Hometown Detective (Cold Case Detectives Book 6)

by Jennifer Morey

  She and Roman stepped into her path. She stopped, looked from one to the other, and then seemed flustered. Her mouth opened as though she’d say something but then nothing came out.

  “We didn’t mean to startle you,” Roman said, introducing Kendra and himself. “We just want to ask you some questions about your affair with Hudson Franklin.”

  The woman’s mouth opened briefly, and then she tried to move around Kendra, who blocked her way.

  “I didn’t have an affair.” She again tried to go around, but Kendra stopped her.

  “Did Hudson do you a favor when he got your son’s drug arrest reduced?” Roman asked.

  “I don’t have any idea what you’re talking about.”

  “Your son was arrested for drug possession, was he not?”

  “Yes, but it wasn’t a large enough amount to put him in jail.”

  “What did your husband do for him?” Roman asked. “What did he owe Hudson in return?”

  “I don’t have to answer these questions. Out of my way!”

  This time Kendra allowed her to pass, but followed her along with Roman to her parked Lincoln.

  “We could get the police involved. We have enough evidence to include this in our investigation. If you provide false information, that could be held against you.”

  The woman stopped with an indignant huff at her car. “All right. I did have an affair with Hudson. We began as friends. He and my husband were friends until he found out about us. My husband told Hudson if he didn’t help our son, he’d go public with the affair. Hudson didn’t want it getting out.”

  Why was it so important that the affair be kept secret? It had already leaked out in gossip. Melody had known. More likely there had been something else at play, something the mayor hadn’t told his wife.

  “Are Hudson and your husband good friends?”

  “My husband and I have known the Franklins for many years. We used to be closer.”

  The affair had caused a rift. “Did they do any other favors for each other?”

  “I don’t know what you mean by favors. When they were friends, they did what most friends do. Spent time together.”

  Roman remembered the man who’d rushed Hudson and Melody Franklin outside the courthouse. He’d ranted about someone being innocent. There had also been a camera crew there. Given Hudson’s tough prosecutor reputation, an outburst like that might not be alarming.

  “Do you know if Hudson ever took any kind of payments for favors similar to the one he did for the mayor?” Roman asked.

  The woman drew her head back. “No.”

  “Are you and Melody friends?”

  The woman scoffed. “What do you think?”

  “You must have been at one point.”

  “Yes, I suppose we were. I grew tired of Melody’s superiority complex. She’s no better than I am, but she sure tried to keep me a level beneath her.”

  “Did she ever talk to you about Hudson’s favors?”

  “We didn’t talk about their work, not ever. And I don’t know why you think Hudson did favors for anyone. He puts criminals behind bars where they belong.”

  “Like your son?” Kendra put in.

  She had a way of placing her barbs in one-liners. That particular trait amused Roman. Maybe because it showed she didn’t sugarcoat the truth.

  But the mayor’s wife clearly took offense. “Who are you to call my son a criminal?”

  “He was arrested for drugs.” Kendra sounded matter-of-fact.

  The other woman huffed and pivoted to open her car door.

  They’d get nothing more out of her. The mayor obviously never told his wife anything about his work—or the favors he elicited for his gain.

  Roman took out his phone and searched for news coverage on the day the man had lashed out at Hudson. He found an article describing how a local had been charged and convicted of murder. On the surface, it appeared no one else could have committed the crime. He found the name of the convict and searched for his family. With a name like Barfknecht, the man who’d lashed out at Hudson wasn’t difficult to find. That was their next stop.

  * * *

  Phillip Barfknecht worked at the Chesterville Amusement Park. Kendra walked with Roman past the antique car and paddleboat rides. The park also had a carrousel, Scrambler, Tilt-A-Whirl, Wave Swinger, bumper cars and a waterslide. She could see the Ferris wheel turning in the distance, and smelled cotton candy and popcorn. Kids screamed and laugher filled the air along with the up-and-down roar of an old wood roller coaster. The sunny day had grown long in shadows with barely a breeze, and blossoming trees providing shade here and there.

  Reaching the Wave Swinger, Kendra spotted Barfknecht starting a ride. Staying outside the chained-in line of people, They stopped before the fence where Barfknecht stood on the other side. Roman started talking to him, getting through the usual introductions.

  “We’re here to talk to you about Prosecutor Franklin,” Kendra said.

  Barfknecht’s face glowered, brows lowering and mouth tightening briefly. “That no-good louse? What do you want to talk to me about him for?”

  “We think he may be involved in some corrupt practices and wondered if you could help us,” Roman said.

  Barfknecht’s face smoothed and he appeared surprised.

  “We saw you outside the courthouse a while back. You weren’t very happy with him,” Kendra added.

  The man glanced at the moving ride as though checking to be sure all was well. Kids screamed and laughed. The first few people in line watched and probably listened to the three of them talking.

  Barfknecht faced them again. “He sent my son to prison and he’s innocent.”

  “The evidence didn’t seem to indicate that,” Roman said.

  “My son drove the car and didn’t know what his friend was doing until he came out of the alley with a bloody flashlight.”

