Grant Fontaine interview #3

Thursday, July 16, 2020 – 11:52 a.m.

Participants:

• Detective T. Armstrong
• Detective S. Murphy
• Grant Fontaine

Detective Murphy: For the record, could you please state your name and address?

Grant Fontaine: My name is Grant Fontaine, and I live at 655 North Lamar.

Detective Armstrong: I'd like to be honest with you, Grant. Things don't look good.

Grant Fontaine: What do you mean?

Detective Armstrong: Your father wasn't in the habit of keeping large sums of cash, but on the night he was murdered, he brought home $15,000.

Detective Murphy: Only his secretary, the people at the bank, and the family in the house would know that money was in there.

Grant Fontaine: I didn't know he had that kind of money on him.

Detective Armstrong: You're into numerous area dealers for over ten grand. We see these dealers flashing wads of cash, and, well, you know.

Detective Murphy: Maybe you were helping out your friends, promising to buy their drugs?

Grant Fontaine: Get real.

Detective Armstrong: On the night your father was murdered, do you remember us talking to you about the cut on your arm and your bloody nose?

Grant Fontaine: Yeah, I remember that.

Detective Murphy: Well, if you got those trying to defend yourself from your father, Grant, we can take something to the D.A. But right now, we've got nothing. We can't help you.

Grant Fontaine: I've told you, and I've told you. I don't remember anything. My old man slapped me around a bit, and my nose bled—a little, maybe a few drops—but it wasn't bleeding when I left.

Detective Armstrong: So you admit you and your father fought?

Grant Fontaine: Yes. Yes! I mean, Ashley saw it.

Detective Armstrong: And then you came back and picked up where you left off.

Detective Murphy: Did your father come after you, and you had to defend yourself, Grant? Is that what happened?

Grant Fontaine: I told you. It only bled a little. You guys saw that blood at the scene. I mean, I couldn't get that from a little cut on my arm and a nosebleed.

Detective Armstrong: So you were there.

Grant Fontaine: Yeah. I mean, we saw each other. Even I remember that.

Detective Armstrong: The house was supposedly burglarized, and yet the burglar alarm never went off.

Detective Murphy: That implies that someone from the inside disabled it.

Grant Fontaine: I mean, maybe he didn't turn it off. Me and Ashley were coming home late, and it's not like he was going to bed at 7:30 or something.

Detective Armstrong: So you admit you knew there was a security alarm?

Grant Fontaine: Yeah. I mean, I come home late sometimes.

Detective Murphy: Raquel didn't know how to work it, and Joey didn't even know it existed.

Grant Fontaine: So they claim. What's your point?

Detective Armstrong: If someone were to disable the alarm, that someone had to be your father, Ashley, or you.

Detective Murphy: In your quest for drugs that night, Grant, did you happen to mention to any of your friends that your father had brought home a briefcase full of money?

Grant Fontaine: I told you. I didn't know anything about the money.

Detective Armstrong: Did you disable the alarm before you left the house?

Grant Fontaine: No. It probably wasn't even on yet, like I said.

Detective Murphy: If you only mentioned the money to your friends, and then they later decided to burglarize your house, you wouldn't be liable.

Grant Fontaine: I didn't tell anyone about the money. How could I when I didn't even know about it? I don't remember much from that night, but I sure as hell remember not knowing that my father had a s***-ton of cash in his briefcase.

Detective Murphy: Did Ashley know about the money?

Grant Fontaine: I don't know.

Detective Murphy: Did she seem surprised when she heard about it in the paper?

Grant Fontaine: We didn't talk about it. I mean, he kept his business to himself. Maybe he spent the money on the way home.

Detective Armstrong: Or he might have brought it home and mentioned it to you as soon as he walked in the door.

Grant Fontaine: I told you already. He didn't. Why would he?

Detective Murphy: Grant, do you have any clearer memory of your activities that evening?

Grant Fontaine: No. I only wish I did.

Detective Murphy: Why?

Grant Fontaine: Because if I could give you street addresses and times down to the minute, then maybe you wouldn't be questioning me.

Detective Armstrong: Aw, don't you like talking to us?

Grant Fontaine: There are other things I'd rather be doing right now.

Detective Armstrong: Believe me, there's a few other things we'd rather be doing right now too.

Detective Murphy: You have to understand the position we're in right now. Your father was an important man. The mayor, the sheriff, everyone wants results today, if not sooner.

Detective Armstrong: You might have information that could help us solve this.

Grant Fontaine: I'm telling you everything I can remember.

Detective Murphy: But you may not even know you have this information. Something you heard or saw that evening that you didn't think was important, but now looking back, you can see its importance.

Grant Fontaine: Like what?

Detective Murphy: You have to tell us.

Detective Armstrong: We know your father and Ashley were on the outs. You're not protecting anybody by hiding that.

Grant Fontaine: I'm not protecting anybody.

Detective Murphy: You know those two better than anyone else. Was anyone getting ready to split?

Grant Fontaine: Is that what you were getting at? No. I think they enjoyed fighting with each other way too much to ever want to call it quits.

Detective Armstrong: Maybe an outside party got tired of waiting.

Grant Fontaine: I wouldn't know.

Detective Murphy: You might. Now that you're thinking along those lines, doesn't anything fall into place in your head?

Grant Fontaine: Things aren't like that at home. There are no secrets. Everything is out in the open.

Detective Armstrong: You don't know your father's business.

Grant Fontaine: That's different.

Detective Murphy: Grant, we're trying to help you, but you are not giving us anything.

Detective Armstrong: If you tell us who did this, we can protect you.

Grant Fontaine: I've told you. I don't know anything.

Detective Armstrong: Is that the story you're sticking with?

Grant Fontaine: It's not a story. I don't know anything.

Detective Murphy: Okay, Grant, but if you change your mind—

Grant Fontaine: Change my mind about what? I've told you already.

Detective Murphy: Okay, fine. If you remember anything else, let us know.

Detective Armstrong: And think about what we said. We just want to help you.

Grant Fontaine: Yeh. I can tell.

Interview ended – 12:07 p.m.