by Kira Chase
“Don’t worry, Mom. Thanks to Frankie’s foresight, we had solar panels installed along with a million other thingamajigs when the house was built.”
Frankie grinned. “We depend too much on electricity,” she explained to Gracelyn. “And I for one don’t want to be without my major comforts in the event of a power outage. The generators will kick in when needed. No need to worry.”
“I’ve seen a few programs about solar energy,” Gracelyn replied intrigued. “If I didn’t live in a condo I would certainly be looking into it.”
“She even had solar panels installed on her mother’s trailer,” Johanna said, beaming proudly.
“Imagine that. How is Selma, Francine?”
Frankie raised her eyes from her computer screen and looked at Gracelyn. “She’s doing well. Still going to her weekly bingo games and helping out at her church.”
“It’s been ages since I’ve seen her. Make sure to give her my best.”
“I will. Maybe you can visit again for Christmas. She’s planning to come and we’d love to have you, too. It’s beautiful here at Christmas. Charlestown schedules several events and is billed as one of the best tourist attractions if you want to experience an old-fashioned Christmas. Johanna and I also like to go to Philly to see The Nutcracker and do our Christmas shopping.”
Gracelyn smiled warmly. “Thank you, Francine. It sounds wonderful. If it weren’t for the Christmas Cruise I’m taking with my women’s club I would love to be here.”
“Maybe next year,” Frankie said, returning her smile. She stared at her computer screen and sighed loudly. “Well, I’m not having much luck bringing up anything on Gretchen Wyler that will be of any use to us.”
“This office is beautiful,” Gracelyn exclaimed, gazing around the room. “I can’t believe the equipment you have in here.”
“We wanted it to be comfortable as well as efficient since we do as much work here as we do at the office,” Frankie explained. “And Johanna has all of her camera equipment. That’s her area of expertise.”
“Yes, even as a child, she had a love for photography. Her father and I had thought that’s what she’d eventually decide upon for a career. She gave us a jolt when she told us her sophomore year of high school that she was joining the police force.” Her eyes grew soft. “When a year later she hadn’t changed her mind, we resigned ourselves to it. Not that either of us thought anything was wrong with it. We were just concerned for her safety. But her father passed away before she joined the police academy. If he’d been alive he would have been just as proud of her as I was when she graduated.”
“I doubted I’d make a living as a photographer and I couldn’t see myself ending up in a studio taking pictures of families all day long,” Johanna said, grimacing. “I wanted excitement and action. Most importantly, though, I wanted to do something to make the world a little better.”
Frankie nodded. “That’s why I joined, too. I know my mom had hoped I’d go to college, but she was supportive when I told her my plans.”
Johanna walked over to the window and peered outside. The wind had picked up again and the thick swirling snow made visibility almost nonexistent. She shivered as she wrapped her arms around herself. “The storm’s getting worse. I hope Trey and Will can make it tonight. Maybe they’ll come over on their snowplow,” she said with a laugh in her voice. When she received no response from either Frankie or her mother, she turned from the window. Seeing the shocked expressions on their faces, she rushed over to the front of Frankie’s desk. They silently peered at the computer screen. Her mother’s complexion had paled and Frankie’s expression looked like she was going to throw up.
Johanna’s heart lurched. “What’s wrong?” she asked in a wobbly voice.
Gracelyn glanced at her. “Johanna, it’s worse than we imagined.”
“What are you talking about, Mom?” Her mother’s haunted eyes frightened her. She moved to the back of Frankie’s desk where Gracelyn and Frankie sat side by side. Her eyes widened and her mouth dropped open as she observed what had caused their shock.
Frankie grabbed her hand. “We can’t waste any more time, Johanna. Give her a call. Do it now.”
“How can I call her? I don’t know where she’s staying. I was so angry when she showed up last night that where she was staying was the last thing on my mind. I only wanted her out of here and far away from me.”
