by Kira Chase
Frankie smiled at Johanna.
“I like the way you two work. I’ve already checked your excellent credentials,” Martin admitted. “Now fill me in on the rest of this.”
Chapter 15
Johanna loaded the dishwasher while Frankie wiped off the table.
“You’ve barely said two words since we left Martin Stedman’s office,” Frankie said, placing the sponge in the stainless steel sink.
Johanna closed the dishwasher door. “I’ve just been processing all the information. I hope our trust in Stedman isn’t misplaced.”
“Do you think he’s setting us up? I admit at first I wasn’t sure about him. But after spending over two hours with him, he revealed a lot of information I don’t think he would have if he was trying to put a wrench in our investigation.”
“No, you’re right. I think he’s on the up-and-up. But then I’ve been wrong before,” she replied uneasily. “In our business it’s difficult to know who to trust sometimes.”
“Come on, honey. As soon as we find out where Chelsea’s hiding, we’ll let George take it from there.” She hugged Johanna then released her. “Let’s get ready to go.”
* * * *
Johanna peered at the mansion through her binoculars. “We don’t know if he’s even home.”
“No, but we’ll wait to see who comes in and out. He’s either driving Cassandra’s Porsche or his Jag. If he leaves we’ll follow him and if he’s all ready been somewhere and comes home we’ll know he was somewhere.”
Johanna suddenly burst out into laughter. “That makes absolutely no sense.”
Frankie scratched her jaw. “I guess you’re right, but at least it made you laugh.” She patted Johanna’s arm. “I hate seeing you so tense. What’s wrong?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe the weird feeling of dread you’ve had all day long.”
“I’m sorry I upset you.”
“Don’t ever be sorry. Telling each other how and what we feel is what makes us so strong together.”
“I know, but I just hate seeing you so on edge.”
Johanna smiled faintly. “It’ll pass once we’re finished with this case.”
“What did you think of Martin?”
“He genuinely cared about Cassandra. I think he can’t wait to bring Graham down. Since he’s been out of the country, he’s as confused about Cassandra’s whereabouts for the past two months as everyone else is.”
“I like him and I feel better having told him everything. If anything happens to us, he’ll know who to finger.”
“Is that supposed to cheer me up?” Johanna screwed up her face.
“I think I’d better keep my mouth shut. I can’t seem to say anything right tonight. And the last thing I want to do is cause you more worry.”
“You can’t fool me, Frankie. You’re worried. Admit it.”
“I am a little, but we’ll be okay. Just keep your gun close.”
“I will.” She reclined back in her seat for a few minutes, then suddenly jerked her seat upright. “Frankie, get ready. A car’s coming.”
Frankie kept her eyes glued on the massive gate and watched it slide open. Graham’s black Jag barrelled down the driveway and turned. He looked straight ahead at the road as he sped past them.
“I hope he didn’t see us,” Johanna said. “Do you think he did?”
“He didn’t. We’re obscured by the brush.” She pulled the car onto the road and made a quick u-turn. “Looks like he’s heading out of town. Probably the country house.”
“We knew he wouldn’t be hiding Chelsea where anyone would see her.”
“Why not? Wouldn’t it make perfect sense for her to show up for her sister’s funeral? He could say that’s why she showed up and no one would be the wiser.”
“I never thought of that.” Johanna looked out of the windshield at the pitch-black countryside. “It sure is secluded out here.” She shivered. “It was creepy enough in the daylight, but it’s spooky at night.”
“Our house is secluded,” Frankie reminded her.
“I know, but it’s different here.”
“You’re just nervous,” she said quietly. “Pull yourself together…we’ll be fine.”
“I know we will…this case is so different.”
“They’re all different, Johanna. This one is unusual because you and I do not agree like we normally do. I think it’s Graham and you think it’s Nicholas Bower of all people. And it’s our first murder investigation since we left the force.”
Johanna sighed. “I suppose that’s it.”
