Winds of Fire

by Kira Chase

  Johanna lifted her head and smiled softly. “I'd better put it out then,” she said seductively as she teased Frankie's clit with her thumb for a few seconds and then removed her thumb and lowered her mouth.

  Frankie shuddered and screamed Johanna's name as she ran her tongue back and forth over her throbbing clit, finally giving her the release her body craved. A ripple shot through her. She laid back contented for a few minutes as her breathing returned to normal. Johanna untied her wrists and then changed position so that her vagina was near Frankie's face.

  “I know what you want,” Frankie murmured. She cupped Johanna's ass in her hands. “Tell me how badly you want it.”

  Johanna squirmed. “Don't tease,” she panted. “The minute you touch me I swear I'm going to come.”

  Frankie's mouth moved to Johanna's clit and she gently suckled it. Johanna was correct. It didn't take her long to climax.

  A minute later Johanna eased herself off Frankie and stretched out next to her.

  Frankie gathered Johanna in her arms. She kissed her softly for several minutes as she ran her hands up and down Johanna's smooth back. “You're making me hot all over again. I can never get enough of you. Do you know that?”

  Johanna smiled as she ran her fingertips over Frankie's cheek. “I know. I feel the same way about you. And I want more of you right now.” She sat up and looked into Frankie's eyes.

  Frankie saw the smoldering heat in Johanna's eyes. “I think I can handle that,” she whispered seductively. She arranged the bed pillows behind her back and spread herself.

  “Mmm,” Johanna said running her tongue slowly over her lips. She eased herself onto Frankie and maneuvered her body until her clit was touching Frankie's.

  Frankie sucked in her breath. She placed her hands on Johanna's shoulders and leaned in for a kiss. The kiss deepened and a tremor shot through her when Johanna began fondling her breasts.

  They fondled one another for several minutes as their bodies gently rocked together. When Johanna's breath quickened, Frankie knew they were both ready to come. They trembled and held each other tightly as the sensations from their lovemaking tore through their bodies.

  Frankie panted as she swept the hair from Johanna's brow. She cupped her face in her hands and kissed her softly.

  * * * *

  Frankie walked into the home office carrying two glasses of wine. She set one of the glasses on the desk where Johanna was seated staring intently at the laptop screen. She kissed the top of Johanna's still damp head as she stood watching her.

  After Johanna had removed her cuffs, they'd made love again and then took a long shower together. Life didn't get any better than this. Every day she found herself falling more in love with Johanna. She couldn't imagine life without her. Before the demons had a chance to invade her thoughts again, she chased them away. Johanna was here and they were together. That was all that mattered. She had to move on and leave what had happened where it belonged—in the past. If Johanna could do it, then she could too. But had Johanna really left it behind? If not, she was doing a damned good job of hiding it.

  “Find anything?”

  Johanna turned her head and smiled at her. “A little. Thanks for the wine.” She picked up the glass, took a sip, and pointed to the screen. “Take a look.”

  Frankie pulled a chair next to Johanna's and peered at the screen for a few minutes. “Kristin's not into herself much, is she? What a diva.”

  Johanna chuckled. “Keep reading. It gets better.” She took another sip of her wine. “This is perfect.”

  Frankie grabbed her hand and gave it an affectionate squeeze. “Thank you for the wonderful night. And here I thought you were tired.”

  Johanna shrugged. “I was, but I got a second wind. That's what you do to me.”

  “The feeling is definitely mutual.” She smiled lovingly at her and then looked at the computer screen and tapped a few keys on the keyboard. “It looks like Kristin's on every networking site under the sun. You'd think she was a famous celebrity the way her write-up reads. Did you find any connection to Thatcher Longman?”

  “No.”

  “Her bio says she was born in Philadelphia.” Frankie stopped. “I wonder why she posted that she is adopted—unless she's hoping to find her biological mother and father. Anyway, it sounds like she had a happy childhood and she adores her adoptive parents.”

