by Kira Chase
Frankie pulled open the door. She was momentarily stunned then quickly regained her composure. “What are you doing here?”
“I need to speak to Jo.” The woman’s voice was cold.
“How did you get this address?” Frankie demanded.
“From Gracelyn…Jo’s mother.”
Frankie’s eyes widened in surprise. “You know Gracelyn?”
“Very well. Now are you going to let me in?”
Frankie reluctantly stood aside. “Come in.” She waited while the blonde walked inside then closed the door and escorted the woman to the living room.
Chapter 4
Johanna’s complexion paled when she saw the woman. She looked anxiously at her mother.
Gracelyn sat stony faced as she met Johanna’s eyes. “Johanna, I’m sure you two have a lot to talk about.”
“You two know each other?” Frankie’s eyes clouded as she wondered what the connection was between Johanna and the blonde. Johanna looked deeply distressed and her eyes flashed angrily as she made her way over to where Frankie still stood in the doorway. She slipped her arm through Frankie’s.
Johanna cleared her throat. “Frankie, this is Gretchen Wyler. We knew each other years ago in California.”
“Now, Jo, we were much more than just friends,” Gretchen cooed as her eyes swept appreciatively over Johanna then settled on Frankie. “We’ve already met. I thought you were Jo’s secretary,” she said, annoyed. “You didn’t tell me differently.”
“I had no reason to,” Frankie replied smugly. “Now what are you doing at my home this time of night?”
“I’m here to talk to Jo. This matter doesn’t concern you.” She turned her attention back to Johanna. “ I want to hire you, Jo. I ran into your mother a few weeks ago and she told me you’re a private investigator now.”
Frankie clenched her jaw. At least it was now clear why Gracelyn had been acting so strangely. “Johanna and I are partners in all ways and we thoroughly discuss every potential case before we decide whether or not we’ll take it and I can tell you right now—we won’t be taking your case.”
“Francine, there’s no need for you to be rude,” Gracelyn admonished. “Gretchen is an old friend of Johanna’s and Johanna needs to hear what she has to say.”
The blood rushed to Frankie’s face. She waited for Johanna to say something in her defense. The self-righteous look on Gretchen Wyler’s face sickened her along with the way Gretchen’s lust-filled steely blue eyes were looking at Johanna. Frankie’s territorial instincts set in and her claws were ready to come out. She felt Johanna stiffen.
“For the life of me I never imagined you moving to such a quaint little place like this in the middle of nowhere.” She laughed. “This is so not you, Jo.”
Johanna eyed her warily. “Frankie and I are very happy here. We’ve been in business together for over ten years in Charlestown and I can’t think of anywhere else I’d rather live. We’re licensed in all counties in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.” She squeezed Frankie’s arm. “You should have saved yourself a trip and hired someone in California. It was ridiculous for you to make the trip here. Even if I could, I wouldn’t even dream of going to California to work on a case. So you can just turn around, leave our quaint little city, and go back to California.”
Gretchen grinned at her. “Still the spitfire, but that’s what I always admired about you, Jo.” She lifted an eyebrow. “I’m sure I’ll be able to persuade you to take my case once you hear all of the details.”
“No, you won’t,” Johanna replied coldly. “And I doubt you tracked me down after all these years just to ask me to take your case. Now what the hell do you really want?”
“Francine, you must be wondering what’s going on. Johanna has certainly told you about Gretchen, hasn’t she?” Gracelyn asked.
“Mom—” Johanna’s fingers tightened on Frankie’s arm. “This doesn’t concern you.”
“Well, you should have told Francine about Gretchen,” Gracelyn insisted. “I thought couples discussed their pasts. It would also be polite to take your guest’s coat and offer her a drink.”
“She’s not our guest,” Johanna spat out. “And the only thing I’ll offer her is the door.”
“Told me what?” Frankie cut in. She turned her head and her eyes searched Johanna’s deathly white panic-stricken face. “Tell me, Johanna. What the hell is going on?” Her heart pounded.
“They worked together on the police force and were—” Gracelyn began.