“He’s turning,” Frankie said as she slowed down while he turned and then quickly drove past the long dirt road.
Johanna craned her neck as Graham’s headlights moved up the driveway.
Frankie doused her headlights then made a u-turn. She parked the car at the edge of the road and cut the engine. “Can you see anything?”
“No. We’ll have to wait.” She grabbed Frankie’s hand. “It’s so dark here I can barely see you.”
Frankie smiled. “Ah, but you can feel me.”
Johanna playfully slapped Frankie’s arm. “Under different circumstances I’d really be feeling you.”
“And I’d be loving every minute of it.” She shifted in her seat. “Keep your seatbelt on in case we have to make a quick exit. I don’t want you bouncing around and getting hurt.”
“When you’re driving I always do,” Johanna teased.
“Just remember. Tomorrow we talk to George and let him do with all our information what he wants.”
“What about the check Graham gave me? What should we do with it?”
“We can always ask Martin about it.”
“I can’t get over how strange Graham acted. He was pale and extremely nervous.”
“Maybe he got wind that Martin was going to bring him down. That could be why he wants to get out of town as quickly as possible.”
Johanna turned in Frankie’s direction. “We might never know, but I hope we do find out. I like closure not only for our cases, but for us as well.”
“Yeah, it’s nice when that happens.” She leaned toward Johanna.
Frankie’s car door was suddenly pulled open and a bright blinding light was flashed into her eyes. “What the fuck!” She reached for the gun in her waistband, but her arm was violently yanked and twisted back.
Johanna sprang into action as she grabbed her gun and aimed toward the hazy figure. The light obstructed her view so she couldn’t make out the face. She thought about firing off a shot, but was afraid she’d hit Frankie. She had to make a move soon. The intruder was trying to pull Frankie out of the car not realizing that Frankie was still securely fastened in her seatbelt.
“Get your hands off me!” Frankie yelled.
Johanna’s heart pounded and all she could think about was protecting Frankie. The attacker didn’t seem to care that Johanna was in the next seat. Or if they did, she assumed they’d take care of Frankie, then come for her. She wondered if they were armed and wasn’t about to wait to find out. She unhooked her seatbelt. It wouldn’t be easy, but she had to move fast. She leaned over and pushed the latch on Frankie’s seat belt. She heard a thud as Frankie’s body hit the hard ground.
“Shit,” Frankie moaned as she tried to pull herself to her feet.
Johanna heard several sickening thumps followed by Frankie’s weak moans.
She realized they were beating the life out of Frankie. Anger overtook her fear. “Frankie, stay down!” she yelled. “I’ve got it covered.”
She watched the hazy figure rise then lunge at her through Frankie’s opened door. Johanna pulled the trigger. She heard the dull thump as the body hit the ground.
“Frankie! Are you okay?” She scrambled out of the passenger door and ran to the other side of the car. The attacker’s flashlight lay on the ground. She picked it up and shined it on Frankie, her heart in her throat. Frankie lay sprawled on her back. She bent to her, cradling her head in her arm
s. “Come on, baby, wake up.”
Frankie moaned. “Dammit. I’m going to have a shiner.” She tried to sit up and grabbed her side. “Shit! I think I’ve got a couple of broken ribs. God this hurts!”
Johanna grabbed her cell phone, called an ambulance, and then put in a quick call to George. She snapped her phone shut.
“Who is it?” she panted.
“I don’t know. Don’t try to talk, baby. Just stay still. I’ll check.” She took off her jacket and laid it under Frankie’s head, then stood up and walked over to where the body lay. She shined the light on the attacker’s face. “I don’t believe it!”
“What?” Frankie called weakly.
“It’s Nicholas Bower. I’ve only injured him. The bullet only grazed his shoulder, I think. He’s out.” She walked back over to Frankie.
“What was he doing here?”