“She obviously rented a car, too. If we can’t locate her at any of the hotels or motels then we’ll call the car rental businesses.” Her eyebrows knitted together. “First, start calling all the hotels and motels in the area. She’s probably nearby. If you can’t find her registered in town, then call every damn place in and around Philly until you find her.” She slammed her fist down so hard on her desk that her coffee sloshed out of the side of the mug. “Dammit,” she muttered. She stood up shoving her chair away from the desk. “I’m sorry, but I’m so mad! I’ll grab some paper towels and clean this up.”
Johanna waited until Frankie was out of the room before speaking. “Mom.” She pointed to the computer screen. “I had nothing to do with that. Please say that you believe me,” she choked.
Gracelyn rose and quickly put an arm around her daughter holding her tightly. “I know you didn’t, honey, but your reputation and integrity are on the line.” She rubbed Johanna’s back. “You certainly don’t deserve this.”
Johanna sighed dejectedly. “It’s not fair to Frankie, either.”
“No, it’s not, but she’s your partner and you have to tell her everything.” She placed her hands on Johanna’s shoulders and stared into her eyes. “She loves you, Johanna. Don’t jeopardize what you two have together by keeping this from her. She deserves to know the whole truth. It’s the only way.”
Johanna’s eyes flitted nervously back and forth as she ran a shaky hand through her hair. “What if she doesn’t understand? I’ll be dropping a bombshell on her and she’s going to wonder why I never mentioned it in all these years.”
Gracelyn’s eyes misted. “She’ll understand, honey.” She released Johanna. “She loves you. That’s obvious in the way her eyes light up when you walk into a room. I saw the fear in them when she learned who Gretchen was. Her eyes are very revealing. I saw the pain in those same eyes last night when Gretchen was belittling her.” She took a tissue from the pocket of her slacks and dabbed at her eyes. “I’m ashamed to admit that I haven’t always been very kind to her, but like I said earlier that’s going to change. I never allowed myself to get to know her, but what I’ve seen in the short time I’ve been here I like. She’s a wonderful woman, Johanna, and she’d do anything for you. Trust me, she’ll understand.”
“Thanks, Mom.” Johanna sat in Frankie’s chair. She studied the website which proclaimed that she and Gretchen were co-owners of an investment firm and supposedly had lucrative ties to the entertainment industry. “I don’t even know what the hell I’m supposed to be investing in!” she exclaimed. “It’s a bunch of legal mumble jumble she must have copied from somewhere to make this sound legitimate.” She placed a hand on her forehead. “I wonder how long this has been going on. How come I never heard of it before this?”
“Because you never had any reason to look for this type of website,” Frankie said, walking briskly back into the office. She wiped the spilled coffee off the desk. “I had one hell of a time finding the website myself. She has your name obscurely hidden in all that legalese. I went through several pages before I saw that you were allegedly a co-owner.”
“But I’m not a co-owner.”
Frankie squeezed Johanna’s shoulder. “I know you’re not, sweetie. I said allegedly . But when the shit hits the fan we’ve got to prove to the investors and everyone else that you’re not. Since Gretchen’s run out of new investors to pay off the current ones the fan’s going to be pretty busy very soon. The woman she claims is blackmailing her is only the first in a long list I’m sure.” She pulled up a chair and sat on the other side of Johanna. “We
’ll get through this. I promise.”
Gracelyn looked apprehensively at Johanna. “I know you two have been together a long time, but I hope you’ve shared everything in your pasts. Sometimes something which seems trivial at the time can come back to haunt you.” She paused. “You two have a long history together so please be open with one another if there’s something you should have shared but didn’t for whatever reason.”
Frankie looked quizzically at Gracelyn as she leaned back in her chair. “I have nothing earth shattering in my past and I’m certain that Johanna doesn’t either. If you’re referring to past relationships, I only had two before Johanna and as far as I know they’ve gone on with their lives. Neither of them are criminals or have shady pasts.” She smiled wryly at Johanna. “And I think I know Johanna well enough to assume the same about her in her choice of women...excluding Gretchen of course.”
Johanna was silent.
Gracelyn wrung her hands as her eyes pleaded with Johanna’s. “Johanna, you need to tell her the whole truth about Gretchen if you haven’t already. Wipe the slate clean before you go after Gretchen so there won’t be any surprises.”