“Mother, please!” Johanna pleaded. “Give me a chance. I’m the one who should tell her, not you, so please don’t say another word.”
“I don’t want to make you and Francine uncomfortable, Jo,” Gretchen said in a condescending tone of voice. “But you really should have told her about us. Your mother is right.”
Gretchen’s eyes briefly locked with Frankie’s and it was obvious to Frankie that the woman enjoyed every second of the friction she was causing. What hurt Frankie the most, though, was the way Gracelyn was treating her. She was crushed, and hot tears formed behind her eyelids. She had to accept the truth that no matter what she did it would never be good enough for Johanna’s mother and she was wasting her time and energy trying. Gretchen was the type of woman Gracelyn obviously wished Johanna was with. California bred and raised. She swallowed hard.
“What do you really want, Gretchen?” Johanna asked icily. “You’re up to something or else you wouldn’t be here.”
“I told you. I want to hire you. I’m being blackmailed and the letters are postmarked from Atlantic City.” She removed her coat. “When, by chance, I ran into your mother, she mentioned that she was coming for a visit so we agreed it would be best if I waited to contact you until after she arrived. When I didn’t hear back from her I left several messages on her cell phone.” She looked sharply at Gracelyn. “She refused to give me your cell phone number, but after some friendly persuasion, she relinquished your home address.” She laughed. “Lucky for me you have such an efficient security system. And you say you’re a PI?” She laughed again.
“If it hadn’t been mistakenly left off, you never would have gotten through the gate,” Frankie fumed. “I don’t care why you’re here or what you want. Just get the hell out of my house!”
Gretchen threw her head back and laughed shrilly. “I didn’t hear Jo ask me to leave and I doubt she will. I can see there is much she hasn’t told you about our California days. Would you like me to tell her, Jo?” she asked huskily as her eyes focused on Johanna’s heaving breasts.
Frankie’s eyes met Johanna’s and silently pleaded for her to put Gretchen in her place.
Johanna shook her head back and forth. “Why are you really here, Gretchen? I know you well enough to know you must have an ulterior motive.”
Frankie’s shoulders slumped. Why wasn’t Johanna demanding that Gretchen leave? A cold clamminess overtook her. “Johanna, I’d like to talk to you in private, please,” Frankie said in a low voice. She tightly clasped her trembling hands.
Johanna hesitated. “In a minute, Frankie.” She kept her eyes glued on Gretchen. “I’m waiting, Gretchen.”
“Now!” Frankie demanded not caring how she looked to Gracelyn and Gretchen. She couldn’t take any more of this humiliation. She quickly exited the room avoiding eye contact with Gretchen and Gracelyn, but felt their eyes boring into her back as she stiffly walked through the door toward her bedroom. Johanna had let Gretchen and her mother make a fool out of her and it left her hurt, confused, and so very afraid. Frankie choked back a sob that had bubbled up in her throat.
Frankie heard Johanna’s quick footsteps following her to their bedroom. Once inside, Frankie whirled on her. “Is this the woman who caused you to leave California? Is Gretchen your ex-lover?” Her body shook convulsively. “Dammit, Johanna, answer me.”
Johanna lowered her eyes. “Yes, but please let me explain.”
Frankie hurried to the closet and pulled out a suitcase. “Don’t bo
ther. I get the picture. At least it explains your mother’s odd behavior.”
“What are you doing?” Johanna, wide-eyed, grabbed her arm. “Frankie, I don’t understand. Where are you going?”
“I…I’m going to drive to Bradford to visit my mother for a few days. I need to clear my head. That’ll give you some alone time here with your mother which is what she obviously wants.” Tears stung her eyes. “And with Gretchen.” Her fingers fumbled with the clasp on the suitcase.
“No, Frankie! Don’t go. The roads are slippery and are only going to get worse. I’m sure Bradford is buried under a foot of snow by now. But most importantly, I can’t stand being away from you…especially now. Please, I’m begging you. Don’t go. I don’t know why Gretchen’s here. I swear to you, Frankie. I don’t know what’s going on. I’m as shocked as you are.”