She saw the pain in Frankie’s eyes. “Just stay still,” she soothed. “As for him he’s probably tailing us.” She looked up when she saw headlights coming down the driveway. The Jag turned then sped down the road. “There he goes.”
“Dammit! I’m sorry. Go after him if you want.” She winced. “I fucked this whole night up.”
“Not on your life will I leave you here. Frankie, you could have been killed. And you didn’t fuck anything up.” Her voice trembled. “Just please lie still. The ambulance should be here soon.” She heard Nick groan. She moved over to him, stood with her feet apart and her gun aimed at him. “Stay down,” she ordered. “The sheriff’s on the way.”
“You don’t understand,” he said. “I didn’t want to hurt either of you, but I didn’t have a choice.”
“We always have a choice, Bower, but you made the wrong one. And I should blow your fucking head off right now.”
“Let me explain.”
“You can do your explaining to Sheriff Ryker.”
“No! Please listen. I didn’t want to hurt either of you. You’ve got to believe me!”
“Why should I believe anything you say?” she spat out bitterly. “You could have killed us.”
“You’re right. I could have, but I didn’t. There’s no way I would kill either of you. I thought maybe if I just roughed you two up a bit.”
“Why?” She shined the light in his eyes.
“Graham McHenry doesn’t deserve to live,” he said in a low voice. “Not after what he did to Cassandra.”
“What are you doing here?” she demanded.
He moaned as he clutched his shoulder. “Why did you shoot me?”
“I could have killed you. Maybe I should after what you’ve done to Frankie.” Johanna kept the gun trained on him as he struggled to pull himself to his feet. “Stay down or I swear to God I will blow your brains out!” She saw the terror in his eyes as he eased himself back down. Where the hell was the ambulance! She knew that Frankie wasn’t severely injured, but it ripped her heart apart to see her in any kind of pain.
Bower struggled to raise himself. “Listen to me,” he pleaded.
Johanna’s fury made her see red. “I told you to stay the fuck down!” She jabbed the toe of her boot into his side. She drew her foot back and was ready to kick him when she saw headlights and heard the wail of the ambulances. She breathed a sigh of relief. The sheriff’s car and a patrol car pulled in behind the ambulance. George and Arlan hurried to Johanna.
“Get some light over here,” George ordered the two deputies. “What the hell happened here?” he asked Johanna who was kneeling next to Frankie.
She stood up so the two paramedics could check Frankie over. She shifted her gaze from Frankie to George. “We were attacked.” She pointed to Bower. “By him…Nicholas Bower. I shot him in the shoulder.”
“I’m going to need a statement from you,” Arlan said, gazing coldly at her. “I’d like to see your gun.”
Johanna handed him her gun. “I’m licensed, as you know, and I had the right to shoot to protect myself. Besides, the scum will live. He’s only grazed.” She looked over to where a couple of paramedics were loading Bower onto a stretcher. “He needs to be arrested for attempted murder.” She paused. “I think he may have something to do with Cassandra McHenry’s murder, too.”
“Arlan, read him his rights. I’ll handle this end of it,” George told him.
Johanna watched Arlan walk to the ambulance. He was pissed and it pleased her. She smiled smugly to herself.
“What were you doing here?” George demanded.
She tilted her head toward the driveway. “We were tailing Graham McHenry. We were waiting for him to return to see if he had Chelsea Reynolds with him.”
George scratched his jaw. “Maybe you should start at the beginning. If Chelsea Reynolds is back in town it’s probably because of her sister’s upcoming funeral.” He shrugged. “Maybe she was uncomfortable staying at the mansion and decided to stay here away from the media.”
“Look, George. Can we do all of this later? I need to get to the hospital with Frankie.”
“Are you going to ride in the ambulance?”
She shook her head. “Her injuries aren’t life threatening, so I’ll take my car.”
He sighed heavily. “Okay. I’ll meet you there.”
“Thanks. And, George?”
He cocked an eye.
“Please don’t let Bower go.”