  Johanna nodded. “You have to admit she is beautiful. She says she's always wanted to act ever since she starred in her high school play, and she goes on and on about it.”

  “I wonder why she didn't go to acting school,” Frankie wondered.

  “Maybe she couldn't afford it. She did go to community college and acted in a few plays in the local theater group. In the past two years she's been featured in many area TV commercials.” She frowned. “There's quite an age difference between her and Thatcher Longman. Why would she get involved with a man her father's age?”

  “It's obvious, honey. He has money, power, and connections. He can give her all the opportunities her parent's most likely couldn't. He's probably promised her a ticket to the big time. And he is good looking to boot.”

  “So her TV commercials in all probability came about because of his connections.” She continued to peer at the laptop screen. “I wonder if he's trying to get her something more than just some local commercials.”

  A scowl crossed Frankie's face. “Well, he gave her a baby.”

  Johanna bit her bottom lip. “We still can't prove they're having an affair or that the baby is his.”

  “Have you changed your mind on that?” Frankie asked skeptically.

  “No. I just wish we could confirm it.” She glanced at Frankie. “I found something else you might be interested in though,” she said as she clicked on a website she had saved. “Check out this picture of Becca Manning.”

  Frankie's eyes almost popped out of her head. “How did you find this?” She cast a sideways glance at Johanna. “We might want to rethink our assumption that Becca and Thatcher are or ever have had an affair.”

  “I was thinking the same thing.” Johanna made a distasteful face as she studied the picture. “After meeting the real Kendall Longman, it's hard to imagine that Thatcher would have even given Becca Manning a second glance.” She grinned. “In fact, I can't see why he would have ever strayed from Kendall in the first place. Now there's a woman with not only beauty, but class. There's no way I'll ever believe that Becca Manning and Thatcher Longman ever slept together.”

  “Can you enlarge the picture?”

  “Sure,” Johanna said as she tapped the keyboard.

  “Wow. She is not an attractive woman at all,” Frankie said looking at the woman's cold eyes and plain features. She wore little to no makeup and her facial structure was severe. Her nose was long, lips thin, and her chin was pointy. Her medium brown hair was worn in a short, unflattering style.

  “I don't get it. Why would Becca confront her boss like she did? It's only logical that he would have fired her on the spot. There's more to this.” She scanned the brief write-up on the page. “It looks like Bronson's web designer is upgrading their site and now posting photos and brief bios of all the department heads instead of just listing their names.”

  “So you really don't think he ever slept with Becca? Not even one time?” Frankie's eyes slanted.

  “No,” she answered distastefully. “Look at her. I thought we agreed on that point.”

  “I have a thought.” She chewed her bottom lip. “Just hear me out on this for a minute. I don't think they are now or ever had a long term affair, but suppose he slept with her once or twice and pretended he cared about her romantically in order to convince her to shift some of the company's assets.”

  Johanna took another swallow of wine. “That makes a lot of sense. Then after he gets what he wants from her he shoves her aside.”

  Frankie nodded enthusiastically. “Only she can't go to anyone or she'll face the consequences for her actions. She'll ta
ke the fall because I'm sure Thatcher will have his tracks covered so that nothing could ever be traced back directly to him.” She pulled on her chin.

  “Right. Add Kristin Robbins to the mix and there you have it. Kristin is everything she's not: young and beautiful. And now she has the man Becca thought belonged to her. Just enough salt rubbed into her raw wound. She's a woman out for revenge.”

  “I love how we work together,” Frankie grinned. “If we ever decide to retire, we could write detective novels together.”

  Johanna laughed. “With your imagination, we'd be bestsellers for sure,” she joked. “Only one problem: you'd never sit still long enough to write a book.”

  “Yeah, you're probably right,” she joked back, then grew serious. “Do you think Becca could become violent if backed into a corner?” Frankie asked.

  Johanna lifted an eyebrow. “Hard to say. After everything is said and done, I'm sure Thatcher will cut her out since Kristin's in the picture. She's not stupid. Surely, she's figured that out. If she's backed into a corner, I think she's capable of anything.”