Frankie turned and faced her. “You stood there and let me be treated like shit by that bitch! Not once did you come to my defense.” Tears rolled down her cheeks. “I want Gretchen out of our house.” She swiped at her eyes. “God, Johanna, in all these years you never told me anything about her. I never asked because I knew it was a painful part of your past and we’d both agreed to leave our pasts behind and make a fresh start together, but I never expected one of your exs to show up on my doorstep. What really rips me apart, though, is how you refused to defend me. Do you know how that hurts?”
“I didn’t feel I had to defend you. Gretchen is a joke!” She raised her arms then dropped them limply to her sides. “I didn’t want her to see that she was getting to us.”
“Maybe it would have meant something to me if you had stood up to her,” she cried. “I don’t know what to believe anymore.”
“I’m sorry. I thought you were secure in my love.” Johanna clasped her hands tightly together.
“I was until your mother showed her excitement over Gretchen’s being here.” Her voice quavered. “It’s obvious who she wishes you were really with.”
“I wouldn’t call it excitement. Mom’s been acting weird ever since I picked her up from the airport and now we know it was because of Gretchen’s impending visit.” Johanna ran a shaky hand through her hair. “Baby, I don’t know what’s going on, but you already know that we’re certainly not taking her case if she even has one, which I doubt. She’s a calculating, devious, heartless woman and I have no clue what her motive is for showing up here, but I intend to find out.”
Frankie drew a shaky breath. “Gretchen only wants you to take her case. She made that perfectly clear.”
“That’s ridiculous. I wouldn’t take her case with or without you.”
Frankie blinked rapidly. “Do you know what it does to me now that I see her in the flesh knowing that you and she—”
Johanna placed her hands on Frankie’s shoulders. “Stop! All I care about is what you and I have had for the past twelve years and what we’re going to have for the rest of our lives. I never knew what love was until I met you. I know it sounds cliché, but it’s the truth. My life would have no meaning without you in it. I was so lost and lonely until you came into my life. You fill me with a joy that is indescribable.”
Fresh tears spilled from Frankie’s eyes. “Your mother really does despise me,” she choked. “No matter what I do, I’ll never be good enough, but she obviously adores Gretchen and it’s clear she’d rather you were with Gretchen. No matter what you do one of us, your mother or me, will be unhappy. And I’m not going to force you to make that choice. I’m going to make it easy for you and leave.”
Johanna’s eyes watered. “Come sit,” she said, taking Frankie’s hand and leading her to the bed. She sat next to her and brushed the hair from Frankie’s brow. “I want to tell you all about Gretchen Wyler. I should have told you years ago.” With the back of her hand she gently brushed Frankie’s tears away. “Please stop crying. You’re breaking my heart.”
“No…you don’t need to tell me. I don’t want the details.”
Johanna, again, placed her hands on Frankie’s shoulders and peered into her eyes. “Gretchen is a cold-hearted woman who will use anyone to get what she wants. I never lived with her. We dated off and on for two years and it was mostly off. When I ended it she made my life a living hell. Yes, she’d made a point of meeting my mother a few times and put on a wonderful act. Gretchen used her family’s wealth and social standing to try to impress my mother.”
“One more reason for your mother to dislike me.” Frankie sniffed. “I’m just the product of a hardworking woman who—”
“Who raised you to be the wonderful woman you are today,” Johanna cut in. “Even more reason why you’re so much better than Gretchen. You’re real, Frankie. What I see is what I get. And I happen to love what I have and intend to keep it.”
Frankie drew a shuddering breath. “I don’t want anyone to chip away the foundation we’ve built.” She sniffed. “I can’t stand the way I feel right now…so helpless and emotionally out of control.”
“No one can ever destroy what we have.” Tears spilled from Johanna’s eyes. “When I met Gretchen I was tired of dating women who were unmotivated except when it came to partying. So when Gretchen started paying attention to me, I like a fool, thought that she really cared about my career and me. After all, she was well respected on the force and, as my superior, it was important to me to make the best impression I could. All she wanted, though, was someone to physically take her frustrations out on. She was as calculating and callous in bed as she was out.” A tear fell from her eye. “I never loved her nor was I ever in love with her.”