“What about Gretchen? What is she—an ax murderer besides being a scam artist?” Frankie teased. “Now that I’ve met her, though, it wouldn’t surprise me.” She thoughtfully rubbed her chin. When she received no response from Johanna, a worried expression crossed her beautiful face.
Johanna stood up, the look on Frankie’s face jolting her to the core. She walked to the window again and peered outside with her back to her mother and Frankie. Her mood felt as dark as the ominous sky. She took her time collecting her thoughts.
“Johanna, what is it?” Frankie asked anxiously.
“I should have told you this a long time ago,” she said quietly. “I wish I had.” She took a deep breath.
“Told me what? What’s going on, Johanna? What do I need to know?” When Johanna didn’t reply, she looked at Gracelyn. “Please tell me, Gracelyn. You two are scaring me.”
Gracelyn sighed wearily. “It’s not my place to tell you, Francine. This needs to come from Johanna.”
Johanna turned from the window and faced her mother and Frankie. “You’re right, Mom, I need to get this out in the open.”
Gracelyn quickly pulled herself to her feet. “I’m going to leave you girls alone for a little while. We’ll work out our plan later, Francine.” She gave Frankie’s shoulder a quick squeeze, then left the office.
“Johanna, what’s going on? You look like you just saw a ghost. You’re making me very nervous.” Frankie’s voice trembled. “You know you can talk to me about anything.”
Johanna swallowed hard. “God, Frankie, I’m scared, too.” She bit her bottom lip. “I wish I could turn back time and would have already told you and we wouldn’t be faced with this today.”
“Tell me now. I’m listening, baby.” Frankie stood, walked over to her, and put her arms around her. “You’re shaking. Calm down and just talk to me. There’s nothing in the world that you can say that will ever change the way I feel about you.” She tenderly ran a hand up and down Johanna’s back. “Just tell me.”
Johanna clung desperately to her. “Please, promise me that you won’t think less of me after I tell you. I couldn’t bear it if you lost respect for me,” she whispered in a choked voice.
“Johanna, I’ve known you for a long time and I could never lose respect for you. I’ve already told you that. Just tell me what’s bothering you. It can’t be that bad and I’m certain you’ll feel better once you get it off your chest.”
“God, Frankie, I love you so much it actually hurts sometimes.” She shuddered. “Your opinion of me matters more than anyone else’s.”
Frankie led her to her chair. After Johanna was seated, she sat across from her in her own chair, took Johanna’s hands in hers, and lovingly massaged them with her fingertips. “Now tell me. No matter what it is it won’t change my opinion of you. I promise. Nothing could ever do that.”
Johanna took a ragged breath and nodded. “About a year after I met Gretchen…we…this is so hard to explain.”
“Please, just tell me, honey. You need to get it off your chest.”
Her eyes brimmed with tears. “My first partner on the force was a great guy. Ben—” She blinked her eyes rapidly. “Ben and I were called as backup to a warehouse one night where the key players in a suspected drug ring were meeting. The ring was huge and they’d been under surveillance for months. Anyway, because Gretchen was our boss, we obeyed her orders when she separated Ben and me. Something went wrong and there was so much gunfire. When it was over,” she paused briefly, “Ben was one of the dead.” Her voice shook. “I was numb. I couldn’t believe that his life was instantly snuffed out. I felt like everything was moving in slow motion and it was a bad dream. It couldn’t be real.”
“Oh, sweetie, that must have been terrible for you.” Frankie held her tighter. “I’m so sorry for you. I can’t imagine how you felt.”
“I was devastated,” she said as a tear rolled down her cheek. “More so because Gretchen was the shooter.”
Frankie raised an eyebrow. “So it was an accidental shooting. Unfortunately it does happen. You know that.” She peered into Johanna’s teary eyes. “I’m sure it must have been rough on Gretchen, too. As much as I dislike the woman I can sympathize with her situation…shooting one of your own is something I can’t even fathom.”
She shook her head. “I wish it had happened that way. It would have been a little easier to put into perspective. But it didn’t happen that way at all. Gretchen had been at odds with Ben for a long time and treated him like crap. He was planning to put in for a transfer just to get away from her.”