  Kendra had read the report Roman had shared with her describing the crime. A man had been murdered in an alley. His wallet had been stolen. A witness placed Brock Barfknecht near the alley where the murder occurred and others had confirmed seeing him in the passenger seat of the car driving away. No one could identify the driver.

  “Who is his friend?” Roman asked.

  “Percy Gordon. He was the one walking to the car with the flashlight.”

  “Your son also knew the man who was killed?” Roman asked, clearly ignoring the father’s insistence that his son was innocent.

  “Knew him and got into a bar fight with him over a girl a few nights prior. But my son said Percy had a bigger reason to kill him. He was after him for money. The man didn’t pay for some drugs that added up to a significant amount. The jury didn’t believe that. There was no evidence of any drugs. No one could place Brock in the car. But Brock saw Percy give drugs to the man killed about a week prior. Jury didn’t believe him because that crooked prosecutor made sure Percy was never implicated.”

  “What about the murder weapon?” Roman asked. “The victim was killed from blunt force trauma to the head and Brock’s flashlight was found in his car with blood on it that matched the victim’s.”

  “Percy’s prints had to be on it, but it never came up in court.”

  “Only Brock’s prints were on it?”

  “That don’t mean my son is the killer.”

  Police had showed up at Brock’s home just a few minutes after he’d arrived. He likely hadn’t had time to get rid of the murder weapon, or enough time to think he needed to.

  “We’re not here to prove whether or not your son is innocent, Mr. Barfknecht. However, we do agree Franklin could be corrupt. Can you tell us what you know about that?”

  “I found out Franklin plays golf with Percy Gordon’s father and Gordon bought him a trip to the Canary Islands the week after the trial. Don’t you think that’s odd
?”

  Had Percy’s father bribed Franklin to keep his son from being implicated in the crime? Judging from all she’d read, Kendra was pretty certain Brock had been the one to commit the crime, but this was the second incident that suggested Hudson Franklin was violating some serious ethics laws. Bribery. Corruption. In her book, that would be enough motive to make an unscrupulous man murder anyone who found out.

  “Yeah.” Roman nodded twice. “That is odd.”

  “You think you can prove he’s a fraud?” Barfknecht asked. “My son should be released from prison.”

  “I’m sorry about your son, Mr. Barfknecht,” Roman said. “If Hudson is guilty of corruption, I’ll expose him.”

  Kendra noticed how Roman avoided addressing him on his son’s innocence.

  Barfknecht nodded his understanding. Whatever fight he had for his son was going to have to be his issue.

  The ride ended and Barfknecht had to go to work.

  Ready to go, Kendra thanked him for his time and Roman followed her away from the ride.

  They started walking back toward the parking lot.

  “Wanna go on a few rides?” Roman asked with a spark of playful enthusiasm.

  Kendra turned a quick glance at Roman. He must not want to leave the amusement park just yet. Was he satisfying a youthful whim or was he being romantic? She had to be sure.

  “Are you asking me out on a date again?” she asked.

  “We’re already in an amusement park. Didn’t you ever like them?”

  “Of course. When I was a kid.”

  “You can’t stop being a kid when there are rides just steps away.”

  She smiled and laughed a little. “Okay. How about that roller coaster that looks like it could crumble at any turn?”

  “Naw. It has to be the Ferris wheel.”

  “Why the Ferris wheel?”

  “I want to talk to you about us.”

  “And you want to do it on a Ferris wheel?”

  “Yeah, I want to do it on the Ferris wheel.”

  Kendra stopped short and he did the same with a mischievous grin. She’d never seen him like this before, so full of light. “Was that humor I just heard?”

  “You’re the one who said do it.” He chuckled. “Come on.” He took her hand and, after buying tickets, took her to the Ferris wheel line.

  “I’m not so sure about this,” Kendra said. He’d sobered since his quip earlier. “Why do you want to talk to me on a Ferris wheel?”

  “Because you can’t walk away from me if we’re sixty feet in the air and locked in our seats.”

  He thought she’d run away? What was he going to say that would make her do that? Was he sorry they’d had sex?

  They reached the front of the line and it was their turn to sit in a cart. He let her get in first and then sat beside her, his big body close and doing things to her she’d like to ignore.

  The Ferris wheel moved to allow more people to board.

  Roman stretched his arm across the back of the cart and gazed off across the amusement park and beyond. Only then did she notice the setting sun. Would sunsets ever not be romantic? Was it the colors, the dark horizon against a painted sky or the onset of night?

  The Ferris wheel moved again.

  Roman seemed content to watch the sky, although Kendra wondered if he was gathering his thoughts.

  “That sunset reminds me of a fishing trip with my dad,” he said.

  Fishing was not what she expected. She watched the sunset as the Ferris wheel rose up some more.

  “We didn’t do a lot together because he was always in his office writing, but the time we did spend together was like that. Sitting in a boat, drinking lemonade my mom made, four rods in the water. He’d tell me stories about growing up, about his parents and when he was a kid. His dad never did anything with him and he wanted to make sure he wasn’t the same. He wasn’t. My dad was always there, always home, never violent, never lost his temper, but all we did together was fish. I don’t remember him ever asking me what I wanted to do with my life.”