“I don’t want to hear anymore,” Frankie said. “And I don’t want to hear how she used you as her punching bag.” A shudder tore through her. “You don’t know how hard it is for me not to go out there and physically throw her out of our house.”
“When I met you, Frankie, I never looked back nor have I ever wanted to.” Her lips trembled. “I’m sorry that you’re hurt.” Her voice cracked then broke. “I can’t stand to see you in any kind of pain. You know that.” She put her arms around Frankie, laid her head on Frankie’s shoulder, and sobbed.
Frankie bit her bottom lip as her heart broke. She held Johanna tightly and rubbed her back. “I won’t go, baby…I’m just upset. Don’t cry. I could never leave you. God, my life would mean nothing without you.” She continued rubbing Johanna’s back until Johanna’s tears subsided.
After a few minutes Johanna dried her eyes, then walked into the bathroom and splashed cold water on her face. When she re-entered the bedroom she pulled Frankie to her and kissed her deeply. After releasing her, she took Frankie’s hand. “It’s about time I set my mother straight. Before we both throw Gretchen out. I can’t believe my mother gave that bitch our address.”
“No, Johanna. Don’t say anything to your mother. That will only make things worse. I can’t force her to like me.”
“But she does like you, Frankie. She’s not one to physically show it like your mother, but believe me she’s never said anything negative about you. Her attitude has me stumped. There’s more to it. I’m pissed that she gave Gretchen our address. Now we know why she kept checking her cell phone. Tonight I intend to get to the bottom of this, but I’ll do it privately…I promise.”
Frankie walked to the vanity table and touched up her makeup. “My eyes look horrible.”
“No worse than mine.” Johanna smiled faintly. “But you always look beautiful to me and that’s all that matters.”
Frankie took a deep breath and then slowly exhaled. “Okay. Let’s get back out there. I’m not going to give Gretchen the satisfaction of thinking she’s caused a rift between us.” She squeezed Johanna’s hand.
Chapter 5
Gretchen and Gracelyn simultaneously looked up when Frankie and Johanna entered the living room. Gretchen, with a glass of wine in her hand, was seated in the easy chair closest to the fireplace. She abruptly stopped what she was saying in mid-sentence as Gracelyn, seated in a matching chair facing Gretche
n’s, nervously wrung her hands.
“Your mother was kind enough to give me a glass of wine,” Gretchen said.
“I’m only trying to be hospitable,” Gracelyn quickly replied.
“I am hospitable, but only to our invited guests,” Johanna snapped. She led Frankie to the sofa. After Frankie was seated, she walked over to Gretchen’s chair and stood threateningly in front of her.
Gretchen’s shimmering gold low-cut dress was unsuitable for a winter evening. Actually the style and cut of the dress was more suited for someone half Gretchen’s age, but Gretchen never had been able to stand the thought of growing old and ignored the obvious wrinkles evident around her eyes and mouth. She watched Gretchen’s heavily made up eyes as they stared at her. Gretchen shifted her body allowing the dress to rise revealing much of her thigh. Johanna knew Gretchen was doing it for her benefit and to piss off Frankie.
“I want to know what the hell you’re really doing here.” She placed her hands on her hips. “And I want to know now! I’m through playing games, Gretchen.”
“Johanna, that’s no way to talk—”
“Mother, please stay out of it,” she said sharply. “This is between Gretchen and me. I’m waiting for an answer, Gretchen.”
Gretchen glanced coldly at Frankie before meeting Johanna’s eyes. An amused smile played on her lips. “I already told you, Jo.”
“You know I’ve always hated to be called Jo and I’d appreciate it if you’d stop. Now what the hell do you really want?”
Gretchen set her wineglass on the table next to the chair, leaned back letting the dress rise higher, folded her hands and placed them in her lap. “I told you. I’m being blackmailed. You’re the only one who can help me.”
Johanna kept her eyes fixed on Gretchen’s. “Find someone else to help you. We’re not going to take your case so you’re wasting your time here and have definitely made a wasted trip unless you’re in the mood to visit Philadelphia or New York City.”