  “True, but she could turn that violence on Thatcher and not Kristin.” Frankie looked at Johanna who nodded in agreement. “You got some good pictures tonight. There's so much more to this case than a cheating husband.”

  “I agree. I'm glad Alec wants us to see it to the end.” She powered off the laptop.

  “While you were on the laptop I turned on the TV to catch the late edition of the news,” Frankie said. “There've been more fires. This time an actual business was hit instead of just the outside trash bins.”

  “Who got hit?”

  “Biggs Sporting Goods store in the strip mall we tailed Thatcher to.”

  “Oh, my God. How bad was it?” She closed the laptop.

  “Not much damage to the building, thankfully. Something was thrown through the front window, which thankfully triggered the alarm system. Once the fire started, the automatic sprinklers came on. There's a lot of smoke and water damage, but none of the neighboring businesses were damaged.”

  “So whoever's responsible for the fires plaguing the city has escalated from just setting minor trash can fires.”

  Frankie nodded. “But get this. There were also a couple more trash can fires before this the past few days. One was in the trash bin behind The Bronson Hotel and the other in the back of Kramer Insurance Company. It seems that some businesses' trash bins have been hit more than once.”

  “Quite a coincidence with the fires,” Johanna stated. “Are you thinking there's a connection to the fires and Thatcher's whereabouts?”

  She lifted her eyebrows. “It looks that way, at least to me. It appears that we aren't the only ones who are tailing him. Remember, Becca followed him to Kramer Insurance Company and drove around back. She could have been following him long before we came on the scene.” She placed her chin in the palm of her hand. “I think she's connected.”

  “Shouldn't we tell George?” Johanna asked. “I mean this is serious. If she is doing it, she needs to be stopped before she burns a place to the ground or an innocent person is injured.”

  She shook her head. “We could be wrong about Becca. Until we can connect her directly to the fires, I think we should keep it to ourselves for the time being.”

  “I don't know, Frankie,” Johanna said uneasily. “We've only just started tailing Thatcher. We don't know where else he may have stopped before this week. I wonder if the previous fires were set at businesses he frequented.”

  “Who knows? He never went inside the sporting goods store. It doesn't make sense to target it just because he was standing in front of it. We need to keep our eyes peeled, not just on Thatcher, but anyone else who might be coming in or out of the strip mall when he's there. That is, if he continues going to Kramer's.”

  “Why would Becca be setting the fires, though? What would her motive be? It's not like any of the damage is hurting Thatcher.”

  “Could be just a coincidence, but my gut tells me it's not.”

  “I suppose.”

  Frankie sensed that Johanna wasn't convinced. She wasn't totally convinced herself, and the sensible part of her brain reasoned why Becca would take her anger out on an innocent business that had nothing to do with Thatcher. Until she had more proof, she couldn't finger Becca. “I'll give Alec a call first thing in the morning.” She rose and took Johanna's hand. “Now I think we should try to get a few hours’ sleep.”

  “Are you sure you want to sleep?” Johanna asked with a sly gleam in her eye.

  Chapter 8

  Alec Oakman removed his reading glasses and rubbed his eyes. He sighed. “I only wish one of these pictures compromised him. I'm sure you realize that Thatcher will have a convincing alibi at the ready.” He looked hard at Frankie and Johanna and then his eyes drifted back to the pictures. “Can you two make this your top priority? I know you're busy. Is there any way you can stay on this indefinitely? Kendall trusts you two, and believe me, after everything she's been through, trust doesn't come easy for her.”

  Frankie nodded her consent as did Johanna. “We'd be happy to continue,” she replied.

  “Good. I'll need to bring Kendall up to speed. I contacted her after you called me this morning and explained that you'd be here.” He glanced at his wristwatch. “I asked her to join us. She should be here shortly. I hope you have the time.”

  “Of course,” Johanna answered. “This case is now our top priority.”

