking his head.

“You’re going to think I’m crazy but she told me she didn’t want to see the Robicheaux boys get hurt. Her words, not mine. Not that I wanted you to get hurt,” he smirked. “She didn’t want anyone to be touched by Hollis Burton and his evil.”

“If he leaves the country now, the feds will be after him immediately because of the upcoming civil trial. So, he might be wandering around the gulf or the ocean, but he’s probably within American waters,” said Hex.

“I wouldn’t count on it,” said Voss. He hissed with the small movement, the pain hitting him like a hot poker. “H-he has his ways.”