  She enjoyed the tone of his voice and the visual he gave her. “Maybe he wanted to let you figure it out on your own.”

  “My mom was the same way. They were great parents, but she was every bit as ambitious and social as my father. They took me to all my sporting events and after school this and that. My mom was a master scheduler.”

  The Ferris wheel had begun to move continuously now, taking the sunset away until they came up on the other side again. All his talk about being a kid with his parents triggered a memory of her own, one of few she had.

  “One night, my dad came home from work with news he got a big promotion. My mom was so happy for him. I can see her face and how his lit up in response. She made a nice dinner and we talked about taking a trip to Disney World. After dinner, my dad played with me and Kaelyn. I can still hear us all laughing.” She turned her head away with the next memory—being taken away after being told her parents had died.

  “It’s tragic, what happened to you when you were young,” Roman said.

  She watched the sunset until it disappeared again.

  “And I can see how that, and being raised the way you were, would affect your relationships as an adult.”

  She turned to him. Is this what he’d meant to talk to her about?

  “You don’t trust anyone, do you?”

  “I tried to, once.” She’d been betrayed. Who wouldn’t be cautious after that?

  “Do you ever think you can let your guard down again?” he asked.

  That was the question he’d sequestered her to ask. She had to pause, to give herself time. She needed to be honest now. She sensed his need for honesty. This all stemmed from their night together. He was fishing to see if it was real.

  She met his eyes so he could see them as she answered at last. “I don’t know.”

  The Ferris wheel came to a stop and began letting people off.

  She leaned forward for one last look at the sunset. “These rides are always too short, aren’t they?”

  She felt him continue to observe her.

  “Thanks for being straight with me.”

  She didn’t ask if he’d ever figure out he was meant to be a detective. He had to do that on his own.

  A metallic ping sent her on alert. She looked up at the bar holding the cart as another ping sounded against the front of the cart.

  “Get down!” Roman leaned over her, lying on top of her as more pings hit the cart.

  Someone was shooting at them!

  The cart moved. No one had noticed but them. The shots were silenced.

  Roman lifted his head to search the ground. He ducked as another bullet hit metal. The cart moved higher. The cart in front of them now blocked the direction of gunfire.

  Taking out his pistol, Roman crouched low and looked at the ground. He must not see anyone. The cart moved again, letting more people off. Kendra sat up, staying low like Roman. They were on the back side of the Ferris wheel now, two carts away from getting off the ride. They would be in the line of fire again as soon as the cart in front of them emptied.

  Roman spotted a figure standing on the other side of the iron gate surrounding the ride. Wearing a hooded sweatshirt and sunglasses, the person’s identity was concealed. Where had he stood when he fired at them on the Ferris wheel? He must have hidden somewhere, and then approached the iron fence around the ride.

  The people in front of them got out of their cart. Roman aimed his gun as the hooded figure raised his. Roman fired first. As screams spread through the crowd, the hooded figure ran. People ducked and bolted out of line to escape the gunfire. The ride operator leaped behind his ticket pedestal.

  Roman climbed out of the cart and ran toward the iron fence. Reaching it, he catapulted over and chased after the disappearing figur
e.

  Shaky, Kendra climbed out of the cart as the ride operator stood and moved out from behind the pedestal.

  “Are you all right, ma’am?” he asked.

  She nodded and ran through the exit among the terrified onlookers who’d dared to remain. She ran past a few other rides, not hearing any more gunfire. At the entrance to the amusement park, she stopped and searched the parking area, a large gravel lot where people walked and cars drove at low speeds. Nothing in what she saw indicated anyone had run through here with guns. She turned back toward the park and walked in the direction she’d come from. At the second passageway between rides, she spotted Roman under a picnic canopy. The gunman scattered people from their tables and made grillers pause above smoking burgers and brats.

  She ran forward, skirting the tent and alarmed onlookers. On the other side, she saw Roman jumping up onto a Dumpster, and then swinging over a stone fence. Grabbing a chair from a table, she put it down at the fence, climbed on and then jumped for the top of the fence. Pulling herself up, she swung one leg onto the ledge and then the other, hanging down on the other side and then letting go.

  Searching around, she heard a creek running through a thick line of trees. A bike trail wound along the amusement park fence and curved to a bridge. She ran for that and crossed the creek. The trail led along a strip mall and into a neighborhood.

  Hearing gunfire, she veered off the bike path and onto a grassy area between that and the pavement behind the strip mall. Reaching the end of the building, she peered around the corner and saw Roman.

  Gun held up, he peeked out from his corner to the front of the building, and then fired. The other man fired back, and then the gunfire stopped. Had they run out of bullets?

  Roman disappeared from the shelter of the building.

  Kendra went to the place he’d vacated and saw him gaining on the gunman. He caught up to him at a parked car. The two collided, Roman tackling the man and crashing into the car. The man rammed his elbow back into Roman and managed to turn before Roman punched him. The man swung back and Roman held up his forearm to block the blow and at the same time went into a side flip and used his feet to kick the man’s head. The man went down to his knees and then rolled out of the way of another kick. He jumped to his feet and ran.