“Why did she mistreat him?”
“Because he caught her sexually harassing a female rookie. He was fed up with the shit she was pulling and her constant veiled threats. Everyone was scared of her. It’s like she had this power over everybody on the force. No matter what she said or wanted, her every whim was met.” She took a deep breath. “She crushed anyone who got in her way and whenever a complaint was filed nothing happened. I think she had friends who never pushed the paperwork any further than their desks and destroyed the reports.”
“How do you know for certain she was never reprimanded?”
“I can’t prove it, but as far as we could tell, everything remained the same. If she’d been given a warning I don’t think she would have dared to continue the way she always had.”
“Did he try to find any other avenues to get around the friends who may have been protecting her? Not everyone could have possibly been under her thumb.”
“He’d discussed it with me and I told him he needed to keep trying until he found someone who would listen to him. I said I would back him up if it came to that. But he was shot before he had the chance.”
Frankie grew pensive. “How did she treat him after he witnessed her sexual harassment?”
“She began leaving subtle hints that his career would on the line if he filed a complaint. The rookie was mysteriously transferred to a different department. I’m sure she was terrified to ever mention to anyone what Gretchen had done. Gretchen had no problem befriending someone and then getting them to confide department secrets. She’d hold it over their heads when there was something she needed or wanted. Gretchen still worried about Ben, though, and wanted him gone. She’d repeatedly made that clear to me. She came up with a perfect solution to discredit him if he did file a complaint…or in her mind to slow the process of anyone believing him over her. The evals were due and she lied on his. She claimed he was insubordinate and hard to work with. She wanted me to fill out a request for a new partner and to testify that I’d gone to her numerous times about his insubordination. Of course, I was livid and refused to put in for a new partner. That only angered her further because she knew that I genuinely liked Ben and would never lie for her.”
Frankie ran a hand threw her brunette hair. “So h
ow does this implicate you? So far I haven’t heard anything to indicate you had a part in his death.”
“I never told the truth about the night Ben was shot.”
“You lied for Gretchen then?” Frankie asked quietly. “That doesn’t sound like you.” Her brow puckered as her eyes searched Johanna’s.
She shook her head quickly. “No, I didn’t lie.” She wiped her eyes on the sleeve of her bulky sweater. “I never saw what really happened. I told you she separated Ben and me that night. But I know she did it deliberately. I never told anyone what I suspected and I should have immediately after he was shot. I should have voiced my gut feelings. By not doing what was right I’m just as guilty. It’s like I pulled the trigger along with Gretchen.”
“No, you’re not. If you would have voiced your suppositions it probably would have put you in a worse situation. If the top brass couldn’t find any evidence that it wasn’t an accident then they probably would have assumed you were making false accusations against your superior. Your life on the force would have been a living hell.” Frankie squeezed Johanna’s hand. “Maybe she was telling the truth and it really was accidental,” she reasoned. “In that kind of situation anything can go wrong. It’s happened before. So don’t beat yourself up for something you had no control over. There’s a huge difference between what really happened and what you think happened. You only told the review board what you knew for a fact. That’s all anyone is expected to do or can do.”
Johanna’s face crumpled as she shook her head from side to side in exasperation. “No. You don’t understand. Gretchen showed no emotion and in fact seemed relieved that he was dead. Except in front of the brass…then she put on a big act of how devastated she was. She carried on hysterically at his funeral and made a big show when she offered her condolences to Ben’s widow. Her phony tears made me sick to my stomach. She didn’t care that he was shot to death by her own gun.” She sniffed. “She knew what his death had done to me, but she offered no emotional support whatsoever to me. I was overcome with grief and she kept telling me to get over it. I took some time off and stayed with my mother for a few days.” She ran a shaky hand through her hair. “It was tearing me apart and I honestly thought I was on the verge of a nervous breakdown. I didn’t know what to do so I tucked it deep inside and eventually as time passed it didn’t haunt me as much, but it never totally left me and whenever I thought of Ben I had that same sick gnawing feeling inside.”