  “I'd like you to dig around and pull up anything you can on Kristin Robbins. If the child is Thatcher's, that's all Kendall will need to obtain a divorce and cut him off.” He folded his hands. “And, of course, anything else you might uncover will be greatly appreciated.”

  Johanna observed the man as he talked. He looked like he wanted to say more, but for reasons known only to him, kept it to himself. He left the door open just wide enough for them to slip through. He wanted them to uncover any sordid dealings on Thatcher's part. This went way beyond just a cheating husband. Johanna wondered how much he already suspected, but even more, why he wasn't giving them even a small clue.

  “No problem,” Frankie said.

  A light tap sounded on his door and he stood as his secretary ushered Kendall into the office. The women also stood and after the usual greetings were exchanged and everyone was seated, Alec picked up the photos and handed them to Kendall. “Do you know her?”

  Kendall ran a shaky hand through her hair. “Yes. I wasn't aware that Thatcher did though.”

  The pain was evident in her large beautiful eyes. Johanna's own eyes narrowed. “Did she work for you?”

  Kendall crossed her legs at the ankles and paused briefly before answering. “No. I met Kristin a couple of years ago at a charity dinner. Actually, she was a server. I ran into her later that night as I was preparing to leave. I mean I literally ran into her,” she said with a light laugh in her voice. “It was my fault, but she took responsibility for the mishap. We chatted for a short time. She's one of those types of people who look on the bright side of life. Here she was working as a server, but she was so upbeat and bubbly. She had the type of personality that drew people to her like a magnet. You couldn't help but like her. I asked her if she was happy with her current employment and she assured me that she was. Of course, I assumed she was only responding that way in case I encountered her employer.” Kendall frowned. “I'm sorry. I'm rambling,” she apologized.

  “No, we'd like to hear the details, Kendall,” Alec assured her. “Please continue.”

  She tilted her head slightly. “I asked her what her future plans were. She told me she'd always wanted to be an actress and was saving money to go to California to try her luck. I wanted to help her. I thought maybe she could get her feet wet with some local ads. I advised her to contact our ad department, with my consent of course, to set her up with contacts for the agencies we'd used in the past when we needed actors for our ads. If we would have had need for a new ad, I would have hired her on the s
pot, but we'd just completed our upcoming campaign.”

  “Did she contact you after that?”

  “Yes. She thanked me for my help and said she'd been hired for some local ads. She called once or twice more after her ads were released and then I never heard from her again. I wasn't aware that she was still in the area. I assumed she'd maybe gotten a break and moved on to a national ad or even a small part in a movie.”

  “Why did she come to Charlestown? Did she ever say?” Frankie asked. “It doesn't make sense. Wouldn't she have found better options in Philadelphia and especially in New York City?” She pursed her lips. “That doesn't make sense.”

  Kendall shook her head. “I have no idea. She never confided any personal details of her life to me.” She drew her eyebrows together. “I don't know how Thatcher came in contact with her. He wasn't with me at the dinner that night and he's not involved with the ad department as far as I know.” Her eyes drifted to Frankie and Johanna. “If you two find out how they met, I'd like to know, if for nothing more than to satisfy my curiosity. Kristin obviously is aware that he's my husband. She didn't strike me as the type to be so deceitful.” She paused. “Maybe I was too trusting. Perhaps she'd already known Thatcher and was only putting on an act for my benefit. I suppose I'll never know.” Her eyes lowered to the picture of Thatcher holding the baby. “I always wanted children,” she murmured. “I couldn't talk Thatcher into having any or even adopting. He said they'd compromise his lifestyle.” She blinked rapidly. “He made it perfectly clear that he didn't care for children and had no room now or ever in his life for them.”

  Johanna recalled the way Thatcher had held the baby and then bent and kissed it before he left. Her heart ached for Kendall. He'd even taken her childbearing years away from her. He literally took almost everything from this woman and wouldn't be satisfied until she had nothing left.

  She swallowed hard. “I suppose he changed his mind when he met Kristin.”

  * * * *

  “Ready to pay a visit to Bronson Enterprises?” Frankie asked.