* * * *
Johanna grabbed Frankie’s hand. “You have to stay here for a day or so, babe.”
“I hate hospitals,” Frankie grumbled. “I feel fine.”
“You’re not fine. Bower kicked the shit out of you.” She looked at Frankie’s black eye and bruised cheek and the revengeful part of her wished she’d done more than graze Bower’s shoulder. “He bruised a couple of your ribs. Thank God nothing’s broken. If you weren’t in such good physical health it would have been much worse.”
“I should have been more cautious. It’s my own damned fault. Then I got caught up in that damned seatbelt,” she fumed. “I should have fought back.”
“You did what you could, Frankie. I should have been more cautious, too.” Johanna gave Frankie a reassuring smile. “George will be here in a few minutes to question us. I asked him, if possible, if he would do it personally and not send Arlan.”
Frankie lay back on the pillows. I want to sleep in my own bed,” she whined.
“If it’s any consolation, I’m going to spend the night right here with you because I can’t stand leaving you here by yourself.”
“No, you need to go home and get some sleep. Especially after the day we’ve had.”
“Uh uh…not with you here. I wouldn’t get any sleep. Besides, this chair is comfortable. If your ribs weren’t bruised I’d sneak into bed with you in the middle of the night. It’d be daring doing it in the hospital bed.”
“Ah, such a kinky mind.”
“And you love it.”
Frankie laughed, and then winced.
“I’m sorry, baby. That’s got to hurt like hell. Want me to ask the nurse if she can give you something?”
“No…maybe later.”
George rapped on the half-opened door and entered. “Is this a good time for the statements?”
“Sure, George. Come on in.”
He closed the door behind him.
Johanna stood, offering him the more comfortable chair as she pulled up a hard plastic chair for herself.
He settled himself in the chair. He sat quietly for a minute, eyeing them.
Johanna sat next to him facing Frankie’s bed. “Did Bower give a statement?”
He frowned. “He did.” He paused for a second. “He’s thinking of filing charges against you, Johanna.”
She jumped to her feet. “What? Are you kidding?” She trembled with rage. “On what grounds? He attacked Frankie. We’re the ones who should file charges against him. I was protecting us. I didn’t know whether he had a weapon or not.”
“Calm down.” George held up a hand motioning her to sit back down. “I told him he had
the right to file charges, but if he did, I am certain that you two will countersue and he won’t have a leg to stand on.” He slowly shook his head back and forth. “He’s being discharged in a couple of hours.”
“And he’ll be jailed.” Frankie looked at the sheriff.
He nodded. “He’ll probably make bail before the night is over, though.”
“Dammit! Isn’t there some way you can hold him, George? I know he’s somehow involved with Cassandra McHenry’s murder.”
“I questioned him. He claims he had no part in it.” He loudly exhaled. “I can’t hold him on suspicion of murder without proof. Give me proof that he’s involved and he’ll be arrested.”
“Why was he in the middle of nowhere? I told you that Frankie and I were staking out Graham McHenry. What reason did Bower give for being there?”
“I can’t divulge that information to you. You know that. He claims he only wanted to talk to you and things got out of hand.”
Johanna laughed. “Come on! That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard of. If it was true, then why the attack on Frankie?”
George shrugged. “We’ll get it sorted out. Thankfully, he didn’t use a weapon on either of you.”
“I still think he was after Graham,” Frankie said. “He knows more than he’s saying.”
“That’s right. While we were waiting for you he said that Graham didn’t deserve to live. If that isn’t a threat I don’t know what is.”
“That doesn’t mean he intended to kill him. He could have just been blowing off steam. As I understand it, he’d been a close friend of Cassandra.”
“Come on, George,” Frankie said, exasperated. “He must have been staking Graham out, too, and followed him. I’ll bet my life on it that he was going to kill him. I just don’t know where he hid his car.”
“His car was parked across the road. Like I said, I can’t charge him for something you think he might do but hasn’t.”
